§ Mr. AUGUSTINE ROCHEasked the Chief Secretary whether instructions have been issued to the Royal Irish Constabulary to arrest all persons who, when requested to furnish them with their names, do so in the Irish language; whether his attention has been called to a case heard at Dundalk Quarter Sessions on 31st May, 1912, in which a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, who was sued for obstruction, stated on oath that he was only prevented from arresting a young man who declined to state his name in English, but who furnished him with his card printed in Irish, by the presence of a large crowd; and whether, having regard to the feeling which exists amongst the people regarding such hostility to their language, he will have the Irish language made an essential subject in examination for recruits to the Royal Irish Constabulary force in future?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe answer to the first paragraph of the question is in the negative. The police do not admit the accuracy of the account given in the second paragraph of the question as regards the incident at Dundalk. The restriction suggested in the method of recruiting the constabulary by insisting upon a knowledge of Irish on the part of each candidate is undesirable and impracticable.