§ Mr. LONSDALEasked the Chief Secretary if his attention had been called to the resolution passed by the Cork Diocesan Committee of Technical Agricultural Instruction protesting against the decision of the County of Cork Joint Committee of Technical Instruction to include Irish as a compulsory subject in the examination for the apprenticeship and technical scholarships, the immediate result of which would be to exclude from competition all pupils attending schools in which Irish was not taught; and whether the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction have taken any action in this matter?
§ Mr. BIRRELLMy attention has been called to the resolution referred to. Under the Department of Agriculture's scholarship scheme Irish is not compulsory, and the County of Cork Joint Committee of Technical Instruction have been informed that the Department could not sanction the Committee's proposal to make Irish a compulsory subject of examination.