asked the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures if he is aware that the "Earl Haig Fund" is used for the relief of necessitous ex-service men of the British Forces and that many times the amount raised in this country is distributed through this medium; if he is further aware that notices of church services with collection for "Earl Haig Fund" have been refused by the papers; and, if so, if he will state if this action was with the knowledge and approval of his Department.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - “Earl Haig Fund.”
No notice of a church service has ever been refused publication by the Censor. The announcement of collections for belligerent forces and youth organisations and for ex-members of these forces and organisations has been prohibited publication in our papers in order to prevent the growth and development of such competitive organisations and activities here, to the detriment of national unity and the national policy of neutrality. This prohibition, of course, does not extend to the activities of the Irish Red Cross Society which collects and distributes funds for the relief of distress here and abroad on humanitarian grounds.
Does the Minister not agree that the "Earl Haig Fund" distributes benefits to necessitous families in this country? Am I to take it that the Minister's idea is that it does not?