This is the usual annual Bill. A similar Bill was introduced last year. The present strength of the Army is 503 officers and 5,212 men, and in the Reserve A and B Classes there are 8,195 men, and in the Volunteer Class there are 1,116 men, making in all a total of a little more than 15,000, representing a strength of about 1,000 men more than when I introduced the Bill earlier in the year. There is nothing new in the Bill at all. It is merely continuing the Army for a further year, and it is merely a matter of changing the figure for the year.
Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) (No. 2) Bill, 1931—Second Stage.
The Minister has done nothing for the last few years to meet one very vital objection that we had to his control of the Army. The Army has no weapons and no arms and no ammunition except what it gets from the British Government. It is totally dependent upon the British for supplies; and I think it is an outrage that people who are supposed to defend this country should be dependent for its supplies upon the only enemy that this country ever had. I think it is a terrible thing too that the 15,000 young men who are either in the standing Army or the Reserve or the Volunteers should be in the position that they are being trained to fight and can only fight when England wants them to fight. I think every nationally-minded man in that Army must resent it. They are not old women and I expect they want to be in a position to defend their country against all enemies, while the position is that they cannot defend their country against the only enemy that the country ever had for generations. The Minister has given no satisfaction whatsoever about this matter of supplies in the past, and until he gives satisfaction we are going to object to the waste of public money on the Army.
Of course, when Deputy Aiken talks about an enemy I entirely disagree with him in that. This country has at the moment no enemy. With regard to munitions, as I explained before, unless some resources are found to exist in the country which we are not aware of at present, we shall never be self-supporting from the point of view of munitions. The question of making from imported raw material certain munitions, as I explained before, has been before us and it is purely a matter of economy. When the Reserve grows to a certain strength which it has not yet reached, it will be an economical consideration for us as to whether we shall make our own munitions. That point has not exactly been reached. I think we are within reasonable distance of the time when it will be reasonable to make our own munitions in view of our annual consumption of them. But we have not reached that point yet and until we do, it seems unjustifiable to embark upon a more expensive manner of obtaining those supplies than the manner we at present employ. The Deputy says that we are dependent upon England. We are dependent upon the best suppliers in the most economical way. If somebody puts up a case to me that we can get the same or better supplies at a cheaper price elsewhere, it will be a matter for me to consider. As soon as the Reserve has grown to such a strength that the annual consumption of munitions will be such as to justify from the point of view of value for money, and economy, the making of certain munitions here, that will be undertaken immediately. We have not exactly reached that point but I think we are within reasonable distance of it.
I think that is a damn poor excuse.
All facts are.
Question put.
The Dáil divided: Tá, 55; Níl, 54.
Tá
- Alton, Ernest Henry.
- Beckett, James Walter.
- Bennett, George Cecil.
- Blythe, Ernest.
- Brennan, Michael.
- Carey, Edmund.
- Coburn, James.
- Cole, John James.
- Collins-O'Driscoll, Mrs. Margt.
- Conlan, Martin.
- Connolly, Michael P.
- Cosgrave, William T.
- Dolan, James N.
- Doyle, Peadar Seán.
- Dwyer, James.
- Fitzgerald, Desmond.
- Fitzgerald-Kenney, James.
- Good, John.
- Gorey, Denis J.
- Hassett, John J.
- Heffernan, Michael R.
- Hennessy, Thomas.
- Hennigan, John.
- Henry, Mark.
- Hogan, Patrick (Galway).
- Leonard, Patrick.
- Lynch, Finian.
- McDonogh, Martin.
- MacEoin, Seán.
- McGilligan, Patrick.
- Mongan, Joseph W.
- Morrissey, Daniel.
- Mulcahy, Richard.
- Murphy, Joseph Xavier.
- Myles, James Sproule.
- Nally, Martin Michael.
- Nolan, John Thomas.
- O'Connell, Richard.
- O'Connor, Bartholomew.
- O'Donovan, Timothy Joseph.
- O'Hanlon, John F.
- O'Higgins, Thomas.
- O'Leary, Daniel.
- O'Mahony, The.
- O'Reilly, John J.
- O'Sullivan, Gearóid.
- O'Sullivan, John Marcus.
- Reynolds, Patrick.
- Rice, Vincent.
- Roddy, Martin.
- Sheehy, Timothy (West Cork).
- Thrift, William Edward.
- Tierney, Michael.
- Wolfe, George.
- Wolfe, Jasper Travers.
Níl
- Aiken, Frank.
- Allen, Denis.
- Blaney, Neal.
- Boland, Gerald.
- Bourke, Daniel.
- Brady, Seán.
- Briscoe, Robert.
- Broderick, Henry.
- Buckley, Daniel.
- Carty, Frank.
- Cassidy, Archie J.
- Clancy, Patrick.
- Clery, Michael.
- Colbert, James.
- Cooney, Eamon.
- Corkery, Dan.
- Corish, Richard.
- Crowley, Fred. Hugh.
- Crowley, Tadhg.
- Davin, William.
- Derrig, Thomas.
- De Valera, Eamon.
- Everett, James.
- Fahy, Frank.
- Flinn, Hugo.
- Fogarty, Andrew.
- Gorry, Patrick J.
- Goulding, John.
- Harris, Thomas.
- Hayes, Seán.
- Hogan, Patrick (Clare).
- Houlihan, Patrick.
- Jordan, Stephen.
- Kent, William R.
- Killilea, Mark.
- Kilroy, Michael.
- Lemass, Seán F.
- Little, Patrick John.
- Maguire, Ben.
- McEllistrim, Thomas.
- MacEntee, Seán.
- Moore, Séamus.
- O'Connell, Thomas J.
- O'Kelly, Seán T.
- O'Leary, William.
- O'Reilly, Matthew.
- Powell, Thomas P.
- Ruttledge, Patrick J.
- Ryan, James.
- Sexton, Martin.
- Sheehy, Timothy (Tipp.).
- Smith, Patrick.
- Walsh, Richard.
- Ward, Francis C.
Tellers:—Tá: Deputies P.S. Doyle and Dolan; Níl: Deputies G. Boland and Allen.
Question declared carried.
Committee Stage ordered to be taken to-morrow.