I propose to be very brief this morning because I know that every reasonable Deputy is anxious to discharge the work before the House as expeditiously as possible. In my opening remarks, I contended that all the speeches from the Opposition Benches were based on a false assumption—the assumption that the Government were seeking powers which they would use in a tyrannical and undiscriminating manner, which would be brought to bear on everyone in the country and those who wish to leave this country to seek work abroad. I pointed out that farmers, those who are afraid of the danger of fuel shortage, those who are anxiously awaiting the erection of houses and flats, especially in the City of Dublin, those who are concerned with the manning of our fields and factories, in fact, everyone concerned for the future of this country, would give very little thanks to the members of the Opposition Parties who are, apparently, trying to encourage, or at least to facilitate, young people in leaving this country. All the speeches were full of sweeping statements and untrue statements. For instance, it is quite untrue to say that no one leaves this country to seek work abroad except those who cannot obtain employment in this country. There is no need, for instance, for any domestic servant to leave this country. There is a shortage of domestic servants in the City of Dublin, and any good domestic servant can get good wages, very good food and very much better homes, social and moral surroundings in Dublin than probably she will get in Britain or possibly any other country.
I know that many fathers and mothers are very concerned because their sons and daughters are anxious to get away, very often for the mere sake of change. I have known farmers' sons whose labour was badly needed on the home farm to come to Dublin on the off chance of picking up a job. Hundreds, possibly thousands of them go to Britain and work there for less than what their labour on their own farms at the present time would bring them. Young people will go out of a spirit of adventure or a desire for change or, possibly, on account of a family quarrel or a false sense of values. A contributory cause may well be the sort of propaganda that is being used by the chief Opposition Party and by the Opposition Press to the effect that this country is in a state of wretchedness and misery and which paints our neighbouring country as a sort of El Dorado. Whatever the cause is it is true that quite a number go abroad who could get good remunerative work at home. Frequently people who have been working in England come to me to ask me to help them to get a job here. They have come back voluntarily, and they have confessed to me that they left jobs here to go to England only to find that, with the high cost of lodgings, the very much higher cost of cigarettes and luxuries outside the rationed commodities, and deductions for income-tax, they were in a much worse position there than they had been in Dublin. Last week a fine young fellow came to me and told me he came from a medium-sized farm in Longford. I pointed out to him that his labour was badly needed on that farm at the present time. He told me he wanted a change and came to the city to seek work. This week another young man came to me to help him to get something to do. He told me he had been working in England, had married there and had to pay 50/- a week in Oxford for one room for himself and his wife.
It is true that many people leave this country lightly to go abroad. I do not for one moment mean to contend that there is no unemployment here. There is, unfortunately. I do not mean to contend that there is no poverty here. There is, unfortunately. But a Higher Authority than any in this House has said: "The poor you have always with you". As long as human nature is what it is and as long as human frailties are what they are, there will be poverty in every country in the world, no matter what the general conditions may be. Some of the poorest families that I know are families into which quite good money is going, but in which there is, possibly, a drunken or gambling father or an improvident, incompetent mother. There will be the greatest poverty in homes of that sort. I do not say that in any callous or fatalistic way. It is our duty to alleviate human suffering and to work towards the elimination of poverty to the utmost of our power, but it is wrong to say that this country is in the plight that was indicated by Deputy Dillon and other Deputies.
Deputy McGilligan treated this question in a light and facetious way, as, indeed, he seems to treat most important questions. He made great play on the words "control" and "prohibit". I suppose the Government Department concerned, when people apply to leave this country, will make inquiries, and if they find it unnecessary for these people to leave and that it is necessary for them to remain in the country, they will prohibit them from leaving the country. "Prohibit." is the right word and the right thing.
When Deputy McGilligan spoke of control, I wonder if he meant that the Government should determine whether these people crossing over to England should swim or go by air, by steam packet, yacht or sailing boat. There must be some sort of control over them. Deputy Dillon has very fantastic ideas about Fianna Fáil. His talk about coercion and free men is all humbug. I think Deputy Cosgrave, on reflection, will admit that the control in this measure is much different from that in the unhappy days of long ago when the conditions were purposely designed to make the people flee from this country. Deputy Dillon and others might as well say that a man cannot call himself a free man when he cannot stop in a public house after 10.30, or because he must obey the traffic rules. It is rubbish to talk of coercion, as was done last night.
Deputy Dillon appears to look upon Ireland with a very jaundiced eye, seeing nothing good in the country at present. It is very disedifying to hear and see Deputy Dillon sealing the heights of mock indignation and plumbing the depths of theatrical pathos, in order to make people believe that this country is in a state of wretchedness, misery and misfortune, when he knows in his heart that he should be thanking God, since we are probably the happiest country in the world to-day and the envy of other nations. It is unworthy of Fine Gael, Labour and Clann na Talmhan to try to sow the seeds of discontent among our workers, to belittle the efforts of the native Government, to create an inferiority complex among Irishmen, to point Ireland out as a sort of purgatory from which to seek relief, and to picture every other country as an El Dorado to which Irishmen should flee.
