Is é céadghnó na Dála ná Taoiseach d'ainmniú.
The first business of the Dáil is the nomination of Taoiseach.
Nomination of Taoiseach.
Tairgim:—
Go nglacfar leis an Teachta Eamon de Valera mar Thaoiseach.
Cuidím leis an rún sin.
On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I have to oppose this nomination. In formally opposing the election as Taoiseach of Deputy de Valera, the Fine Gael Party does so in no spirit of animosity towards him but in the firm conviction that in present circumstances the Party to which he belongs is not equipped to provide the kind of Government which the county needs to help it over its difficulties. That Party has so far shown no policy which would justify a Government being selected from it. For those reasons and also for the reason that in opposing the motion we are discharging our duty towards the people who elected us, I formally oppose the motion and record our objection to the nomination.
The nomination of Deputy de Valera for the position of Taoiseach indicates that the Party opposite are anxious to take office, and, while I do not quarrel with their ambitions, I should like to say that a Party taking office ought to have a policy. I am going to give the Fianna Fáil Party the credit of saying that they think they have a policy. If they have, I do not want them to recite the whole story here to-day. I want to put one question to the potential Taoiseach: to ask him to tell the House and the country, before we vote on this motion, what is the Fianna Fáil policy in respect of the food subsidies?
During the election, the Fianna Fáil Party maintained a majestic silence as to their attitude towards the food subsidies. I said during the election, and I repeat it now because I believe it to be true, that Fianna Fáil intends to abolish the food subsidies. If anybody is in doubt about that, he should go back to Deputy MacEntee's speech in 1952. If anybody, after reading that speech, should still have any doubts about the Fianna Fáil policy in respect of the food subsidies, he can have his doubts removed by a moment's reflection on the vicious Budget of 1952.
(Interruptions).
You can laugh at the people now.
The people are laughing at you.
They will know the dummy they have been sold in a few weeks' time. Potential Ministers like Deputy Corry ought to conduct themselves.
(Interruptions).
I was referring to the 1952 Budget under which the food subsidies were viciously slashed, but there is still in existence subsidisation of essential foodstuffs to the extent of £8,500,000. If these are abolished, the price of butter will go up; the price of flour will go up; the price of bread will go up; you will have more demands for wage increases; you will have a price-wages spiral which must not be allowed to arise if we are to promote peace and harmony and tranquillity so that the nation may set about tackling in a vigorous way the problems which have so far defied a solution.
(Interruptions).
You were 19 years in office and a half million people emigrated in that time.
Almost as many as in the last two years.
I want, therefore, to put one simple question to Deputy de Valera: does his potential Government stand for the maintenance of the food subsidies so as to prevent the prices of essential commodities rising, or are we to have a repetition of the disastrous Budget of 1952? We ought to have an answer to that simple question before the House is asked to vote on this motion.
I hold that, on an occasion like this, when a new Dáil reassembles, we should get some indication of policy from the person proposed as Taoiseach. During the two periods of their office, the inter-Party Government promoted many useful works and brought them to a very high degree of success. I could mention a few of those dearest to me which were connected with rural Ireland. The first is afforestation. Secondly, there is arterial drainage and the land reclamation scheme under which work of a useful nature was done on the land with resultant employment. I do not think it is good enough that the House should be asked to vote before the person nominated as Taoiseach gives an indication of what the policy is towards these matters. For that reason, I oppose the motion nominating Deputy de Valera as Taoiseach. We have no indication that the useful works which have been commenced and which have met with universal approval will not be curtailed or abolished.
Mr. de Valera
Deputy Norton made a lot of promises on a previous occasion about the pulling down of prices. He was proved wrong. He is now making prophecies about rising prices. I hope we will be able to prove him wrong. I do not know and I cannot know what we can do until we have seen what is the position of the Exchequer. We have got to see how the financial position of the country stands before we make promises. When we came into office before, it was not our intention to interfere with the food subsidies, but when we found that £15,000,000 had to be made up in the deficit of the first Budget we had to face——
Rubbish—£15,000,000 my foot.
Mr. de Valera
——we had to see where the money was to be got. I would like to see how the position now stands, to see whether the cupboard is bare or not.
I seem to have heard all this before. Meanwhile, there are 94,000 unemployed people in the country. I, as an Independent Deputy, would like to say a few words on the motion. It is clear now that the Fianna Fáil Party has been given a clear mandate by the people to rule. I am afraid it is also clear that their election programme consisted almost exclusively of a plea to trust that their leadership would deal effectively with the grave economic situation in the country as it is at the moment, as well as to deal with the two great evils of unemployment and emigration.
