§ Mr. T. M. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if one or other of the two chief inspectors of national schools may, if so disposed, refuse to certify for the annual 697W salary increments of any of the 30 or so subordinate inspectors; that he need give no reason for such refusal, even though it should refer not to one year alone, but be repeated over several years in succession; have there been some cases of this kind lately; whether applications from inspectors affected to bring complaints before the Board have been disregarded; and whether inspectors are at liberty to bring such treatment under the notice of any particular commissioner or to ventilate it in the Press, in case the same is not brought before the Board itself by the officials responsible?
§ Mr. BIRRELLAn annual increment of salary cannot be allowed to a civil servant without a certificate from his immediate superior that his conduct during the past year has been approved. For this purpose the chief inspectors are recognised by the Commissioners of National Education as the immediate superiors of the inspectors generally. A chief inspector, if he refuses his certificate, must satisfy the Commissioners that he has valid grounds for doing so. Certificates have been refused or deferred in some cases in recent years owing to unsatisfactory discharge of duty on the part of individual inspectors. All complaints of inspectors are submitted to the Board or to the Resident Commissioner. Inspectors are not at liberty to communicated with the Commissioners personally on any business connected with their position or to ventilate their cases in the public Press.