asked the Minister for External Affairs whether he will request the United States Government to consent to the publication of the Notes which passed between the Irish Government and the United States Government relating to the coming into operation of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, referred to by him in reply to a question on the 30th January, 1951.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mutual Security Act.
Consideration is being given to the question of the publication of the Notes which passed between the Irish Government and the Government of the United States relating to the coming into operation of the Mutual Security Act, 1951.
Arising out of the reply, I wonder would the Minister be prepared to clear up one particular point with reference to the Notes. Did he or did he not formally ask or urge the United States Government, as he has told the Dáil, to sell us arms?
That is really a question of what the Deputy means by "formally". We did, in one of the Notes, say to the United States Government that the Irish Government was anxious about the situation——
May I respectfully submit that there is no precedent whatever, if a Note or a series of Notes are not to be presented to the House, for giving ex parte, imperfect and paraphrased extracts from some of the Notes?
I agree with the Deputy and I do not want to do it. The matter then can be raised only if and when the Notes are published.
This confirms the urgency of publishing the Notes, in view of the very reasonable anxiety of Deputies to get the details.
The only question to be considered on that aspect is that there are two Governments involved.
Quite.
And, as the Deputy is aware, in America there have been certain references to the Notes that were exchanged. I had to give here, in reply to a question, certain information about those Notes that had reference to what was published in Washington about those Notes and what had been published in many papers. I had to give that on the last day, but I think the better course, where Notes pass between two Governments concerning some matter, is that there should be no publication of them at all as a general rule. The question of the publication of these Notes will have to wait and in that case the reply to Deputy Briscoe's question will have to wait, too.
In raising the supplementary question I referred specifically to statements made in the Dáil by the Minister to the effect, whether it is in the Notes or not, that he did formally request the United States Government to sell us arms. It is on that point that I should be permitted to put a supplementary question and to get an answer.
The question is what the Deputy means by "formally request"—whether it means by bell, book and candle or by columns and totals. By one interpretation of the word "formally"—the ordinary one—we did do so.
In view of the great confusion that has arisen about the whole matter would the Minister press the United States Government to give its consent to the full publication of the exchanges that have taken place?
That matter is being considered.
More especially as the necessity arises from the publications in the American Press.
What is being considered—the publication of the Notes or the request to the Government?
The publication.
A request has been made?
I have told the Deputy the matter is being considered. That is as far as I can go in the matter.