I move:—
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná raghaidh thar £10 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1940, chun an Airm agus Cúltaca an Airm (maraon le Deontaisí áirithe i gCabhair) fé sna hAchtanna Fórsaí Cosanta (Forálacha Sealadacha), agus chun Costaisí áirithe riaracháin ina dtaobh san; chun costaisí Oifig an Aire Coimhriartha Cosantais; chun Costaisí áirithe fé sna hAchtanna um Chiontaí in aghaidh an Stáit, 1939 agus 1940, agus fén Acht um Réamhchúram in aghaidh AerRuathar, 1939; agus chun Deontas-igCabhair fén Acht Croise Deirge, 1938.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1940, for the Army and the Army Reserve (including certain Grants-in-aid) under the Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Acts, and for certain administrative Expenses in connection therewith; for the Expenses of the Office of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures; for certain Expenses under the Offences against the State Acts, 1939 and 1940, and the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939; and for a Grant-in-Aid under the Red Cross Act, 1938.
The Supplementary Estimate for the Army Vote, 1939-40, is necessitated by certain factors which have arisen since the presentation of the annual Estimate for 1939-40 to the Dáil. The first and principal factor is the mobilisation of the Reserve and Volunteer forces following on the proclamation of a state of emergency last September, and the retention of a considerable portion of those forces in permanent service. The additional cost of that mobilisation and retention in permanent service is distributed over some 23 sub-heads of the present Estimate, but the total cost is approximately £499,397, made up as follows:—
(1) Pay, allowances, maintenance and conveyance Army personnel |
£465,517 |
(2) Pay of civilians |
16,562 |
(3) Miscellaneous expenses |
17,318 |
Total: |
£499,397 |
The second factor causing this Estimate is the purchase of mechanical transport vehicles for the Army, and the necessity of laying in reserve stocks of certain commodities such as fuel, medicines, defence stores, etc., vital for the maintenance of the Army. The additional cost of the transport vehicles was £120,056. The cost of reserve stocks, such as defence stores, etc., was approximately £159,000.
The third factor is constituted by what for Estimate purposes are considered "new services", in that the services are either completely new, or revive old services which had lapsed, or expand services already existing. In that sense, no less than five new services are covered by the present Estimate.
The first and completely new service is a Grant-in-Aid of £1,000 to the Irish Red Cross Society. The Dáil will remember that under Section 2 of the Red Cross Act, 1938, the Minister for Finance may, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, afford assistance to the society by way of grant or loan on such terms and conditions as he shall think proper. Following on that enactment a Grant-in-Aid of £1,000 was made to the society to enable it to begin its activities, and the Dáil is now asked to give its covering authority for that grant.
The second and completely new service is the provision of grants to local authorities for works carried out in respect of air raid precautions. In a White Paper laid before the Dáil 12 months ago, it was stated that the Government would undertake responsibility for paying, at the cost of the Exchequer, grants to local authorities amounting to a certain percentage of their expenditure on approved schemes. That promise was implemented when the Oireachtas passed the Air Raid Precautions Act on the 26th July, 1939. Under that Act certain schemes throughout the country have either been approved or are under investigation, and it is estimated that the cost of such schemes to the Exchequer during the present financial year will amount to about £60,000 and that sum, accordingly, has been provided for in the present Estimate.
In the same White Paper was indicated the Government's intention to set up a coast watching service and a coast patrol service. The officers and men required for the coast watching service have been found from the personnel of the Army and the service has been functioning for some time past. The coast patrol service is now being organised and the Dáil in this Estimate is being asked to approve of that service under the title "marine coast watching service". The service, when established, will comprise four patrol vessels or trawlers and six torpedo boats, and in this Supplementary Estimate provision is being made for two of the four patrol vessels and three of the six torpedo boats. One of the patrol vessels has been transferred from another Department, a second has been purchased, and negotiations are in progress for the purchase of the remaining two. As regards the torpedo boats, orders have been placed for six, one of which has been delivered, and five of which are under construction.
The total cost of the four trawlers and the six torpedo boats will be approximately £269,822, and of that sum £110,000 is being borne on this Supplementary Estimate, leaving a balance of £159,822 to be borne on the annual Estimate for 1940. In addition, the maintenance of the boats and their stores will cost during this year £4,000.
Each patrol vessel will have a complement of about three officers and 20 men, and each torpedo boat, two officers and eight men. The present Estimate provides for crews for two patrol vessels and three torpedo boats, and their cost in pay and maintenance up to the end of March will be about £4,902.
The fourth new service covered by this Supplementary Estimate is made necessary by the passing of the Offences Against the State Acts, 1939 and 1940, and the sum of £5,000 will, it is estimated, cover expenses in connection therewith during the present financial year.
The final new service covered by this Estimate is the co-ordination of defensive measures, and the sum of £7,056 provided covers both the office of the Minister for Co-ordination and the censorship service controlled by the Minister.
The censorship was established at the beginning of September on the outbreak of the European War as one of the measures which, in the Government's view, it was necessary to take at once in the interests of national defence and public safety. The authority for the censorship is, of course, the Emergency Powers Act, 1939, and the Emergency Orders which have been brought into operation with the approval of the Dáil.
The censorship has been organised in three executive divisions to deal with postal, telegraph and press censorship respectively. The whole organisation is under the direction of a controller who is responsible to the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures in matters of policy.
In the case of the postal and Press censorship, it has been found possible to centralise the staffs in Dublin, but for telegraph censorship it has been necessary to instal small technical staffs at points where messages are received and dispatched. The bulk of the staff employed is engaged on postal censorship, where large numbers are required, and the staffs of the telegraph and Press censorships are relatively small and would be even smaller were it not for the fact that in these two branches relays of staffs have had to be provided to cover the longer hours of working.
The entire personnel for all branches of the censorship service has been recruited from the Civil Service. In the majority of cases officers have been loaned without replacement from other Departments whose normal activities have had to be curtailed in the present situation.
Summarising what has been said, it will be seen that the three factors which have emerged since the presentation to the Dáil of the annual estimate for 1939 will cost £970,411, made up as follows:—
£ |
|||
(1) Mobilisation and Retention of Reserve and Volunteer Forces |
499,397 |
||
(2) Special Capital Expenditure and Reserve Stocks |
279,056 |
||
(3) New Services— |
£ |
||
(a) Irish Red Cross Society |
1,000 |
||
(b) A.R.P Grants |
60,000 |
||
(c) Marine Coast Watching Service |
118,902 |
||
(d) Offences against the State Acts |
5,000 |
||
(e) Ministry of Coordination |
7056 |
191,958 |
|
Total |
£970,411 |
Against that gross sum of £970,411, there is a set-off by way of technical savings on the annual estimate of £970,401, leaving a net token sum to be voted of £10. These technical savings have accured, because certain items of special capital expenditure provided for in the annual estimate have not been delivered during the financial year. In the White Paper already referred to, it was stated that the sum of £1,368,685 was being borne on the annual estimate for 1939 in respect of capital stores, but the Dáil was warned that although no time had been lost in placing orders for the materials required, the delivery of such was a matter beyond our control. The possibility then visualised has unfortunately materialised, and we have not been able to get delivery of many of the stores ordered. That is the main reason why we are not asking for a gross vote of £970,411, but simply a token vote of £10.