Various other craft — ferry boats, and some work for outside firms. We have an item, "Unnecessary ferries," which runs from £5,000 to £10,000. Every officer of the Yard or member of his family who wanted to get to the other side took out a boat and ran it across. "Wages charged to unnecessary services," another £5,000. We do not know what those details are. It might mean repairs to some of the officers' boats or some of their hockey sticks, or something of that sort. Surely it was not intended, when a member of the Provisional Government entered into agreement with the Government on the other side, that this extravagance would take place and should be continued at a time when this Government was engaged in protecting the State and the lives and property of the people. Then they present this huge Bill and say: "This is the net amount; we are giving you credit for all the work." We must see that credit. I think it is necessary that this Dáil should see every detail in connection with this account and be satisfied that we are getting credit. I believe that if we investigate the account, the position in regard to this claim will be reversed.
Passing from that point to the taking over of the Yard by our Government, I wish to join with the President in paying my small tribute to Mr. O'Neill and his colleagues in the work they did during that period of transference. The work they did in connection with stock-taking and other matters was very heavy indeed. They did it very successfully, but I think they made one mistake, which is not working out very well for the management of the Yard up to the present. Of course they went to that place not knowing who was who in the Yard. They did not know any of the people in the locality, and they entered into some sort of agreement I understand with the officers of the dockyard — those very people, you must remember, who were there at the time the guns left the yard to destroy the country, or help towards its destruction, and who were responsible for a good deal of the extravagance. I do not think that these were the class of people any of our representatives should have got into touch with for advice. I think they should have got into touch with people who were sympathetic with this Government and willing and anxious to help this Government on. So far as I can learn they did not get into touch with any such people. I have the honour to represent a portion of the constituency, and I was never consulted. As a matter of fact, I knew very little about those agreements until quite recently.
I was quite prepared, and so were a good many others, to risk everything in order to assist this Government in the administration of affairs in Haulbowline. Still I was not consulted, but I am not complaining about that. What I am complaining about is the fact that they entered into an agreement with the particular class of people I have made reference to. I got a copy of a Minute which reads:—"Free State representatives were not in a position to deal with the question of the personnel, and the yard officers agreed to furnish the Free State representatives, who will be in charge of the yard after the 1st April, with lists of suitable men.” It does not state what particular qualifications those men have. Are they men of long training or experience in this particular work? We do not know. Those men were taken on, at all events, when our representatives went there permanently. The place was handed over to the Board of Works, and they are the representatives mentioned in this particular paper. Haulbowline, as Deputy Figgis has stressed, is an important dockyard, and has always been so looked upon. It is one of the most important, at all events, in these waters.
I think a serious mistake is made by the Government in handing the management of such an important dockyard, where the livelihood of so many families is at stake, over to the Board of Works. What experience has the Board of Works or anybody there in the handling of dockyards? They may be able to handle the reconstruction of a police or military barracks, but of the handling of machinery and men in a big institution of this kind they know absolutely nothing. It was fatal to hand it over to them. I am saying this deliberately, because I believe our President and the Government, when they get reports in the near future about the management of that place since the Board of Works took it over, will be surprised.
When the President was in Cork recently he received a deputation from there which gave him some very useful points to go on. There is not a day on which I do not receive complaints from this place. I am fully aware that the President and the Government were from the very start extremely anxious to give Haulbowline an opportunity of proving its worth. Last April the President said to a deputation: "If we can work Haulbowline on economic lines, by all means we shall do so." That is the very thing we want. We want Haulbowline to be retained, if possible, by the present Government, and to be worked on economic lines. That is why I complain of the place being handed over to people who could not possibly work on economic lines. As far as I can learn, they are not in sympathy with the development of that institution, or perhaps many other institutions in the State. We want that place handed over to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, people whom we know are in sympathy with the development of our industries and our institutions, and people who will be able to give practical experience in such development. The sooner this place is taken away from the present management the better for all concerned, the better for the State and the people whose livelihood depends on it. At a recent meeting the President was heckled by some quasi-Irregular: "What did you do about Haulbowline?" The person who asked that had no sympathy with Haulbowline, but spoke for the mere sake of interruption. The President stated to myself and others that he is quite prepared to give Haulbowline a fair chance.