asked the Minister for Finance whether he will state if there is any information in his Department to the effect that Mr. Joseph Quinn, Boherbee, Ballaghadereen, Co. Roscommon, handed £62 to the late Dr. Ferran in August 1920, being money collected by him for the Dáil Eireann Loan, 1919-20; and whether his Department has received an affidavit signed by responsible persons that Mr. Quinn did give this money to Dr. Ferran; whether he will further state if Mr. Quinn has on several occasions handed in the list of subscribers from whom he got the money; and why he has been ignored by the Minister's Department, and if he is aware that none of these subscribers have yet been repaid.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dáil Loan Subscribers (Roscommon).
Mr. Joseph Quinn, of Boherbee, furnished my Department with an affidavit made by himself to the effect that he collected subscriptions to the Dáil Loan from certain persons in the Boherbee area and that the amounts so collected were handed by him to Dr. Ferran of Foxford (now deceased) for transmission to the Dáil Finance Department. He has also furnished on two occasions lists purporting to contain particulars of the subscriptions referred to in his affidavit, amounting in the aggregate to £61, but there are a number of discrepancies between the names on those lists.
There is no record in my Department of the receipt of an amount of £62 from the late Dr. Ferran. A similar amount was, however, received from a gentleman in Foxford without any particulars, and I am having enquiries made with a view to ascertaining whether this amount belongs to the Boherbee subscribers.
With regard to the last part of the question, Mr. Quinn was informed in a communication issued from my Department that the primary register did not contain any record of subscriptions by persons in the Boherbee area and that his application would be considered in due course.
Can the Minister state what is the position with regard to a sum of between £4,000 and £5,000 subscribed in North Roscommon and in regard to which—
Is not that a separate question?
Might I ask the Minister if he has taken any steps to deal with the situation? I believe this is one of the cases. This gentleman is afraid his neighbours are getting restive and that they think he did not give the money at all and it is getting serious. Two very prominent people in the district have filed affidavits that he handed in that money. This is very serious for Mr. Quinn and for men like him. I think it is time the Minister got a move on in the matter.
We are dealing with this particular question and with other subscribers in the area to which Deputy Conlon refers; we are dealing with them as quickly as possible. As I already indicated, now that fresh applications are not being received and that we are dealing only with the cases in hands, we hope to expedite matters.