The electorate, in their wisdom, have decided to place their trust in that leadership. In consequence of that, it is clear that a very heavy responsibility now rests on that leadership. I would like to suggest that the old methods of dealing with unemployment and emigration have failed miserably. It should be clear that the restrictive policy on finance carried out over the last five or six years has not only not helped the problem of unemployment but has made it very much worse. It is about time that both sides of the House should realise this and accept it.
Sometimes it is said that one of the causes of our failure has been that younger men have not been given posts in the Cabinet. I do not share that view. The outgoing Coalition Government did this to a very considerable extent, with what results you can see. Those results are largely due to the fact that the young men came in and took over all their older colleagues' thinking and theories and gave us the old clichés and the old excuses for the failure of these policies to solve our problems. The outcome has been higher unemployment, static production and the younger generation having to flee the country in their thousands because our country refused to give them, the poorer of them anyhow, a reasonable standard of comfort and a reasonable level of social security in their own country.
It is very important that the replacement of the older, conservative politicians by younger, equally if not more conservative politicians in Ministerial posts, should not be used as a device to delude the people into believing that the very badly needed changes could be then or must be then brought about. I have good reason to know that in the ranks of the Fianna Fáil Party there are many people who have courage and ability and who have the intelligence and the integrity to do some fresh, original thinking on the social and economic problems which face us. It is my hope that these men, young or old, or young and old, insist on their right to express their own views both inside and outside this House and in that way try to influence the character and the destiny of the Party which in the natural train of events must ultimately devolve on them.
It is probably true also that there is in the other Parties forward thinking by an intelligent, progressive element. I cannot say that from experience as I can in respect of Fianna Fáil, but I hope it is true and that they will try to influence the Parties in an endeavour to bring about the obviously clearly-demanded, radical and fundamental changes of thinking and policy in the public life of our country in the next few years. It seems to me that if the old thinking continues to prevail there is no hope for Ireland. In a short time almost every person, outside the privileged classes, who can earn a living abroad will have fled from our shores.
There is one other point to which I should like to refer. I am sure that the serious significance of one very important and very illuminating factor in the results of the election is not lost on the shrewd politicians of the older generation in this House, that is the very sizable vote which was cast for candidates in the recent election who had, as the most important plank in their platform, a pledge that they would not take their seats in this House if they were elected. That is a trend which should be very carefully considered. I think it would be quite wrong to regard it as a transient whim of the people who returned these candidates in the election. It is indeed a factor which should cause each one of us carefully to examine our consciences.
Some people say that if the election had been fought on the new register the number of people who would have cast their votes for abstentionist candidates would probably have been very much higher. The Government to be has now an unrivalled opportunity. It has the largest majority that any Government has had since the establishment of the State. There are no external forces operating against its putting its economic policies into operation. There is no war. There is no economic war. There is no shooting war. Intentions must now be translated into practical policy and an account must be rendered to the people who have placed their trust in those intentions. We all know that Ireland cannot afford even one more mistake. I believe from the trends of the election that it is not just the Fianna Fáil Party alone which is on trial for the next five years; it is democracy itself. Away back in the 1930's, an Irish politician——
I have given the Deputy a good deal of latitude.
I am just concluding now because this is relevant to the issue. That politician said that if he could not solve unemployment within the existing system, he would go outside that system in order to solve it. There was no ambiguity in that statement. It connoted a readiness to apply courageous, even daring, policies to rid our people of the despair which had gripped them and which sent so many of them abroad to seek a fuller and more abundant life. It was a statement which gave great heart to the generation which heard it. Now that man, that politician, Eamon de Valera, has at his disposal all the power which he needs to carry out his policy without any interference or any hindrance. The results will be eagerly awaited particularly in the very many houses in which unemployment and poverty have cast their shadows. I was elected as an Independent Deputy and I intend to vote independently, to support legislation when I believe it to be progressive and to oppose it when I believe to the contrary. I do not intend to vote on this motion because I feel that my vote could be misunderstood.
As a new Deputy, I would like to say a few words. First of all, I do not propose to vote in this division. I feel the electorate have given the Fianna Fáil Party an adequate majority to carry out the changes which this country must have if it is to overcome its present economic and social difficulties. I would like to say that if the Fianna Fáil Party, under the leadership of Deputy de Valera, can provide the dynamic leadership and a clear-cut policy, the courage and foresight to solve our problems, I will certainly support them. If I am satisfied they are not providing the necessary progressive policy, I will oppose them. I feel that any other policy on my part would be wrong.
