By way of preface to the discussion which took place on this Estimate I should like to refer to the fact that when I resumed office 12 months ago one of my first acts was to consult the members of G.H.Q. with a view to finding out their most urgent requirements. In the case of each of the officers concerned, the reply was: "Men and munitions or warlike stores."
While I was in opposition I concerned myself with the ways and means by which the Army which, to a considerable extent, was being depleted, could be restored to its former strength and I conceived a scheme which I thought would provide that means.
I decided in that scheme to forgo what I might describe as the traditional method of seeking recruits which was, in the main, from among the unemployed. I decided to go to a new source. I felt that the new source most likely to provide the type of personnel we required would be among school-leaving young men.
Deputies of this House are as aware as I am that the most difficult period both for parents and for the young men concerned, their sons, is that period when they have left school and await the opportunity of securing their first employment. During that period they are subject to all sorts of hazards, temptations and so on. I felt that if I made an appeal, not alone to the young men but also to the parents, I might possibly secure some success. I pointed out to the parents what life in the Army would provide for their sons—that it would take them off the streets, that it would provide a means of training them into disciplined young men who, in due course, could become a credit to the nation as good citizens. At the same time, they would be built up both in body and mind, and I pointed out that, generally, as a result of the amenities which would be provided for them in the Army, their outlook would benefit. I do not mind saying that life in the Army such as I suggest for young men of the type to whom I was making the appeal, is almost the equivalent of life in a boarding-school. They are provided with all the amenities that a good boarding-school could provide— gymnasia, sports fields, games of every description, games which would go a long way towards building up the body as well as making the mind active.
I am glad to say that the appeal which I made in that regard was to a very great extent successful. We were looking for a figure of 4,500 men. I am glad to be able to say that we are almost within 1,000 of that particular mark, even though we have, for a very considerable time past, abandoned the advertising campaign.
The age which formerly prevailed was 18. I was faced with the difficulty of finding ways and means to have that age reduced. Formerly, the period of service was three years. I felt that if we abandoned that period and made it two years it would, perhaps, make it a more attractive proposition. The difficulty in regard to reducing the age to 17 years was overcome. We were able to settle that. The question of two years' service has also been settled. The Army authorities would still like to have the three-year period. They felt, naturally, that they could turn out a better soldier in three years than they could in two years. Personally, I am satisfied that, as most of these young recruits will be serving, in the main, in the infantry, two years is a satisfactory period for that type of service. It might perhaps not be absolutely sufficient for training for, say, the artillery, but even there I am satisfied that with a concentrated course we could turn out very effective soldiers in that particular arm of the service in that period of time. It does not mean that a young man is enlisted for two years. He can enlist for a period of service of two years and of six years in the Reserve. That was the scheme that I propounded and which I felt would be most attractive to the young men concerned. We still have the old period, that is, three years' service and nine years in the Reserve. Any young man who is anxious to join the Army can opt for either of these particular periods. I think it is a very fine state of affairs for the parents of a young man such as I have described that they can send their boy into the Army of the Irish nation and feel that morally, spiritually, physically and in every possible respect he will be well looked after. In addition to all the amenities which I have described as being available to him, he receives a sum of £1 18s. 6d. a week. Any young man who has any regard for his parents, who had the trouble and the expense of rearing him to the stage which he has reached, could let them have at least £1 out of that sum of £1 18s. 6d.
From that point of view, in addition to the fact that the welfare of their son is being looked after, it is a very attractive proposition. That young man is earning £1 18s. 6d., with all found—clothing, medical attention, hospitalisation and everything that it is possible to provide for him at his disposal. At the end of six months he can become what is known as a one-star private, that is, a well-trained and efficient soldier. When he has arrived at that stage he is then entitled to receive £2 5s. 6d. As a two-star private he receives £2 9s., and when he reaches the stage of three-star private, which he reaches by his own ability, intelligence and initiative, he receives £2 12s. 6d., and from that he can move into the non-commissioned rank where his wage becomes still higher.
I have mentioned that deliberately because the first and most urgent requirements mentioned by the members of the G.H.Q. Staff were the two items to which I have referred—men and munitions or warlike stores.
Deputy Colley referred to the fact that it was suggested, I think, by a district justice from the bench that it was possible for a young man convicted of a crime to avoid sentence for the crime committed by joining the Army. I want to say in the most emphatic terms in which I can say it that that is not so. No person who is convicted of a criminal offence is accepted into the Army. Whether that is good or not, is a matter of opinion. I am satisfied that if a young man has a tendency towards criminal acts it is desirable that he should not be admitted into the Army. On the other hand, people argue that a young man who is convicted for the first time of a criminal offence ought to be given a chance and that the State ought to give an example in showing forgiveness and helping him to build anew. However that may be, I am only stating what are the facts and the facts are that no person convicted of a criminal offence is admitted to the ranks of the Army.
The second point I want to make is that the case has been made in the House that we are withdrawing labour from industries and agriculture. In reply to that I want to say that, in the main, the recruits whom we have secured for the Army have come from the cities and the towns and a very, very small minority have come from rural Ireland. There is a fallacy in that argument that we are going into competition with agriculture and industry. How can we be in competition with agriculture and industry if, on the other hand, Deputies stand up in the House and twit us with the fact that we have a list of something like 60,000 or 70,000 unemployed? One or other of these statements is wrong. We have not gone into competition with agriculture or industry for, in the first place, the appeal which I initiated was directed in the main, but not altogether, to boys of school-leaving age who would not in any case have been engaged in any industry, either agriculture or commercial industry. From that point of view, I want to emphasise the fact that that statement is a fallacy, without any foundation.
The other point which was made by the officers of G.H.Q. Staff when I interviewed them on the occasion that I have mentioned was, as I have said, munitions. Having dealt with the question of men, I then applied myself to the question of where, how and when I could do anything to secure warlike stores. Naturally, the first thing I had to inquire into was what efforts had been made up to date to secure these warlike stores. Statements have been made in this House, both by Deputy Dr. O'Higgins and Deputy MacEoin, that they had, to all intents and purposes, practically secured these supplies. Deputy Dr. O'Higgins, in referring to it, admitted that "the contract was entered definitely in the Minister's time for the Swedish supply". I said:—
"The efforts to secure supplies were made before my time."
I was giving him that credit. Deputy Dr. O'Higgins then went further and said:—
"And the agreement to supply—"
to which I said:—
"I am not so sure of that."
Deputy Dr. O'Higgins said:—
"I am perfectly certain."
I am not terribly concerned about who got the supplies as long as we got them. If we got them, that is the main thing. But, Deputy Dr. O'Higgins went on to say:—
"One of my last acts in the Minister's office was to give sanction for a mission to go to see if the type was suitable, whenever they were ready to go."
