asked the Minister for External Affairs whether any restrictions now exist on the emigration of persons to Britain and whether it is still necessary to obtain travel permits or passports in order to emigrate to Britain from Ireland.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Emigration to Britain.
On the 7th April, 1952, the British Government abandoned the system instituted during the war whereby Irish citizens were required to have a passport or travel permit. No passport or travel permit is now required by an Irish citizen entering Great Britain.
May I take it from that that there is now no check on emigration from this country to Britain?
What does the Deputy mean by check?
I mean what I said——
Does the Deputy mean stop or count?
——that previously persons seeking employment abroad had to obtain a travel permit. I think the meaning is quite clear. Do I take it that there is now no such check?
There was a certain stop or restraint on people leaving this country for Britain or other countries during the war and up to 7th April, 1952, because they had, as the Deputy said, to seek a travel permit or a passport. The reason for compelling people to seek a travel permit or passport before they left for Britain was that they would not be admitted into Britain without it. Prior to the war and for the first year of the war, there was no such passport or travel permit system between the two countries. The British instituted it for their own reasons and on 7th April, for their own reasons again, they reverted to the system that obtained here prior to the war.
The Minister is surely aware that there were restrictions on the issue of travel permits here, imposed by our own authorities, in regard to persons seeking employment abroad, to ensure that in certain industries and other fields, provided employment was available here, they would not emigrate. The purpose of my question is to ascertain whether there is now any such check in operation.
There is no such check and the Deputy can see that it would be a very invidious step for this Government to take to insist on the British Government continuing their war-time controls. The check to emigration must, I think, in the long run come from the building up of agriculture and industry here and that is what the Government's whole endeavours are devoted to doing, to build up conditions in which people will not want to emigrate. It would be very hard for us to ask the British Government to keep going a system which they themselves only adopted as a wartime measure and to which a very large number of our people object. As the Deputy knows, it has caused a very great deal of inconvenience to the normal traveller going from here to Britain or coming from Britain to here, to have to carry a passport or travel permit.
As the Minister must be aware, I never suggested that there should be a reimposition of the travel permit system. I merely wanted to ascertain from the Minister whether there was any check now of any kind on emigration. Might I ask the Minister this further supplementary question: Was the Irish Government consulted before this step was taken?
That is a separate question.
There is another question on the Order Paper to that effect.
The Minister refers to "a long run". Could he indicate how long that run may possibly be?
For as long as the Blueshirts ran.