§ MR. THOMAS O'DONNELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what are the county councils in Ireland that have adopted the compulsory Education Act; what is the annual expense and the poundage rate incurred in each country in carrying out the Act; and what is the increase in the average attendance as compared with the average for the past five years for these counties.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe compulsory attendance provisions of the Act of 1892 are in force in rural districts in the following counties: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Clare, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, King's, Limerick, Derry, 355 Longford, Louth, Meath, Tipperary, Tyrone, Wexford and Wicklow. In some of these counties the Act is in force throughout the county and in other cases in portions only of the county. The expense of carrying out the Act could only be ascertained by reference to the local authorities and this would take some time. No figures are available showing the increase in the average attendance in each county as compared with the average for the past five years. In most of the counties mentioned the Act has been in force for more than five years. The centesimal proportion of the average attendance to the average number of pupils on the rolls for the year 1907 in the rural districts with school attendance committees was 67.3, and in those without such committees, 61.8.