I beg to move:—
That it is expedient to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas of any expenses incurred under any Act of the present Session to amend and extend the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 and 1927.
In Committee on Finance. - Army Pensions Bill—Money Resolution.
I want to oppose this motion. At the end of the Second Stage of the Army Pensions Bill, 1932, Deputy MacDermot asked the following question:—
May I ask the Minister one question? I am exceedingly moved by the appeal for appeasement that he has made in order to justify this Bill. I should like to feel that it does not commit one to any shaking of the fundamental principles—in other words, that we can rely on the Fianna Fáil Party to accept it as their definite policy that they will always defend against armed interference the institutions accepted by the majority in this country.
The Minister replied:—
Deputy MacDermot can always rely on Fianna Fáil and the members of their Party doing what they think best for Ireland and the Irish people.
Arising out of that question and answer, Deputy Hayes said:—
The Minister appealed for a unanimous vote. I submit it is the practice, where a unanimous vote is asked for, that those asking the vote should, by question and answer, give an opportunity of seeing whether Deputies can accede to the Minister's request. For my part, the answer the Minister made to Deputy MacDermot convinces me that I cannot vote for this Bill.
That is taken from the Official Report of 20th October, cols. 254-5-6. Following the type of discussion that then took place that was an important question, and the answer is important. In so far as the President can control and censor public happenings in the "Irish Press," that question and that answer were completely censored. In these circumstances I oppose the Money Resolution.
On the last day Deputy Mulcahy started out deliberately to resuscitate old antagonisms and, in an effort to avoid creating bitterness, I refused to reply to a lot of the old lies which he brought up. He can, on the Committee Stage of the Army Pensions Bill, start a wrangle about what happened in 1922 or what did not happen. Thanks be to goodness, Deputy Mulcahy will not have the writing of the history of 1922.
God knows I do not want it.
I know you do not. I will appeal to the Deputy not to continue with the amendments that he has put down for the Committee Stage of the Army Pensions Bill. If he does it will only lead to a long wrangle, which I do not want and which the country does not want. The Deputy must realise that he, above all people, should be generous to some of the victims for whom we are providing under this Bill. I will appeal to him, if he has any sense of generosity left, to withdraw his amendments. If he does not, and if he wants a row about it, then he can have it. I think if we were to go into the matter fully he would not come very well out of it. However, if he wants it he will have to get it; I cannot help it. I did my best on the last occasion and I am appealing to him now not to continue with the amendments he has down, and I ask him to withdraw his opposition to this Financial Motion. I do not think he has any ground to stand on in his opposition to it. If he continues it, we will have to see what can be said.
Question put.
The Committee divided: Tá, 67; Níl, 46.
Tá
- Aiken, Frank.
- Allen, Denis.
- Bartley, Gerald.
- Beegan, Patrick.
- Blaney, Neal.
- Boland, Gerald.
- Boland, Patrick.
- Bourke, Daniel.
- Brady, Bryan.
- Brady, Seán.
- Breathnach, Cormac.
- Breen, Daniel.
- Briscoe, Robert.
- Browne, William Frazer.
- Carty, Frank.
- Cleary, Mícheál.
- Cooney, Eamonn.
- Corish, Richard.
- Crowley, Fred. Hugh.
- Crowley, Tadhg.
- Curran, Patrick Joseph.
- Derrig, Thomas.
- De Valera, Eamon.
- Everett, James.
- Flinn, Hugo V.
- Flynn, John.
- Flynn, Stephen.
- Fogarty, Andrew.
- Gibbons, Seán.
- Gormley, Francis.
- Gorry, Fatrick Joseph.
- Goulding, John.
- Hayes, Seán.
- Hogan, Patrick (Clare).
- Humphreys, Francis.
- Jordan, Stephen.
- Kelly, James Patrick.
- Kennedy, Michael Joseph.
- Keyes, Raphael Patrick.
- Kilroy, Michael.
- Kissane, Eamonn.
- Lemass, Seán F.
- Little, Patrick John.
- Lynch, James B.
- MacEntee, Seán.
- Maguire, Ben.
- Maguire, Conor Alexander.
- Moane, Edward.
- Moore, Séamus.
- Moylan, Seán.
- Murphy, Patrick Stephen.
- Murphy, Timothy Joseph.
- O'Grady, Seán.
- O'Kelly, Seán Thomas.
- O'Reilly, Matthew.
- O'Reilly, Thomas J.
- O'Rourke, Daniel.
- Rice, Edward.
- Ryan, James.
- Ryan, Robert.
- Sexton, Martin.
- Sheehy, Timothy.
- Sheridan, Michael.
- Smith, Patrick.
- Traynor, Oscar.
- Walsh, Richard.
- Ward, Francis C. (Dr.).
Níl
- Beckett, James Walter.
- Bennett, George Cecil.
- Blythe, Ernest.
- Bourke, Séamus A.
- Burke, Patrick.
- Coburn, James.
- Collins-O'Driscoll, Mrs. Margt.
- Conlon, Martin.
- Cosgrave, William T.
- Davis, Michael.
- Desmond, William.
- Dockrell, Henry Morgan.
- Doherty, Eugene.
- Doyle, Peadar Seán.
- Duggan, Edmund John.
- Esmonde, Osmond Grattan.
- Finlay, Thomas A.
- Fitzgerald, Desmond.
- Fitzgerald-Kenney, James.
- Gorey, Denis John.
- Hayes, Michael.
- Hennessy, Thomas.
- Hogan, Patrick (Galway).
- Keating, John.
- Keogh, Myles.
- Kiersey, John.
- Lynch, Finian.
- McDonogh, Fred.
- MacEoin, Seán.
- McGilligan, Patrick.
- McMenamin, Daniel.
- Minch, Sydney B.
- Mongan, Joseph W.
- Mulcahy, Richard.
- Nally, Martin.
- O'Connor, Batt.
- O'Donovan, Timothy Joseph.
- O'Hara, Patrick.
- O'Leary, Daniel.
- O'Mahony, The.
- O'Neill, Eamonn.
- O'Sullivan, Gearóid.
- O'Sullivan, John Marcus.
- Reidy, James.
- Reynolds, Mrs. Mary.
- Roddy, Martin.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Boland and Allen; Níl, Deputies Duggan and Doyle.
Question declared carried.
Resolution reported and agreed to.