§ Mr. O'DONNELLasked how many national schools there are in each of the four provinces in which Irish is taught, either during school hours or as an extra subject, the number of pupils in each province who are learning Irish, and the number of schools and pupils attending in each province in which there is bilingual teaching?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Commissioners of National Education inform me that the latest figures at present available in the required form are those in respect of the year 1911. Excluding the bilingual schools specified below, the number of schools on the 31st December, 1911, in which Irish was taught, either during school hours or as an extra subject, was for each province as follows:—Ulster, 388; Munster, 942; Leinster, 402; Connaught., 648. Total, 2,380. The number of pupils in each province who on the 31st December, 1911, were learning Irish in the above schools was approximately:—Ulster, 19,888; Munster, 50,883; Leinster, 23,603; Connaught, 37,202. Total, 131,576. The number of schools (and pupils attending) in each province, in which there was bilingual teaching on the 31st December, 1911, was:
Number of Schools. Number of Pupils. Ulster 61 … 5,404 Munster 59 … 5,131 Leinster — … — Connaught 77 … 5,826 Totals 197 … 16,361