I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £2,836,654 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1944, for the Army and the Army Reserve (including certain Grants-in-Aid) under the Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Acts; and for certain administrative expenses in connection therewith; for the expenses of the office of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures; for Expenses in connection with the trial and detention of certain persons (No. 28 of 1939, No. 1 of 1940 and No. 16 of 1940, etc.); for certain Expenses under the Offences Against the State Acts, 1939 and 1940 (No. 13 of 1939 and No. 2 of 1940) and the Air-Raid Precautions Act, 1939 (No. 21 of 1939); for Reserve Medical Supplies for Civilian Hospitals; for certain Expenses of the Local Defence Force (including Grants-in-Aid) (No. 28 of 1939); for certain Expenses in connection with the special Commemoration of the 1916 Rising; for certain Expenses in connection with the National Blood Transfusion Council; and for a grant to the Irish Red Cross Society.
The Estimate for the Army Vote for the financial year 1943-44 shows a reduction on the previous year's Estimate of £434,418, despite the fact that, owing to the leap year, the increase in the rate of pay for private soldiers, and to new services, there should have been an automatic increase over last year's figure. The reduction has been effected by a judicious pruning of every branch of Army expenditure, but it must be clearly understood that the present Estimate of £8,507,654 reflects not the Army's needs in men or its requirements in stores, but only the deliveries expected and the strength anticipated during the current year based on experience of the recent past.
The record of the Army's activities during the past financial year contains many credit items and also a few debit factors. On the credit side must be considered the progressive improvement in the conditions of service of soldiers during the year. Outstanding here is the increase in the rate of pay. From 29th September, 1942, the pay of every private soldier in the Army has been increased by sixpence a day and, in addition to this actual increase of sixpence a day, every non-commissioned officer and private soldier will be credited with another sixpence a day, called deferred pay, because its payment is deferred until after the end of the emergency.
Another improvement in the conditions of service is the extension of marriage allowance to all soldiers with two years' service. That extension has practically absorbed all personnel already married but not hitherto entitled to the allowance, and, according as men of 23 years of age complete their two years' service, they will become automatically entitled to the allowance, if they marry. During the previous financial year, the rates of marriage allowance were substantially increased and that increase coupled with the present extension has involved an increased cost of about £170,000 in the Estimate for 1943-44. Indeed, the total cost of the allowance for wives and children during the year is estimated at £618,418. Finally, quite recently, we have, at considerable administrative expense, made marriage allowance payable weekly instead of fortnightly, as heretofore.
The free annual leave voucher, previously introduced, continues to operate and involves an additional estimated expenditure of about £17,780. There has also been introduced a free issue of dentures and spectacles to those in need of them, and, although the financial effect of these issues is not yet certain, it is expected that the cost will be at least £4,500.
The improvements outlined deal with the material interests of the soldiers, but their spiritual needs have not been lost sight of. During the year, there have been appointed additional fulltime chaplains so that practically every large unit in the Army has now its own chaplain to look after the spiritual interests of the men. During last year's large-scale military exercises, the chaplains accompanied their units in the field and their example in the cheerful endurance of the stress, strain and fatigue of the exercises must have had no small effect on the morale of the units engaged.
The physical fitness of the Army has considerably improved due to the constant training in the field of the various units. The standard of health has remained at a high level and the Army has been free from any serious form of epidemic. Discipline, too, has been well maintained and, during the past year, there have been very few cases of serious crime.
By far the most important feature of the Army's activities during the year under review has been the large-scale exercises held during the autumn of 1942.
The object of these exercises was to provide an opportunity for higher commanders to command their troops in the field and to give them practice in co-ordinating the team work of the different components of their commands. They were also designed to be a practical test of the tactical and technical training carried out during the previous two years, of the physical fitness and morale of all troops engaged and of the administrative capabilities of all units under severe conditions.
They were the first exercises in which complete divisions have been exercised and maintained in the field. They were, moreover, the most prolonged exercises yet attempted, involving as they did long marches, continuous operations over a number of days and over varied terrain without regard to weather conditions. In this way, since they were held under conditions outside the control of the formations concerned, they provided a real test of organisation and of the ability of these formations to take the field, to operate and maintain themselves under conditions of uncertainty.
