Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 11 Feb 1970

Vol. 244 No. 4

Private Business. - Issue of Writ: Dublin South West By-Election.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach (Mr. O'Malley)

I move:

That the Ceann Comhairle direct the Clerk of the Dáil to issue his Writ for the election of a member to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the membership of the present Dáil consequent on the death of Deputy Seán Dunne, a member for the Constituency of Dublin South West.

I wish to explain why the Government are moving this writ. It has been stated, not by the Opposition but by some newspapers, that there is no precedent for this motion being moved by a party other than the party of which the late Deputy Dunne was a member. However, that is not so and there is one recent precedent for it. On the 13th November, 1963, the late Deputy Casey moved the writ for a by-election consequent on the death of the late Deputy John Galvin. Deputy Galvin was a member of the Fianna Fáil Party and Deputy Casey was a member of the Labour Party. It is worth noting that Deputy Casey put down the motion for the writ on the 28th day after the death of Deputy Galvin and it was debated in this House on the 31st day after the death of Deputy Galvin. In this instance the late Deputy Dunne died on 25th June, 1969, which is 7½ months ago and the Fianna Fáil Party are of the opinion, as are a great many other people, that it is unfair to the electors of the constituency of Dublin South West that they should be deprived of the full numerical representation to which they are entitled in this House for such a lengthy period. There was an instance of seats remaining unfilled for some months longer than this present period of 7½ months, but in any of the instances I could find where there was a longer period that was always towards the end of the life of a Dáil. In this instance, unfortunately, the late Deputy Dunne did not take his seat at all in this present Dáil and I believe there is no precedent for this situation.

The Labour Party were given a broad hint, to put it mildly, by the Taoiseach in his speech at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in the middle of January, but notwithstanding that they saw fit not to move the writ. I can appreciate they have their own domestic reasons for not wishing to do it but the view of the Government and the view of the Fianna Fáil Party is that the people of the constituency of Dublin South West should not be forced any longer to remain without one of the Members to which they are entitled in this House. For these reasons and because there is a very clear precedent for this procedure, created by the Labour Party, I would urge that this motion be passed unanimously.

Mr. Cluskey

We in the Labour Party are not opposing the moving of this writ but we are somewhat amused at what the Parliamentary Secretary has just said as regards what motivated Fianna Fáil in taking this not unprecedented but unusual step of moving the writ for a by-election which was created by the death of a member of another party. We well appreciate why the Taoiseach found it necessary to make this statement at the Ard Fheis and also why the Parliamentary Secretary, on behalf of his party, has stood up here today to ensure that this election is held as quickly as possible. Naturally a party who are in Government and whose policy is responsible for the financial and economic condition of the country could not wish that a by-election would be held at a time when the people of Dublin South West would be in full possession of all the facts relating to the gross mismanagement of our economic affairs by this Government—and this is the most serious aspect of it—purely for party political motives without any regard whatsoever for the welfare of the country. The Parliamentary Secretary has stated that the seat has been vacant for seven and a half months—that is true. Not too long ago, as a matter of fact in the lifetime of the last Dáil, on the death of Deputy Kennedy in Wexford, a member of the Fianna Fáil Party, it lay within the power — indeed there was an unwritten agreement—of the Fianna Fáil Party to move that writ. The bleeding heart of the Parliamentary Secretary for the electorate of Dublin South West this afternoon did not bleed so hard, neither did the Taoiseach's, for the Fianna Fáil supporters in Wexford on that occasion when the seat was left vacant for nine months.

Mr. O'Malley

With a general election coming up.

Mr. Corish

The general election had not been fixed.

A Deputy

That is what you thought.

(Interruptions.)

Mr. Cluskey

We can appreciate Fianna Fáil position. Last March we had the spectacle of the Minister for Finance requesting and receiving time on our national television and radio in order to tell the people of the country, particularly the workers of the country, about the very serious financial crisis that was fast approaching, and according to the Minister himself, upon us. There was then, apparently, a Government meeting in which the Taoiseach indicated he would be calling a general election in the near future, and that crisis passed away. How, no one seems to know. What steps were taken to bring about this miraculous cure for all our economic ills in such a short period no one knows, but immediately after the general election, when Fianna Fáil were returned to office, the economic crisis returned. It is here again. Anyone glancing at some of the figures published by authoritative sources can be in no doubt that we are facing a very serious economic crisis. The Fianna Fáil Party will go to any lengths, never mind just breaking a gentleman's agreement, which would not occur to them as being a serious breach at all, to ensure that the people of Dublin South West make this decision without knowing not only the full economic mess that has been made but the price that they, as ordinary people in this country, are going to be asked to pay for the privilege of having a Fianna Fáil Government who look to their own Party interests on all occasions before the needs and requirements of this country as a whole. That and that alone is what has motivated the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil Party into moving this writ.

I wonder if the Taoiseach would care to answer this question: can we take this as setting a precedent for all future by-elections that may occur? Can we take it that it will be accepted by all that anyone at any time it suits them can move the writ now that this precedent has been created and accepted?

The Taoiseach

The precedent was created before today.

Mr. Tully

It was not accepted before.

Mr. Moran

You are creating the precedent. Do you want to go back, is that what you want to do? You had seven and a half months in which to do it.

Mr. P. Belton

You took nine months.

Mr. Cluskey

The Labour Party is not opposed to the moving of the writ for the simple reason that whether the election is now or in six months time Labour will win in south-west Dublin; both Deputy Dowling and Deputy Lemass can rest assured of that.

(Interruptions.)

Question put and agreed to.