Last night, I was in the process of examining this Budget so far as its provisions affect the twin problems of emigration and unemployment. It is very disturbing to find prominent people in the political field to-day who, when they are in office, seek to suggest that the problem of emigration is not as serious as many people say that it is and who, when they are out of office, talk a great deal about the terrible evils of emigration and unemployment and, then, when they resume office, tell us that some steps will be taken to deal with the abnormal unemployment and abnormal emigration. These problems become abnormal only when these people take office.
That criticism is not directed alone towards the present Government. It applies to and is directed towards all past Governments here. It is very depressing to have to speak here at all on the problem of emigration. People are fed up listening to all the talk about it. There is talk from all of us here and there is no practical step whatever taken to solve or even to ease the problem.
This Budget gives absolutely no hope to those who are preparing to embark on the emigrant ship, no hope whatever that they will have an opportunity of living here and of having security or being employed at home. I heard a prominent Minister seriously suggesting that we would want a new movement here, a crusade, to deal with the problem of emigration. I do not know whether or not his words have been taken seriously by a new group who describe themselves as the Anti-Emigration Movement. This country is full of well-meaning people who are ready to start all sorts of silly organisations to deal with major problems and, with all due respect to the people in this movement, I can describe it as nothing but a silly organisation, diverting people's minds from the fundamental methods by which this problem must be tackled. This movement has been started outside this House in the past week or fortnight and it was only last week that a Minister of State suggested that there should be a crusade amongst the young people here in Ireland urging them to stay at home. I want to ask that Minister very bluntly: stay at home for what and live on what?
Is it suggested that the young men and women of the present generation have so little spirit left in them that, having no responsibility such as a family, they are prepared to live on the dole or on unemployment benefit for perhaps the next six or 12 months in the hope that they will get temporary employment then? Is that the suggestion? Is that what the crusade is for? I do not know whether or not that Minister thinks he is back in his boy scout days again, but it would appear that he is, or that he is dreaming. As Minister of State, he will have to do something concrete about the problem of emigration rather than talk about a crusade among the younger generation and suggest that that can solve it.
The problem of emigration can be solved only by State action, Government action. In the process of solving the problem, many people will be hurt. The trouble with Governments here is that they are prepared to tread on the toes of the weaker sections of the community and bow and scrape to those in the vested interest group. Until some Government is prepared to take the necessary action and to deal with the vested interests that obtain here and that have strangled the country for the past 30 years—and I hope that will be in the near future— we shall not see the necessary steps taken to put into operation the remedies that may in time end emigration.
I never suggested in this House that emigration could be ended overnight. One just cannot do it by turning on a new policy, but if we are to see an end to emigration we will have to see the outlines of a policy that will at some stage reduce emigration. We have not seen any sign of such a policy. We have not seen any sign of it in this Budget or any Budget since I came into this House and I think Deputies will agree with me that there was little sign of it in previous Budgets. We have two different views about this matter of emigration. One group of people say: "Do not go away, there is work for you at home. Start a crusade, encourage young people to stay at home. Put your hands in your pockets, hold up the unemployment exchanges and draw your unemployment benefit." That is the mentality on one side. On the other side you have the people who say it is a good thing that people emigrate and say: "Look at the wonderful spiritual empire which we have abroad." It is a free country, I hope, and everyone is entitled to his views. I for one do not subscribe to that view. I think it is a tragic illusion if these people really believe that.
We have not got a spiritual empire abroad any more than we have any consultation with the man in the moon. The majority of our Irish emigrants, whether in America or Britain, got the menial jobs and became labourers and maids in those countries. The majority of our emigrants were sent out of this country with a very, very low standard of education which was a disgrace in a so-called Christian country. It is a disgrace to have to say that the majority of the unfortunate people who had to emigrate were handicapped by a poor standard of education. The greatest tribute that can be paid to them is that in spite of the handicap of a low standard of education many of them succeeded in reaching high positions. The fact is, however, that for every one that was able to reach the top a thousand stayed at the bottom. It was not their fault; it was the fault of all the Irish Governments since we achieved the measure of independence which we have to-day. It is pitiful to suggest that we should keep up this huge stream of emigrants in order to change the outlook of the peoples of the world.
It was only recently that a number of representatives of tourist agencies on the Continent were brought to this country and they admitted, quite frankly, although it was not a diplomatic thing to do, that the majority of their countrymen did not know where Ireland was. They knew that there was such a place but they never heard of this spiritual empire. I am not the only person talking about this claptrap about letting our people go abroad so that we will have a place of glory amongst the nations. St. Patrick's Day is a great day all over the world so far as Irish people are concerned but the fact is that there are more Irish people celebrating St. Patrick's Day outside the country than inside it. Dr. Lucey, the Bishop of Cork, said that it was a disgrace that there are more people celebrating St. Patrick's Day outside Ireland than were celebrating it in Ireland. He said that it was no credit to any Government that that position obtained. I agree thoroughly with Dr. Lucey's remarks in that regard.
I agree with the Minister for Industry and Commerce when he said that the ills which exist in this country are deep-rooted. They will not be solved by day to day measures. They will not be solved in this House by the Taoiseach getting up and stating that during the inter-Party régime more people were unemployed and more people left the country than during the Fianna Fáil régime. That is claptrap. The tragic position is that since 1922 more people have left this country due to economic circumstances than ever left it during any comparable period under an alien Government, that is, with the exception of the famine years. That position reflects no great credit on Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael or on the inter-Party Government. The serious pouring out of the best blood of the country is something that can be laid at the door of all political Parties. I cannot be accused here of being prejudiced in favour of the inter-Party Government. To be fair let all Parties carry the blame for this run of emigration and the high rate of unemployment.
I think it deplorable to have men who are looked upon with such great respect by the people as is the Taoiseach, coming in here and suggesting that the country was on the right road, that the forward march of the nation was halted by the inter-Party Government and then to find his own Minister for Finance and his own Cabinet Ministers contradicting him within two hours by stating that policies on economic matters have proved unsuccessful. The Taoiseach cannot have it both ways. The Minister for Industry and Commerce says that we will have to embark on a new line if we are to solve our difficulties. It is tragic to have a man with such a responsible position in the country trying to suggest that the evils of unemployment and emigration are the result only of the lackadaisical policy of the former inter-Party Government. The former inter-Party Government carried out the policy of Fianna Fáil and Fianna Fáil in turn went on with the policy carried out by the inter-Party Government. The very same type of framework is in the Budget statements; they all run on the same lines.
In 1952 the then Taoiseach said that the Budget had to be balanced in order to help us to maintain our political and economic independence. The very same thing was trotted out by him this day week. It would appear that everything in the garden was rosy from 1952. In 1953 things were better and in 1954 things were better still. Then he disappears out of office and everything begins to lag. Is that what people are asked to swallow? According to Deputy Childers, in 1952 the people were spending too much. It became necessary to put hair shirts on them to keep them from thinking in terms of luxuries. The people were drinking too much, smoking too much. Deputy Childers——