I hope that when Deputy de Valera forms his Cabinet, he will put into the different Ministries young men with courageous, progressive ideas. Whether the Fianna Fáil Party blames the Fine Gael Party or vice versa, we cannot escape the fact that the two Parties between them had the handling of affairs for the greater part of 35 years. I feel the time has come for a change and any change that will promote the necessary improvement in our social and economic life will have my support. Four Deputies are not taking their places in the House and I feel that one of the reasons for that is that this country is passing through a period of frustration and apathy. Anything the new Government can do to clear that away will have my support.
I propose to be very brief. I have no intention of opposing the election of Deputy de Valera to the office of Taoiseach. I really cannot understand the attitude of the Fine Gael Party to-day. For the last month, they have preached the policy of a national Government and of co-operation. They had a glorious opportunity to-day, when they had no candidate themselves to put forward, of having the decency to keep quiet. So far as Fianna Fáil are concerned, I contested the General Election against them. I felt it would be a retrograde step if a group of men who have reached, or are over, the 70 mark, with all respect to them, were elected and that it would be putting the clock back if they were saddled with the task of Government for the next five years. I feel that in that age group we will not get that dynamic drive so essential to tackling the major difficulties which must be solved.
I am looking forward to hearing the Cabinet which Mr. de Valera proposes to nominate. Like the other Independent Deputies who have spoken, I hope the material he chooses will be intelligent, with initiative and vigour to pursue ruthlessly the policy which is so essential if we are to survive and preserve our independence as a nation. Any progressive legislation introduced will have my full support. I cannot agree at all with the statement made by the Leader of Fine Gael that they will formally oppose the nomination of Deputy de Valera. I see no sense or reason to that.
I do not propose to support the nomination of Deputy de Valera as Taoiseach, despite the fact that Deputy de Valera has publicly stated that his first task will be to solve unemployment. I have heard these promises before and my presence here is a symbol of broken promises and should be taken as a warning that emigration and unemployment will no longer be suffered in silence. This election proves that the people have given Fianna Fáil the task of solving unemployment. I realise that that problem will not be solved in a few weeks and that any Government should be given an opportunity of putting its programme into effect. I will support fully any scheme which will reduce unemployment and emigration. I hope my simple statement will be met with understanding, both inside and outside the House.
Question put: "That Deputy Eamon de Valera be nominated as Taoiseach."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 78; Níl, 53.
Tá.
- Aiken, Frank.
- Allen, Denis.
- Bartley, Gerald.
- Beegan, Patrick.
- Blaney, Neal T.
- Boland, Gerald.
- Boland, Kevin.
- Booth, Lionel.
- Brady, Philip A.
- Brady, Seán.
- Breen, Dan.
- Brennan, Joseph.
- Brennan, Paudge.
- Breslin, Cormac.
- Browne, Seán.
- Burke, Patrick.
- Calleary, Phelim A.
- Carroll, James.
- Carty, Michael.
- Childers, Erskine.
- Clohessy, Patrick.
- Collins, James J.
- Corry, Martin J.
- Cotter, Edward.
- Crowley, Honor M.
- Cunningham, Liam.
- Davern, Mick.
- de Valera, Eamon.
- de Valera, Vivion.
- Doherty, Seán.
- Donegan, Batt.
- Dooley, Patrick.
- Egan, Kieran P.
- Egan, Nicholas.
- Fanning, John.
- Faulkner, Padraig.
- Flanagan, Seán.
- Flynn, Stephen.
- Gallagher, Colm.
- Galvin, John.
- Geoghegan, John.
- Gibbons, James.
- Gilbride, Eugene.
- Gogan, Richard P.
- Griffin, James.
- Haughey, Charles.
- Healy, Augustine A.
- Hillery, Patrick J.
- Hilliard, Michael.
- Humphreys, Francis.
- Kenneally, William.
- Kennedy, Michael J.
- Killilea, Mark.
- Kitt, Michael F.
- Lemass, Noel T.
- Lemass, Seán.
- Loughman, Frank.
- Lynch, Celia.
- Lynch, Jack.
- MacCarthy, Seán.
- McEllistrim, Thomas.
- MacEntee, Seán.
- Maher, Peadar.
- Medlar, Martin.
- Moher, John W.
- Moloney, Daniel J.
- Mooney, Patrick.
- Moran, Michael.
- Ó Briain, Donnchadh.
- O'Malley, Donogh.
- Ormonde, John.
- O'Toole, James.
- Ryan, James.
- Ryan, Mary B.
- Sheldon, William A.W.
- Sheridan, Michael.
