asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (1) the amount of the Sinn Féin funds which was available when proposals relative to its disposal were made in the Dáil; (2) what proportion of the original sum was expended on (a) plaintiffs', and (b) defendants' costs in the recent High Court action, and (3) what funds are now available, and if he will indicate to what purpose they will be devoted.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sinn Féin Funds.
Mr. Maguire
The Sinn Féin funds amounted to £21,917 15s. 4d. in March, 1947, when proposals for legislation in regard to them were introduced in the Dáil.
The costs paid to the plaintiffs in the High Court action amounted to £10,145 16s. 0d. and to the defendants £13,707 5s. 1d.
The funds in court at present amount to £1,704 8s. 1d. The Deputy will appreciate that consideration of the future disposal of these funds is attended with considerable difficulty.
Up the Republic!
Leave it there until it grows again.
It is a cheap price for liberty.
Does the Minister not consider that this sum which has been frittered away in legal expenses could have been more usefully devoted to some national purpose?
Undoubtedly, the Government made a shockingly bad constitutional mistake.
The lawyers could not get it that way.
Will the Minister agree that the general impression throughout the country is that the case would have lasted much longer if the funds available permitted?
That is a reflection on the courts which I hardly expected the Deputy to make.
That is the opinion held by the public in connection with that scandalous affair.