Vol. 208 No. 4
asked the Minister for External Affairs who compiled, edited and checked information for the publication Facts about Ireland; if he will state, in relation to the section dealing with some dates in the history of Ireland from 432 to 1955, who was responsible for the omission of important events in Irish history; why only certain historic events are recorded; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
24.
asked the Minister for External Affairs if he is aware that there is no reference in the booklet Facts about Ireland to Brian Boru, Silken Thomas, Niall of the Nine Hostages, Red Hugh O'Donnell and Patrick Sarsfield; why he omitted all reference to these men; and if he will take the necessary steps to rectify these serious omissions.
25.
asked the Minister for External Affairs the names of the editors of the booklet entitled Facts about Ireland, and the fees paid to any authors of any of the articles in it.
26.
asked the Minister for External Affairs why no mention was made in the booklet Facts about Ireland of the contribution made by the trade union movement to the building of this State.
27.
asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will state with reference to the booklet entitled Facts about Ireland (a) the number of copies printed and the date of printing, (b) the cost, (c) to whom and in what numbers they have been distributed, (d) the authors of each section, and (e) whether, having regard to the offence caused to many sections of the nation by reason of the partisan bias of the historical section, he will have it withdrawn from circulation.
28.
asked the Minister for External Affairs (1) the total cost of the booklet published by his Department entitled Facts about Ireland, (2) the number of copies of the booklet which have been printed, and (3) what sources were consulted in the compilation of the historical data appearing in the booklet.
29.
asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will state the total cost of the publication Facts about Ireland, the total number of copies of this booklet which were ordered, the number of copies sent abroad, and the number of complimentary copies which have already been posted throughout the country.
30.
asked the Minister for External Affairs when a booklet entitled Some Facts about Ireland was printed and published; the number of copies printed and to whom they were distributed; and the differences if any, between that booklet and the publication called Facts about Ireland.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take question Nos. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 together.
As two motions on the subject to which all these questions refer are to be taken in conjunction with the Estimate for my Department on 12th March, that is, in two days' time, I shall deal with them in the course of my statement on the Estimate.
May I take it that this is an undertaking by the Minister that he will give the information sought in each of these questions ?
That is right, yes.
Is it still intended to take the Vote for External Affairs on Thursday ?
Yes.
As far as I know, the Taoiseach promised that it would be circulated on Tuesday.
The Book of Estimates will be circulated this afternoon.