- Smith, Patrick.
- Traynor, Oscar.
Níl.
- Barrett, Stephen D.
- Barry, Richard.
- Beirne, John.
- Belton, Jack.
- Blowick, Joseph.
- Burke, James.
- Byrne, Patrick.
- Byrne, Tom.
- Carew, John.
- Casey, Seán.
- Coburn, George.
- Coogan, Fintan.
- Flanagan, Oliver J.
- Giles, Patrick.
- Hogan, Bridget.
- Hughes, Joseph.
- Jones, Denis F.
- Kenny, Henry.
- Kyne, Thomas A.
- Lindsay, Patrick.
- Lynch, Thaddeus.
- McAuliffe, Patrick.
- McGilligan, Patrick.
- McMenamin, Daniel.
- Manley, Timothy.
- Mulcahy, Richard.
- Murphy, Michael P.
- Corish, Brendan.
- Cosgrave, Liam.
- Costello, Declan D.
- Costello, John A.
- Crotty, Patrick J.
- Desmond, Daniel.
- Dillon, James M.
- Dockrell, Maurice E.
- Donnellan, Michael.
- Esmonde, Anthony C.
- Everett, James.
- Fagan, Charles.
- Murphy, William.
- Norton, William.
- O'Donnell, Patrick.
- O'Higgins, Michael J.
- O'Higgins, Thomas F.
- O'Reilly, Patrick.
- O'Sullivan, Denis J.
- Palmer, Patrick W.
- Reynolds, Mary.
- Rogers, Patrick J.
- Rooney, Eamonn.
- Spring, Dan.
- Sweetman, Gerard.
- Tierney, Patrick.
Tellers:—Tá: Deputies Ó Briain and Hilliard; Níl: Deputies O'Sullivan and Kyne.
Question declared carried.
A Cheann Comhairle, tà mé an-bhuíoch don Dáil faoi mé d'ainmniú mar Thaoiseach. Is mór an onóir é. Tá a fhios agam go maith go bhfuil ag baint leis an oifig sin dualgaisí troma. Déanfad mo dhícheall na dualgaisí sin a chómhlíonadh agus iarraim ar Dhia an neart atá riachtanach a thabhairt dom.
Ní dóigh liom gurb é seo an t-am is cóir beartas an Rialtais a phlé. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil daoine óga ann a cheapann gurb é seo an chéad uair a bhí smaointe, cuid de na smaointe a nochtaigh siad, i gceann daoine. Ba mhaith liom a chur i dtuiscint dóibh nach é. Na daoine anseo atá sean, bhíodar óg tráth agus bhí smaointe acu an t-am sin díreach mar na smaointe atá ag na daoine óga anois. Tá siad ag éirí sean anois, ach mar sin féin tá na smaointe sin os comhair a n-intinn i gcónaí. Ach ní féidir cúbit a chur led fhaid le smaoineamh amháin: ní mór an beartas ceart agus an t-am agus na hóeáidí a bheith oiriúnach.
Mar adúirt mé, ní dóigh liom gurb é seo an t-am is ceart beartas an Rialtais a phlé agus mar sin ní dhéanfaidh mé é. Ní dhéanfaidh mé ach amháin mo bhuíochas a thabhairt arís don Dáil.
Ba mhaith liom a rá, is cuma cén taobh den Teach ina bhfuilimíd, go dtig linn cómh-oibriú le chéile. Bhféidir nach n-aontodh na daoine atá os mo chomhair anois go rabhamar réidh leis sin a dhéanamh. Sílim go ndearnamar ár ndícheall, mar lucht freasúra, ár ndualgas don tír a chómhlíonadh.
Rinneamar ár ndícheall, ar aon chuma, agus má gheibhmid ón lucht freasúra san am atá le teacht an cúnamh a bhíomar toilteanach a thabhairt dóibhsean, ceapaim féin gur féidir linn obair na tíre a dhéanamh mar is cóir.
Táimid go léir bailithe anseo, Teachtaí a thoigh an pobal le cur anseo, agus tig linn, gach duine againn do réir a thuairimí féin ar riachtanaisí na tíre, ár gcuid oibre a dhéanamh agus ár ndualgas a chómhlíonadh.
Táim an-bhuíoch díbh go léir, a Cheann Comhairle.
Tairgim go mbeidh sos againn anois go dtí a sé a chlog.
On the resumption, Deputies on my left will please find accommodation on the right hand side of the Chair, and Deputies on the right hand side of the Chair will please accommodate themselves on the left.
Sitting suspended at 4.10 p.m. and resumed at 6 p.m.