read the following report:—
Immediately on my appointment to the Ministry I took over charge of the Department of Home Affairs from my predecessor, Mr. Stack. The activities under control of the Department included Courts, Police, Enforcement of Decrees against Emigration, and Relief Bureau. I interviewed the heads of these subdepartments and instructed them that they were to carry on as before. No change was made by me in the personnel of the staff, but several have since resigned.
The Republican Courts.—Since the date of submitting last report—16th August, 1921—the causes therein outlined which retarded the working of the Courts, have altogether disappeared, owing to the Treaty and consequent non-interference by enemy forces. The Courts are now functioning throughout the country generally. The holding of Circuit Courts on a large scale was hitherto a difficult matter but owing to the altered circumstances, the Department has been in a position to meet the requirements of all districts in this regard. The Spring Circuit is now being brought to a conclusion. An elaborate list of this Circuit was prepared and circulated through the various Districts—a copy is attached hereto. It will be observed from the time allocated to the various sittings, as set out on this list, that the volume of business to be dealt with was very large.
District and Parish Courts.—The District and Parish Courts are functioning throughout the country but in some cases grave complaints have been received by the Department as to the personnel of these Courts. Labour representatives protest that prominent farmers and officials of Farmers' Unions have adjudicated in questions concerning disputes between Irish Transport Union and Farmers, and, in other cases, complaints have been received that labour predominates on the local bench.
Decrees.—There is considerable dissatisfaction regarding the non-execution of decrees. In many cases decrees made up to a year ago have remained unexecuted. In the present unstable condition of the country this matter cannot be satisfactorily dealt with. I regret to state that armed interference with the Republican Courts has taken place recently, in a few instances. Court offices have been raided by bodies of armed men and Records, Court Registers and important documents carried away.
Police Department.—From the date of taking over by me, this Department continued to carry out its duties as before, under the then Chief of Police, Mr. Simon Donnelly. In view of the altered condition of affairs, due to the evacuation by British forces, the taking over of Barracks by the Irish Republican Army and the unsatisfactory state of the organization of the Republican Police Force, a conference was held on the 24th February last at which there were present the Minister of Defence, the Adjutant General, the Chief of Police and myself. It was decided that the men engaged on Police work should revert to their Volunteer Units, and that police work would henceforth be done by the Army as a whole, in co-operation with the Brigade Police Officers, who should continue to carry out their duties as before under the Chief of Police who should be transferred to General Headquarters staff and act under the Adjutant General for purposes of administration. This decision was accordingly carried into effect and the Chief of Police was accommodated with new headquarters in Gt. Brunswick Street. At his request, the enrolment of twenty additional police for the Dublin District was sanctioned, in order to cope with the greatly increased volume of Court work, and to assist in dealing with ordinary crime.
On the 27th March, Mr. Donnelly wrote me enclosing copy of a letter which he had written the Adjutant-General as follows:—
"Not wishing to sail under false colours, I wish to inform you that I attended the Army Convention on Sunday, 26th inst. According to the statement of the Minister of Defence last week, any man attending same was to be suspended. I await the official suspension or dismissal. I am sending a copy of this to the Minister for Home Affairs. (Signed) S. O Donghaile."
I replied on the 30th March informing him that he has been dismissed, as from the 27th March, from his office as Chief of Police, and directing him to hand over all books, property and records connected with the Police Department to Captain Peter Ennis who had been appointed in his place. Mr. Donnelly replied on the 3rd instant that he was carrying out his duties under a person whom he described as "the Adjutant-General responsible to the new Executive" and that he was retaining the books and records in order to enable himself and his staff to carry out the work. Captain Ennis attended at the Headquarters in Brunswick Street on the 30th ultimo to take over, and found that all books, papers, records and property, including two typewriters, had been removed, and that the office staff, including three clerks and two typists, had left. Mr. Donnelly having taken away all the files, the new Chief of Police is now faced with a position of considerable difficulty in carrying out his duties. He has, however, already circularized all the Brigade Officers and has up to the present received communications from 32 Brigades. Mr. Donnelly has also circularized the Brigade Officers asking them to give their allegiance to the work under a body which he describes as the "New Executive." It will, therefore, be seen that at the moment the position is unsatisfactory, but every effort will be made to overcome the difficulties.
The peace of the country is at present menaced by the operations of armed bands engaged in robberies of Banks and Post Offices; armed interference with public meetings, suppression of free speech, and of the Press. Trains are being held up and goods stolen; business premises are being raided and large quantities of goods removed by force; and large money levies are also being made on proprietors of business premises. Irish credit is being injured by these illegal acts and the entire financial loss involved will have to be borne by the Irish people. Whatever differences of opinion may exist on other matters, everyone must agree that it is in the public interest that order should be restored, and life and property respected.
Responsibility for these acts must be fixed and steps taken to deal with those responsible.
Emigration Report.—Since 1st June, 1921, 2,974 applications for permits to leave Ireland have been received at the Department of Home Affairs. Of these 1,396 have been granted and 1,578 refused. A large proportion of the permits granted have only been for short periods, and the bulk of the persons receiving permits were those who wished to leave for one or other of the following reasons:—
(1) Ill-health. (2) Studies (Lay or Clerical). (3) Missionary Work. (4) Visits to relatives. (5) Short business or pleasure trips.
During the same period 5,669 emigrants have, according to the returns of the Registrar General at Charlemont House, left Ireland. This shows a considerable decrease compared with the corresponding period in the previous year. The effort to enforce the Decree has undoubtedly caused a decrease in emigration, but it has not succeeded in accomplishing its aim, viz., the complete stoppage of emigration. Many of the applicants for permits are known to be such as were genuinely suffering from unemployment and were resident in districts where no immediate remedy for unemployment is available. There is a strong feeling that the rule in this regard should be relaxed somewhat in favour of this class of applicant. There is no doubt that, if order were restored, the improved economic conditions that would arise would be such that legislation against emigration would no longer be required.