I beg to move: "That, in the opinion of the Dáil, prisoners who decide after the passing of this Resolution to go on hunger-strike to secure release should be allowed to take the full consequence of their act."
It is not necessary to go into much detail on this motion. The danger to the prisoners and to the Government is the danger that brought the war upon us, and that is that one side does not believe that the other will go too far. I believe each prisoner that goes on hunger-strike thinks that the Government dare not go the whole length and let them die. I think they dare let them die, and that it would not be a matter of twenty-four hours' talk and I fear also that there is great danger of the Government letting them die and consequently I think that hunger-striking is a very serious step to take on the part of any individual prisoner, and that they should not take it without serious consideration Some of these recently upon hunger-strike never went to the trouble of asking any members of the Dáil to ask a question as to why they were arrested or as to when they would be released. Only after they went on hunger-strike did we hear about them, and then their friends came round us asking us to intercede for them. I think they might have asked us to find out why they were arrested and detained; I do not think that many of them would be detained so long had it not been for the hunger-strike.
The hunger-strike is a danger, and consequently I think the prisoners should realise this danger and be prepared for the consequences. Evidently if they hunger-strike they think Deputy Johnson or some crank like myself will fight their case, and it gives them some hope, and I think the sooner they realise there is no hope the less hunger-striking, we will have and the greater chance of averting death from hunger-striking, which is a hideous thing. In the interests of the prisoners I make this appeal to them, though, of course, very few of them will believe it is in their interest I make it, but that does not matter very much. There are people in prison who should not be there. I believe that is inevitable, and I think the Government will admit that. The conditions in any prison are not all that could be desired. Perhaps they have to put up with these conditions which are unpleasant, but that is no reason for resorting to such a drastic means as the hunger-strike. If there are people in prison who should not be there, and do not deserve to be there, the conditions under which the Government would release them are not very stringent and not so great that they cannot sign the conditions that the Government wish them to sign. If it is a breach of their principles, I would suggest to any one opposed to my motion, and I believe there are some, that we should set up a Commission to investigate the grievances of those who have grievances, and to see if they have been arrested without just cause. The Commission could also investigate the cases of those who go on hunger-strike. Conditions in the prison may not be all that is desirable. Under the old conditions in peace times, there were such things as Visiting Justices, and I think the Visiting Justices could give orders, or make suggestions, to the Governor—I do not know whether they were superior to the Governor or not. I think the Government might institute something that would take the place of the Visiting Justices, so that grievances if they exist should be investigated and reported upon, if necessary to the Dáil. It is reported that some of the prisons are overcrowded, and that there are vermin in some of them, but I do not think that that is confined to prisons in Ireland. I remember seeing Mr. De Valera when he came to Dublin after being released from Pentonville, and he was covered with a rash which was due to bed bugs. Still, it is a serious thing if there are vermin in a prison, because you might have an outbreak of typhus, or something else, that would not confine itself to the prisons, and it is the duty of the Government to investigate any conditions that exist, and it is the duty of the medical officers in the prisons to make sure that no such thing as dirt or filth is allowed to be present there. I understand the prisoners are responsible in some cases, and that sometimes they destroy the water closets. If they do that they cannot complain of the conditions, and that certainly is no reason for hunger-striking. I make two suggestions now—one for a Commission to investigate the case of those who claim that they were arrested illegally, and another to set up again some body corresponding to the Visiting Justices, and I think if these two provisions were made the Dáil could unanimously agree to this resolution.