Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Friday, 2 Jul 1926

Vol. 16 No. 19

IN COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. - VOTE 63—ARMY.

Mr. BLYTHE

I move:—

Go ndeontar suim breise, na raghaidh thar £8,305, chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1927, chun Costas an Airm, maraon le Cúl-tace an Airm.

That a supplementary sum, not exceeding £8,305, be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1927, for the cost of the Army, including Army Reserve.

This deals with certain transactions which were the subject of discussion in the Dáil about a year ago, and following the disallowance of the sum which has been paid out of the Army Vote it is necessary that if the Accounting Officer is relieved of responsibility the sum should be made good. I really have nothing that I would wish to add to what I said when this subject was previously under discussion in the Dáil.

Mr. JOHNSON

I do not want to enter into any long discussion on this matter or to raise questions that need not be raised, but I feel it is not quite satisfactory to allow a matter of this importance to pass without some comment. The question has been discussed, of course, as the Minister has pointed out, by the Committee of Public Accounts. I happen to have been chairman of that Committee, and that in a way relieves me of any liability for raising the matter as a member of the Dáil. That is to say, pretty well all that I have to say on the matter has been stated in the Report of the Committee of Public Accounts. I think, therefore, that I cannot be charged with any failure to act up to my responsibilities, if I do not enter into any long examination of the question. But it is necessary, I think, to say that this Vote should be agreed to because of the fact that if it were not so agreed to liability would fall upon the Accounting Officer for the Department, while as a matter of equity such officer would not and should not be deemed to be responsible for this payment. Technically he is responsible. The circumstances were such that he should be rightly relieved of liability by the Dáil, and it is on that account that I support the proposition, but I think it would be wrong for me not to say that the payments were wrongly made and that they were made by the Accounting Officer by direction. The Committee was of opinion that there was not a real liability for the payment, and the payments were not justifiable. The Committee invited the Minister to come to the Dáil for this Vote and to justify it to the Dáil. He has not done that except by referring to a speech he made a year ago. That speech was not very satisfying, and therefore the speech here is even less satisfying. If I had been asked to put forward a case in favour of this Vote I would have said that it was probably as a matter of public policy that these payments were made, and in the circumstances as a matter of public policy we might accept that view of the matter. That case has not been made and I regret it. But it is because of my feeling that the liability for this payment would otherwise fall on the Accounting Officer that I am prepared to state that the Vote should be passed. It is because I have said all that needs to be said from my point of view on the matter in the Report to the Dáil that I feel myself relieved of responsibility for pursuing the matter further.

Mr. BLYTHE

I certainly thought that I made the case last year that the payments were made on account of public policy. That was my recollection. If I did not make that case, I certainly do make it now. I do not want to go further into the details.

Vote put and agreed to.

Resolutions ordered to be reported.

The Dáil went out of Committee.

Resolutions reported.

Question—"That the Dáil agree with the Committee in the Resolutions"—put and agreed to.

The Dáil went into Committee.