§ Mr. SLOANasked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that assistant masters and mistresses in Irish secondary schools can be, and in practice are, dismissed without notice and without cause assigned at the pleasure of the manager, to whom alone all the school grants are paid unconditionally, assistants having no appeal; and whether, in view of the fact that secondary schools in Ireland received from the Intermediate Board in the school year 1907–8 grants amounting to £50,000, and in the same year 290 secondary schools received from the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction £27,000, he will secure some redress for those teachers from arbitrary dismissal?
§ Mr. BIRRELLAs I have already stated in reply to a question asked by the hon. Member for the St. Patrick's Division on 27th July last, I have no power to interfere in any way with the relations between assistant teachers in secondary schools and the heads of such schools.