The result of the exercises from a military point of view is a matter for the General Staff of the Army, but, as far as the public is concerned, it may be said that the exercises showed clearly that the Army, in addition to its protective garrison and administrative duties, can now put into the field an effective striking force.
Throughout the exercises, all ranks displayed a high standard of stamina and physical fitness, together with a cheerful disregard of every form of discomfort.
Notwithstanding the much improved conditions of pay and allowances introduced at considerable cost during the year which has elapsed, we have failed to attract a satisfactory number of recruits. This failure seems to be mainly attributable to complacency on the part of the civil population generally, and, particularly, to a lack of responsibility and a false sense of security on the part of the youth of the country. There seems no doubt that if this country were faced with the dire threat of immediate war, its youth would respond, as always in the past, to the call to arms, and the failure of many to do so during the present emergency must, therefore, be attributed to their lack of appreciation of what is involved in the training of a modern army. They do not yet realise that one trained soldier is of more value than any number of untrained recruits, and that, therefore, if they put off their joining the Army until there is a threat of immediate war, they may be too late to render any effective service in the defence of their country. I, therefore, avail of this opportunity of once more impressing on the civil population generally and on the youth of the nation in particular, the urgent need of the Army for recruits and of their responsibility to see that the gaps in our ranks are filled without delay.
The other chief item on the debit side of the account is one over which the Department has little or no control, the non-delivery of stores against the orders placed, especially for equipment of a warlike nature. From this it must not be inferred that the delivery of such stores has ceased, but it does mean that we have not received all the stores which we have ordered. I am glad to say, however, that, over the period under review, we have received what may well be described as substantial deliveries of every form of military equipment.
So much for the Army itself. I will now deal with the L.D.F. Here, during the year, there has been a wastage, but that, I am glad to say, has been more than counter-balanced by a steady inflow of new recruits, so that now the strength of the force is not less than that of previous years. The wastage has been due to a variety of causes such as waning enthusiasm and economic factors, but no small part of it has been due to the elimination of what may be termed dead-weight material; that is, men nominally on the registers but making no real or apparent effort to attend parades and exercises. It is not suggested that all the dead-weight has been completely eliminated, but it can be said with some confidence that the great majority of the force is now fully effective.
During the past year, special attention has been devoted to the fighting and personal equipment of the force, and all of the effectives have now been provided with uniforms, greatcoats, leggings and boots. Its training, too, has been progressively maintained, and a modified form of battle drill with special attention to practical problems, mainly designed to train leaders in field duties, has been introduced. During the summer months special courses were held at the Curragh for district leaders and district training officers.
The record of the other voluntary service, the A.R.P. service, has been one of steady progress during the year. In the county boroughs and the scheduled urban areas there have been virtually completed the control and message centres, the air raid warning system, the wardens service, the rescue service, the casualty service, the distribution of respirators to the civilian population, and arrangements for the establishment of food and rest centres are well under way.
The provision of public shelters in case of air raids has been actively pushed forward and there has already been provided adequate accommodation for about 70,000 persons. In addition to the public shelters, 93 private firms have submitted plans for the construction of shelters for their employees and 33 firms have already completed shelters with capacity for about 10,170 persons.
Progress has also been made in developing the Auxiliary Fire Service, and, in addition to providing about 113 static water tanks remote from existing water static supplies such as canals, rivers and ponds, existing static water sources have been adapted so as to make them available for fire fighting.
In order to organise householders and business firms in elementary fire fighting arrangements and thus to locate and extinguish incendiary bombs as soon as they fall so as to prevent major conflagrations, an organiser for local fire prevention has been appointed in Dublin. He has been dividing the central city area into suitable blocks and has been assisting in organising those particular city blocks which have been devising schemes of their own in advance of legislation on the subject. In this connection I should mention that the Government have recently directed that an Order be made making it compulsory on occupiers of business premises to prepare schemes for the protection of their premises against fire, and in the case of local authorities to prepare fire-fighting schemes, not only for their own premises, but also for residential areas.
