DEBATES ON REPORTS. - HOME AFFAIRS.
The debate on the Report of the Department of Home Affairs was next taken.
The MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS formally moved the adoption of the Report.
The SUBSTITUTE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE in seconding, said there was a good deal of doubt as to whether the deposit of £150 for each Candidate nominated for Election was required. He thought it would be a good thing to have the doubt removed at once.
P. O'KEEFFE (Cork, North) said the instructions he sent out from Sinn Fein were that the £150 would have to be deposited with every nomination. Arrangements had been made in all cases to have the required amount available.
The MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS said that the Secretary of Sinn Fein, the Director of Elections and himself had gone very fully into the matter and every Constituency had got instructions and knew what to do.
The ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT referred to a recent deputation sent by the Cove Urban Council to the British Admiralty on which his Department had forbidden the expenditure of Public money, and asked for an expression of opinion as to the proper procedure in dealing with people who flouted the instructions of the Dáil in this manner.
THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE said he heard of the matter too late to take effective steps to prevent it. He did not think it necessary to bring a Court together to deal with the case. The offenders were known.
The ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT said that it was not the duty of his Department to decide what penalty should be enforced.
The MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS replied that when the matter was reported to him it was not clear that the Deputation had then gone, and he suggested that the Department of Defence be communicated with. That Department asked the Department of Local Government to say what punishment should be inflicted. He thought the Department of Local Government should decide this. There were no courts functioning in Cove.
R.J. MULCAHY (Clontarf) considered that a Code of Civil offences with a list of punishments should be drawn up. The Home Affairs' Department should face this work as well as that or re-organising the Courts. The Organisers sent out by the Belfast Boycott Department had been very successful, and there was no reason why organisers from the Department of Home Affairs should not be sent to districts where the Courts were not functioning.
The Report was then put and adopted.