Mr. H. SAMUELasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what is the total population living in districts in Ireland which have not yet adopted compulsory elementary education; what is the total number of children of school age in those districts; what is the total number on the school registers in those districts; and what is the number in average attendance in the latest year for which statistics are available.
§ Mr. SHORTTIt is estimated that about one-third of the population of Ireland, or some 1,460,000 persons, live in districts in which the compulsory attend-1892W ance provisions of the Irish Education Act, 1892, are not enforced. About 348,000 of these persons are between the ages of three and fifteen years. For the year ended 31st December, 1914, the latest year for which the statistics are available, the average number of children on the rolls of the national schools in such districts was 251,302, and the average daily attendance 175,874.