In order to provide food and hot drinks for personnel of the Air Raid Precautions Service when working for long periods, four mobile canteens have been provided by the Dublin Corporation, and the Irish Red Cross Society has agreed to provide the necessary staff.
Another subject which has been under active consideration is that of essential undertakings, i.e., undertakings whether public or private, such, as railways, the Electricity Supply Board, gas companies, waterworks and other concerns, the continuance of whose operations is deemed to be essential and who are required by the Act mainly to provide instruction in air raid precautions for their staffs, to supply shelter and equipment for them, to make arrangements for fire-fighting, to give special protection for key men and for vital points of their works, and to accumulate reserve stocks of spare parts and other essentials. Essential undertakings to the number of 149 have been requested to submit schemes in accordance with the Act. The schemes approved to date provide for shelter accommodation for about 3,000 employees, the training of 2,000 together with the supply of fire-fighting equipment and the provision of reserve stocks.
The remarks made concerning the delivery of stores for the Army apply equally to stores needed for Air Raid Precautions Service. Everything that could be done has been done to get all the stores and equipment necessary, but deliveries against orders have not been all that we desire. We have, nevertheless, during the year received field boilers, fire engines, trailer pumps, respirators and a large assortment of tools. During the year all stores delivered to local authorities have been inspected by the Department's officials and the results were on the whole satisfactory.
Finally there has been evolved a scheme to operate in case of urgent necessity for the evacuation of certain categories of the civilian population of Dublin and Dún Laoghaire, and arrangements are being made for their reception, lodging, boarding and general welfare in specially selected reception areas.
From this account of the progress of the Air Raid Precautions Service it must not be inferred that everything connected with the service is in a satisfactory condition or that the Government is viewing the present position with complacency. There are still many gaps to be filled up in all the services but, especially, in the rescue, decontamination, and fire fighting services. Some difficulties have occurred here and there throughout the year in connection with the serving personnel of the services. Many of these difficulties have already been ironed out, and it is to be hoped that the fine example shown by the serving members of the service in sacrificing their time and leisure in the interests of the civil population will have the effect of inducing others to fill up the gaps in their ranks and of making still further progress in developing the service during the period which lies ahead.
The Estimate includes provision for the Office of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures and the Censorship Staff, the cost of which has increased by about £700. This is accounted for in the main by normal incremental advances and the increase in the cost-of-living bonus under the Civil Service (Emergency Bonus) Regulations.
During the year, recruiting for the Construction Corps was continued and, notwithstanding discharges totalling nearly 800 due to termination of service and on medical and other grounds, there were approximately 200 more boys in the corps at the end of last year than there were 12 months previously. This is not an unsatisfactory position, but I am aware, of course, that there is a very large number of unemployed boys who are eligible to join the corps and who have not done so. By inculcation of discipline and a graduated introduction to manual work, good results are being obtained in improving physique and endurance and in fitting these boys of the corps for employment which would otherwise be beyond their physical capacity. The corps training also includes instruction in the elementary educational subjects for all members and, where the limited opportunities allow, training is given to selected personnel in such subjects as mechanics, victualling, cooking, shoemaking, hairdressing, and so on, for which outlets exist, in the routine of the corps.
During the past year, various types of work, such as road construction, fence construction, repairs to rifle ranges, drainage, trenching, and cable-laying, were undertaken by the corps for the Army. Furthermore, personnel of the corps cut considerable quantities of turf and timber for Airny use. Apart from these activities, the following civil work was in hands during the year:— (1) Road construction and quarrying at Glencree, County Wicklow, for the Special Employment Schemes Office; (2) timber felling at Glencree for the Department of Lands; (3) construction of a light railway at Clonsast for the Turf Development Board; (4) drainage and levelling work in connection with the development scheme at Tramore for the Irish Tourist Board.
The reclamation work in Cluais, County Galway, which was suspended during last year, was again put in hands during the current year.
In conclusion, in considering this Vote for £8,507,654, covering an establishment for all services of not more than 250,000 men, the Dáil may rest assured that the details of the Estimate making up that amount have been very carefully computed, that the most rigid control is being exercised over its expenditure, and that in due course all such expenditure will be duly accounted for, not only under the two legal heads of the published Estimate but also under the normal sub-heads of the Vote.