asked the Minister for Finance whether he can give any information as to the probable date when the Irish Lights Service may be transferred from the control of the British to the Saorstát Government; whether the representations made by the Provisional Government against the dividing up of this service and its objection to handing over the administration of the lights on the North-East coast to any Northern authority is to be maintained; and if it is proposed that the lights, etc., in the area of the Northern Government are to be administered from the Saorstát as at present, and, if not, by whom is it proposed that they will be administered.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Lights Service.
Negotíations for the transfer of the Irish Lights Service are proceeding, but it is not yet possible to state the probable date of transfer. No conclusions have yet been reached as to the future administration of the lights on the North-East coast.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain why the flag of Saorstát Eireann is not flown from the flagmasts at lighthouses and ships in the Irish Lights Service, as was the British Ensign heretofore, and if he will take steps to have this matter rectified; and, further, if he will direct the Commissioners of Irish Lights to have their official correspondence printed as "Dun Laoghaire" instead of "Kingstown," as at present, and a more suitable badge than that surmounted by the Crown, now worn by employees, substituted forthwith.
Pending the conclusion of the negotiations contemplated in the annexe to the Treaty, I have no responsibility for, nor power to give directions to, the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
Arising out of the answer, may I ask the Minister whether there is any reason why the Crown of the King of Ireland should not appear on a badge worn by public servants in this ancient Kingdom of Ireland?
Is it not correct that the lighthouses controlled by the Irish Lights Commissioners are the property of the Free State Government?
I presume they are.
And if they are our property, are we not in a position to issue orders in connection with the use to be made of them?
I gather from the reply that pending the negotiations contemplated in the annexe to the Treaty nothing has so far been done about the matter.