No. 387 NAI DT S14134A

Rough notes from Seán Lemass to Éamon de Valera (Dublin) with handwritten cover note by Lemass

Dublin, 27 August 1947

Dear Taoiseach,
The attached notes were hastily prepared. I do not know if they cover all the points you have in mind.

Seán F. Lemass

NOTES

  1. Productive capacity (including, in some cases, export possibilities) left unutilised here by reason of British refusal to supply necessary materials. Example, coke for foundries, also tinned plate, structural steel, etc.
  2. British supplying finished goods when raw materials refused, leaving labour and plant unemployed here although British manpower problem acute.
  3. Higher prices charged to Irish importers of industrial materials than to British firms. Example: Cotton hosiery yarn exported here is 25% higher in price than in UK.
  4. British price subsidisation policy accentuates the inflationary situation in Great Britain, and to some extent here also, while the resulting lower retail prices of essential foods in Great Britain causes difficulties for us. We could not afford to subsidise on this scale.
  5. British expanded social services are also part of the causes of British monetary difficulties. We could not afford social services on similar scale, and the inevitable comparison causes difficulty here.
  6. British policy of discrimination against us in prices paid for agricultural goods.
  7. A policy based on the Sterling Area cannot secure our co-operation if its purpose is to assist Great Britain only and does not provide for the fullest development of the resources of this country, i.e. by giving us a fair share of the available supplies of coal, coke, steel, etc.

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