I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £39,879 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1932, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Gnóthaí Coigríche agus Seirbhísí áirithe atá fé riara na hOifige sin.
That a sum not exceeding £39,879 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1932, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for External Affairs, and of certain services administered by that Office.
The Vote this year shows certain slight decreases as compared with the Estimate and the Supplementary Estimate last year. There are certain small increases in the first sub-head, A, due to annual increments and salaries and also to the appointment of additional cadets. The incidental expenses also show a very slight increase. The rest of the sub-head shows a decrease. In the main, the increase is due to the appointment of two new officials rendered necessary owing to the increase in the work that has to be done at headquarters. That is in itself due to the establishment of the consular offices abroad and the development of the diplomatic and consular activities of the Department. The Passport Office shows a very definite decrease due to the fact that emigration to the United States is now practically negligible. As before, when pointing to a certain slight saving this year, I would like to emphasise once more that that saving is one that cannot be looked for in future because the office is still extending and no guarantee can be given that future estimates may not have to be increased. There is a definite need making itself felt for this extension of consulate work in certain parts of the United States and we hope to get certain revenue from the opening up of certain new offices abroad.
I think it is quite clear that the amounts received from the United States alone pay for the total cost of representation in the United States and leave a certain amount on hands. It is not, of course, certain that any addition to the staff, any opening of new offices in the States, will be reflected immediately in a proportionate increase in visa fees and other things abroad as some might be distributed over the States which are now coming into some of the offices which are there. The activities of the Department I have indicated here on many occasions. We are carrying on a general type of work on behalf of other Departments. We are trying to develop trade from the Free State to other countries. We are reporting back here on the state of the market in regard to any items in which probable exporters are interested and we are also making special inquiries where these inquiries are called for. The Department of Local Government has made very considerable use of my Department during the past twelve months. I think there is hardly a Department of the Government which has not at some time or another put forward inquiries on which we have got to get the opinion of our people abroad. Since I last spoke, of course, there has been an increase in the representation of other countries here. The two appointments that were mentioned this time last year have, of course, now been made. We have, since I spoke last, received diplomatic representatives from France and Germany. We have now four representatives here, the two I have mentioned, and the representatives of the United States and the Vatican.
The legal work of the Department has proved to be much more extensive and heavier this year than in any previous twelve months—work which is not reflected and can never be reflected in legislation, or even in documents that will appear before the House, because there is a vast amount of work which simply turns on the fact that we have very close and active good relations with the majority of countries. Those of our nationals who are abroad, from time to time call on the Department for assistance, or, at any rate, involve the Department in a considerable amount of work in seeing that their interests are protected. I might mention that in the year just ended the Department dealt with something over one hundred cases of administration of estates of deceased persons in which nationals of the country were interested; certain workmen's compensation cases and other cases in which compensation falls to be paid to relatives of deceased persons under a rule of international law.
We have at present something less than two hundred cases of the administration of estates of deceased people. All these cases were matters which used to be dealt with by the British foreign offices, and they are now being dealt with by our own Consular establishments and in our own Department. We have to carry through the office an amount of intricate work in connection with the legalising of certain documents in which connection, of course, legislation was passed this year—the Commissioner for Oaths (Diplomatic and Consular) Act, which has empowered all our representatives abroad, both diplomatic and consular, to administer oaths and perform certain notarial functions. The registration of nationals for various purposes is another item which falls to be dealt with by the officers—registration for purposes of diplomatic protection, for purposes of certain population statistics and also for purposes of nationality law.
In the course of the next year legislation will have to be introduced here to make easier certain international activities which are now being pursued. It is our intention, as it was the intention of most countries in the world, to make easy the collection of evidence in a particular country where that evidence is required in regard to cases which are being tried before a foreign tribunal. There will have to be certain Conventions and definite legislation introduced in order to cover these.
Certain Treaties and Conventions or Agreements, other than League of Nations ones, have been entered into on behalf of the State since March, 1930. There was an agreement re specting certain facilities given to merchant seamen for the treatment of venereal disease. There was, of course, the Treaty brought before the House in connection with the limitation and reduction of naval armaments. There were two Protocols amending certain articles of the Convention for the regulation of aerial navigation; a similar Convention respecting load lines, and in addition special bilateral agreements were entered into with particular countries. We had an agreement for the exchange of money orders signed in these countries between ourselves and Belgium; and an agreement with Norway for reciprocal exemption from taxation of the business of shipping. We had the treaty with Germany which has been before the House and the treaty with France which is to come before the House before the Session ends. In addition, we have exchange notes regarding commercial relations, on the whole providing for most favoured nation treatment with Egypt, Greece, Guatemala and Roumania, and have, on special items with regard to passenger ship certificates and emigrant shiy regulations, entered into an agreement with Italy; and with regard to a certain item of unemployment insurance with Switzerland.
There are special types of legislation with which the House will have to deal quite soon. Under the ordinary regulations which are in force in regard to States which have come into being, or which have emerged from an old State after a period of subjection we have the right to avail ourselves of the treaties which were entered into in the previous period. We can, of course, denounce them and make new agreements if we like. On all these matters, as it is necessary to keep the scheme of things going, we have adopted the plan of making new agreements, where new agreements seem to be ones which would operate immediately, or where they are immediately necessary, but in the main we only dealt with those which came up for urgent consideration. In that way we have taken over and have accepted the rights and obligations under certain extradition treaties which had been concluded by the United Kingdom with forty different countries, and we have made use of some of them from time to time as the occasion arose. We propose to conclude extradition treaties with certain countries—as many of them as possible, and as soon as possible—and we will then have to implement them by legislation.
Legislation will also be required arising out of the Opium Convention with regard to which a certain proposal was brought before the House. In order fully to implement what is contained in that convention it will be necessary to have legislation amending the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1920. and that legislation is at present in the course of preparation. There are certain international conventions which we would like to have signed, but had to postpone the signature because there was not a satisfactory state of things from the legislative point of view in regard to their provisions. One of these is the Protocol relating to arbitration, and another the convention relating to the execution of foreign arbitral awards. For these certain legislation will be necessary, and I hope it will be introduced next Session.
Certain international Labour conventions have been accepted by us, and some of them will require special attention under the heading of a Merchant Shipping Bill. Four of them will possibly fall for consideration and special treatment. We have already accepted these, and it is a question of how far, with the legislation we have at present at our control, effect can properly be given to those conventions. There will be, in addition to the extradition legislation, a special piece of legislation to be brought before the House possibly in the New Year. That will be a Bill dealing with nationality. It is a Bill which is to some extent required under the Constitution. It is not of immediate urgency, and cannot yet be said to be of extreme urgency, but a situation has now developed when a comprehensive code regulating the acquisition or loss of Irish nationality ought to be brought forward, and I hope to bring it forward next year.