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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 May 1924

Vol. 7 No. 16

DAIL IN COMMITTEE. RAILWAYS BILL, 1924. - QUESTION ON ADJOURNMENT—INSPECTOR'S REPORT ON DUBLIN CORPORATION.

I gave notice that I would raise a question in regard to the publication of the Inspector's Report on the conduct of civic affairs by the Corporation of Dublin. The question has been raised two or three times, and the Minister has said that if there were a desire expressed generally from the Dáil, from the members, the publication would be made. Since the question was raised last the newspapers have published what purports to be a report of the Inspector upon which certain very drastic action was taken by the Minister. Now, it is quite obvious to anybody that that Report, which appears in the newspapers, is not the report on which the Minister took action. There is nothing in that report that could, by any stretch of the imagination, be a justification for the procedure taken by the Minister; and therefore I assume that there is something in the Report which has been hidden from the public, but which ought to be presented to the Dáil. The matter in question is, of course, of the very greatest importance; and one has refrained from raising the matter directly in the Dáil in the expectation that the Minister would be able to produce definite reasons in the form of the Government Inspector's Report. And it has been by virtue of our patience in waiting for that Report that no steps have been taken to raise this question of the action of the Minister in suppressing the Dublin Corporation.

Now I want to press upon the Minister that the Dáil is entitled in a matter of this kind to have the information placed at its disposal upon which he took action in regard to the Dublin Corporation. An inspector was appointed and conducted an inquiry. That inquiry has been reported upon. The Inspector's recommendations were delivered to the Minister; and I think it should be clear, and one would have thought obvious, to everyone, that a Report of that character on so important a question, should have been presented to the Dáil. As I said, we have had a version, a summary presumably, of certain parts of that Report. They do not contain, evidently, the facts which gave a reason to the Minister for taking the action that he did. I say that we ought to have the whole Report so that those hidden disclosures, those hidden paragraphs which must be so serious in their reflections upon the Dublin Corporation, may be made public. And I would press upon the Dáil that the members should agree with me in urging, in calling for, if I may say so, the publication in full of the Report of the Inspector on the proceedings and actions of the Dublin Corporation. Deputy Doyle does not want it, I suppose.

Mr. DOYLE

I have quite enough of it.

You are not concerned?

Mr. DOYLE

I was.

I do not think there seems to be a very strong or unanimous opinion that we should go to the expense of circulating this Report. There was a very long Report in connection with the Broadcasting Commission, and it involved very considerable expense in publishing it. This Report would also involve considerable expense; and I do not think, in the absence of the Minister for Finance, that I could agree to go to that cost. Of course, I am wholly in the hands of the Dáil in this matter. I have got absolutely no opinion one way or another in the matter. I do not care whether the Report is published or not, but I wish to disabuse Deputy Johnson of the idea that seems to have got into his mind that we issued a garbled report, or version of the report, to the Press. They were given the full version. I did not read the account of it in the Press myself, but I have no reason to believe that they suppressed anything. I should like him to bear in mind that the Report was only one of the factors in our minds in coming to the decision that we did. We relied on other facts as well as that.

I wonder would the Minister tell us what the facts were on which he based his action?

If the Deputy wishes to raise that at another time I will be willing to give him all the information.

I shall.

The Dáil adjourned at 10.35 p.m.

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