asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will consider making it obligatory on persons entering this State from the Six Counties to produce identification cards for inspection in order to identify agents of any of the belligerent Powers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Identity of Visitors.
The methods for discovering and identifying foreign agents are constantly under review. The Government in this matter are guided by the advice of their experts.
If the Minister does in future consider this system of producing identification cards for persons entering this country from the Six Counties, will he also consider the practicability of applying the same procedure to persons who enter this country from other countries by parachute?
That is a separate question.
Might I say, in connection with questions which I have been asked, that certain Deputies are obviously specialising at the moment in asking questions which appear to be aimed at embroiling us with one set or other of belligerents. They are, in some cases, so designed that it is extremely difficult to give an answer that will not appear to indicate a siding by us with one set or other of the belligerents. They are very often tendentious in the framing and the mere putting of them on the Order Paper is itself dangerous. Now, what is at stake at the present moment, and during the whole of this war, is the maintenance of our neutrality, the preservation of our State and of the lives of our people, and if there is a continuance of questions of this sort, I shall have to ask the House to give to the Ceann Comhairle, or to some other authority, the power to exclude them from the Order Paper.
It was in the interests of the preservation of our neutrality that I put down this question to-day, in order to make sure that we would not have in our country the spies to whom Deputy Dillon referred.
The Government are responsible for the maintenance of the policy of the State. That is their prime duty, and if the Government do not fulfil their duties properly, there is a remedy for the House and the country.
We are all behind the Government in our neutrality policy. We do not want any war.
As the Minister for External Affairs is aware, every responsible member of the House would agree with what he has just stated, but that agreement would be fuller if what the Minister has stated could be applied not only to questions in the House but to some speeches made outside the House.
Is it not so that in any case where, when a question has been put down by a responsible Deputy which has seemed to the Minister for External Affairs to be inexpedient in some special circumstances, a request has been made by him to that Deputy to withdraw the question from the Order Paper, the question has been readily withdrawn?
It is not a fact that it has in all cases been withdrawn. In fact, it puts the Minister concerned in a humiliating position. It ought not to be necessary to have to go to a Deputy and beg him not to put the question on the Paper. I think there should be some machinery in the House, through the Ceann Comhairle or some other authority, by which it could be dealt with.
Surely not the Ceann Comhairle?
Might I suggest, as a way out, that, in connection with the original proposals regarding censorship of Dáil records, it was suggested, and my recollection is that it was agreed, that where a speech made by a Deputy might require to be censored —and the same would now apply to a question—a committee consisting of the leaders of the various Parties would be called to rule on it? I think there would always be a very reasonable ruling given by such a committee, and it would take the direct responsibility off an officer of the House, which is an undesirable responsibility, and place it back where it should lie, on the shoulders of the whole House.
I have been very loth to mention this matter at all. I had hoped that the sense of responsibility in every member of the Dáil at a time like this would be sufficient guarantee that questions such as have been sent to me recently would not be asked. I do not know what powers the Ceann Comhairle has. Deputy Dillon seems to suggest that the Ceann Comhairle already has such powers. I am not quite sure if that is a fact. But I personally would welcome any group, the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or any other Committee, that might assist the Ceann Comhairle. I have only one difficulty in accepting that completely and that is, that the reasons for which it may be inadvisable to have the question asked—reasons which would be known to the Minister —may be of a type which it would not be advisable to communicate outside. It is difficult enough in times like this to preserve the necessary secrecy so that remours and all sorts of things will not be started. Speaking of rumours, I want to say that I have been told that there is a good deal of public uneasiness at the moment and I simply want to say that there is no need for that uneasiness.
I have had occasion from time to time on behalf of this Party to give consideration to the question of submitting questions to the Taoiseach on certain national matters of importance, and I think the Taoiseach will be the first to acknowledge that in all these matters I consulted with him in the first instance and that whenever it was suggested that the submission of a question was in any way calculated to interfere with our good relations with other Powers the question was immediately withdrawn. So far as the Labour Party is concerned, we have no desire whatever to embarrass the Government in any way by the submission of questions which are likely in any way to embroil us with belligerents. If the Taoiseach at any time expresses the opinion on behalf of the whole community that he does not desire a particular matter to be put to him which would embarrass him by giving a public answer, we have at all times completely consented to respect the Taoiseach's wishes in that respect. I think that even within the last 24 hours the Taoiseach has been conscious of our co-operation with him in that respect.
I want to thank the Deputy and to say that what he has said is so.
Since the Taoiseach has chosen to raise this matter in this peculiar form, I wish to say that, so far as I am aware, any responsible Deputy putting down a question about critical matters has suffered himself very largely to be guided by the Taoiseach's view as to whether his question is calculated to injure the fundamental interests of the State or not. But I do not think any Party in this House, on reflection, should accept the principle that individual Deputies should be expected to accept censorship of their questions by Ministers of State. The Parliamentary question is the most potent weapon in the hand of an individual Deputy against the Executive. Its use with discretion is the responsibility of the individual Deputy. If the Taoiseach makes the case that any one amongst us has habitually used it without any regard to his warnings as to the dangers to the State that may be involved, the matter may have to be reviewed. I would, however, urge most strongly on the House not in any spirit of panic to surrender the right of the individual Deputy to put such questions as he deems it is his duty to do. I beg the House to reflect very carefully on the suggestion that the discretion of the individual Deputy should be taken away and handed over either to a committee of the House or the Executive as to whether a question should be asked or not.
It is about two weeks ago since I discussed this matter with some responsible people in this House. I have very often wondered what some people mean by the questions they put down here, what is at the back of their heads which has prompted them to put forward such questions, because I believe some of the questions—not the one on the Order Paper at the moment—that have been put down here during the past fortnight have been no help or no addition to this country either internally or externally, and the people that are behind them and who put their names to them are not, in my opinion, quite so innocent or so innocently led——
I suggest to the Deputy that it would be wiser to go on general lines rather than to single out any particular questions or Deputies.
I made a suggestion to some important people in this House, and I still stand behind it, that something should be done to curb and prevent this class of thing. It may be all right to say: "Do not interfere with the individual Deputy; the Parliamentary Question is a great instrument." It is for the country no doubt, but many questions are not an instrument that is of any addition to our country. If people only realise the position, they may not put down those questions. Speaking for the Party of which I have the honour to be the Leader here, I can guarantee to the Taoiseach and the Government and to all sincere Parties in this House that anything we can do in any committee, either inside or outside this House, to curb that class of thing we will gladly do.
On behalf of the National Labour Party, I should like to join in the assurances given to the Taoiseach in this matter. We fully recognise that some questions raised here recently have caused nation-wide uneasiness and, personally, I sincerely hope that to-day's question is the last of them.
I want to ask the indulgence of the Chair for intervening in this unusual manner. I think that perhaps what has been said will be sufficient. I am the last person in the House who would wish to curb any Deputy or interfere with his rights. Perhaps what has been said will be sufficient without doing anything further.