asked the Minister for Transport and Power what steps are being taken by him to promote the erection of a memorial to the Irish Merchant Service (1939-45).
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Merchant Service Memorial.
9.
In January, 1968, my predecessor announced that a State contribution of £2,000 would be paid to the Maritime Institute of Ireland towards the cost of providing a memorial to Irish seamen who lost their lives during the Second World War. No request has yet been made to me for payment of this grant.
Has the Minister any information as to what progress has been made towards the provision of this memorial and can he say where it is proposed to erect the memorial and what form it will take?
The predecessor of the Minister for Transport and Power in reply to questions in this House spoke about the form the memorial was likely to take and indicated that it would take the form of a special room in the institute's new headquarters at Earlsfort Terrace and would contain a memorial plaque and a golden book in which would be inscribed an account of the life of each seaman which could be read by the relatives and the general public. That is the general idea behind the memorial.