asked the Minister for Education whether he will now say if he has obtained the sanction of the Minister for Finance for a supplementary distribution of the surplus of £11,708, remaining out of the Interim Grant for Secondary Teachers for the current financial year, and, if so, whether he will cause this supplementary distribution to be made with the least possible delay.

It is proposed that the surplus referred to should now be applied as a set-off against the supplementary provision for increments for Secondary Teachers, details of which will be laid before the Dáil shortly. The provision in the same financial year of the amount of Interim Grant already distributed and of a half-year's instalment for paying teachers' increments, is a very important and special concession as an alternative to a special supplementary distribution of the balance of the Interim Grant.