In regard to the county histories, the first volume, the history of the County Roscommon, has been sent in to us, and we are at present considering the translation of that volume into Irish. I hope that the second volume will be available in the summer —about the month of June. With regard to the question of scholarships for Gaeltacht students, the position up to the present has been that the scheme was insufficiently developed and had not reached the stage where there was a sufficient number of really eligible and proper candidates or a sufficient choice of faculties to enable us to say that the original intention of the scheme which was an endeavour to train native Irish speakers in the public professions, was being achieved. Latin is now being introduced into the preparatory colleges, and the students from these university scholarship examinations. We have a certain number of candidates also from the colleges and schools in the Irish-speaking counties. All these scholarship holders have to do a course in Galway University unless it can be shown that the particular course is not available in Galway but is available in another college or university. I cannot tell the Deputy at the moment but I can write to him, if that will satisfy him, giving him the particulars of the number of candidates. The women candidates generally confine themselves to the commerce or arts faculties. The boy students exhibit some desire to avail of medicine or dentistry. But we have not the scheme sufficiently long in operation to say that we are getting the best possible results from it. We hope with the increased number of candidates and the wider ability of these candidates that there will be much more success arising from this scheme in the future.
With regard to Deputy Costello's points it might be assumed that the only institution in the Free State which gave instruction in Art was the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. There are schools of Art in the County Boroughs of Limerick, Cork and Waterford, and I think these three institutions are very successful. A certain number of scholarships are given in the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. It was confined, I think, somewhat to Fine Art up to the present. While the facilities might not be as great as we would like, I do not think that the provision made in that school has been insufficient for the demand made on it. I think it has been sufficient.
There is also instruction given in art in the Dublin Technical Schools and in some of the larger technical schools throughout the country such as Galway, and I think some instruction is given in the secondary schools. The headmaster of the school gets £700 a year; the second master gets £400 a year; the teacher of modelling gets £250 a year and the teacher of design and ornaments £150 a year. The other teacher are generally part-time teachers who, I think, are not dependent on their teaching for a livelihood. They are working in an artistic capacity in some other business. These get up to £1,000 a year between them so that the provision, though it may look small, is adequate. I quite realise the force of the Deputy's arguments that we should make further provision, particularly for the development of what might be called commercial art and the awakening of an interest amongst our industrialists in matters of art. Last year we formed a committee which we described as a Standing School Committee to deal with the organisation and development of the Metropolitan School of Art and its functions. This committee, as the Deputy will see from my speech, deals with these matters, but it is not proposed to confine the functions of the committee to an investigation of questions affecting the Metropolitan School of Art only. They have certainly terms of reference dealing mainly with the School of Art but not confined solely to it.
Reference No. 3 of the Terms of Reference sets out: "To consider the advisability of instituting a school diploma and, if considered advisable, to suggest the conditions under which such diploma should be granted." As the Deputy knows, most of the teachers up to the present got their diplomas in one of the London schools. Paragraph (5) of the Terms of Reference reads: "To make recommendations from time to time as may be necessary for the better co-ordination of the instruction given at the school with the instruction in art subjects in the secondary and technical schools in the City of Dublin and adjoining districts." Then in paragraph (6) they are: "To advise as to the periodic conduct at the school of courses of instruction for secondary and technical school teachers and the nature and scope of such courses." Paragraph (7) says: "To make recommendations regarding the co-ordination of the work of the school with that of the schools of art in the county boroughs of Cork, Limerick and Waterford." Also to deal with the general programme of the work of the schools and "generally to advise upon any question affecting the schools which may be referred to the committee by the Department from time to time."
The idea underlying the formation of this Committee was that it would be an Advisory Committee to the Department of Education and that as the first step they should investigate the conditions of the Metropolitan School of Art and say how that institution might be extended profitably. I understand that the Committee have been working since before Christmas on this matter. They are all men who have had wide experience in artistic matters, and I hope that in the near future we shall have a report from them setting out a scheme of development for the Metropolitan School of Art. Should the scheme, as it probably will, involve a question of additional finance, and if the Minister for Finance is agreeable to go ahead with it, and if the Executive Council consider the scheme suitable, I shall then be in a position to come to the Dáil and go more fully into the question of the organisation of the school. Later on, when the School is better organised and developed, the question of art education generally in the country will follow, but the first thing to be done is to try to extend the existing school in Dublin.
