asked the Taoiseach whether the statement of the Minister for Transport and Power at the Annual Meeting in Athlone of the National Library Association of Ireland that emigration would be a permanent feature of Irish life, that there was an Irish empire abroad and that the free world was the boundary of Ireland represents Government policy.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Policy on Emigration.
5.
It is clear that in the speech to which the Deputy refers the Minister for Transport and Power did not purport to state policy on any subject.
The policy of the Government is to promote, along the lines of the Programme for Economic Expansion, the attainment of a level of activity which will remove all economic need for emigration.
I assume the Taoiseach has read the speech of this Minister. Is the Taoiseach aware that this is the third time within the last three years that the Minister for Transport and Power has indulged in this type of demoralising propaganda, that there is no hope, that emigration must always be a problem and that the Government have given up hope of solving it?
I am not aware the Minister for Transport and Power said that on a recent occasion or on any previous occasion.
If the Taoiseach wishes to consult the Westmeath Independent he will find that every Sunday morning this Minister is singing that doleful song at various chapel gates.
Is the Taoiseach aware that at the pre-1932 general election it was stated that this country could maintain 20,000,000 people? That claim was made by the former Taoiseach and reported in the Irish Press.
The Deputy should not raise unpleasant ghosts. They want to forget all the things that were said then.