asked the Minister for Finance on what grounds he is satisfied that goods taken from Michael Barry, victualler, Kinsale, were not, in fact, taken without his consent; whether he instituted inquiries by the local Gárda; whether the Minister is aware that goods were taken, in circumstances precisely similar, from several other traders in Kinsale; that these traders have since been compensated; whether he caused inquiries, similar to those in the case of Michael Barry, to be made in these other cases; and what the essential differences in these cases were.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - GOODS TAKEN IN KINSALE.
Mr. BRISCOE (for Mr. T. Mullins)
Mr. BLYTHE
In this case the applicant had been paid regularly in cash for goods supplied prior to the period covered by his claim. The applicant was a sympathiser with the parties to whom the goods were supplied, and the goods in this case were for all practical purposes supplied as an ordinary trading transaction.
In regard to the second part of the question, I do not think it proper that I should disclose the sources of the information on which I rely in cases of this kind.
As regards the remaining parts, I am aware that applications have been received from a number of traders in Kinsale, but I am unable to say in what proportion of such cases compensation has been paid. Inquiries were made in all cases before the claim was heard, and further inquiries were made after the hearing if there was any reason to think that further inquiries were necessary. The difference between the case of Michael Barry and cases in which compensation was paid is that, as far as I am aware, the considerations on which the refusal was based in Mr. Barry's case did not arise in the others.