Memorandum by Cornelius C. Cremin for Éamon de Valera (Dublin) concerning Irish foreign relief aid

In May 1945 the Dáil voted a sum of £3,000,000 for the purpose of sending Relief Supplies to Europe. It was decided by reference to the needs of the various countries at that time to allocate these supplies in the proportion of one-fifth each to Belgium, France, Holland and Italy, the remaining one-fifth being given to the International Red Cross for distribution in countries in Central and Eastern Europe which were difficult of access to us. The supplies earmarked for despatch to Europe under the 1945 Vote comprised live cattle (20,000 head), draught horses (1,500 head), bacon (800 tons), canned meat (10 million lbs), butter (1,000 tons), dried milk, condensed milk (600 tons), cheese, sugar (15,000 tons), blankets (100,000), woollen socks, woollen gloves, knitted undergarments, knitting yarn, baby foods and stoves and cookers. Certain of these supplies such as dried milk, cheese, sugar, blankets, woollen socks and gloves, hand knitting yarn, knitted undergarments, baby foods and stoves and cookers were sent almost in entirety. It proved impossible, however, to ship any of the canned meat owing to lack of tins and it was also not possible to arrange delivery to Italy and the International Red Cross of cattle and horses. At the same time the total quantity of sugar earmarked for relief was reduced from 15,000 tons to 10,000 tons. Of the three countries which received live cattle and horses (i.e. Belgium, France and Holland) Holland alone took her allocation without payment: Belgium paid for all the cattle and horses received and France for all the horses and a small proportion of the cattle which, however, in the financial year 1945-46 did not amount to more than one-third of her quota (1,320 shipped as against 4,000 allocated). The net result was that the total amount expended during the financial year did not exceed £1,340,000.

2. There can be little doubt that when the 1945 Relief Programme was drawn up the allocation by countries was justified by reference to the conditions then prevailing. France, Belgium, Holland and Italy were all in a bad way and the food position in the countries in which the supplies entrusted for distribution to the International Red Cross were distributed was very precarious. These countries were Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia as well as Northern Italy which was at that time to some extent cut off from the rest of the country.
3. When the question of continuing the Relief Supplies for a further year was considered in the early part of 1946, it was felt that conditions in the Western European countries had, generally speaking, improved to such an extent by comparison with Central and Eastern Europe as to make it desirable to have the bulk of further Relief Supplies distributed in the latter areas. An exception was, however, made in favour of Italy following on representations from Italian and Vatican sources and a similar exception was made in favour of the French Charitable organisation Entr'Aide Française, from which a delegation came to Dublin in March, 1946, to make an appeal for the grant of some supplies. It was consequently decided to undertake a similar European Relief Programme in the 1946-47 financial year but to entrust 75% of all foodstuffs (other than livestock) and blankets and 100% of the remaining supplies (bedding materials, utensils and kitchenware, clothing and certain surplus Army textile materials) to the International Red Cross for distribution in Central and Eastern Europe. It was thought well to allocate 15% of the foodstuffs and blankets to Italy and 10% of the same commodities to the Entr'Aide Française. Livestock were put on this occasion in a special category and an equal number (2,000 head each of cattle) offered to seven different areas selected by reference to the depletion of the cattle population in these areas as compared with pre-war. The areas chosen on this basis were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia and the British and US Zones in Germany. The horses comprised in the Programme were not allocated immediately pending requests from countries in serious need and in a position to ensure transport. In fact, no representations have been received in regard to the allocation of horses and it is very problematical whether those countries (situated mainly in Eastern Europe) which might have needed horses could ensure transport in prevailing conditions.
4. All of the foodstuffs (excluding livestock) and other materials comprised in the 1946 Relief Programme have already been despatched to Europe with the exception of bacon, canned meat, a small quantity of surplus Army stores and a quantity of 75,000 lbs. raw wool which it was decided to allocate to Germany as a result of representations made by a representative of the Red Cross Society (Mr. Roland Gallagher) who visited that country in August last in connection with the scheme to bring German children to Ireland. 50 tons of the quantity of 1,500 tons of sugar allocated to Italy has also not yet been sent.
5. As regards the canned meat delays arose from the lack of suitable cattle during the summer months coupled with the lack of tins. We are now assured, however, of disposing of a total of over 7,000,000 tins of which 3,000,000 are provided by American-Jewish interests in return for our undertaking to supply about 1,000,000 lbs. of Kosher meat. A beginning has been made in the despatch of canned meat to the Continent by the shipment of over 600,000 lbs on the 16th February: it is expected that over 3,000,000 lbs. of canned meat will have been despatched before the end of the financial year.
6. As regards bacon, here again there was a delay due to the scarcity of bacon during the summer and autumn months. Over one-third of our total commitment has, however, been despatched already and it is expected that about two-thirds will have been despatched by the end of the financial year.
7. In the case of live cattle, the present position is that the offers made to Austria, Hungary, Poland and the British zone of Germany have already been completely fulfilled - in the case of Poland the cattle were slaughtered in Dublin and the meat transported to Gdynia in a refrigerator ship. In the case of Austria, Hungary and British Zone, we supplied to the British authorities the cattle involved and they have despatched to each of the areas concerned the equivalent quantity of meat plus hides. The authorities of the American Zone decided to fetch the cattle direct from Dublin but have so far only taken 470 out of the 2,000 to which they are entitled. Neither Czechoslovakia nor Yugoslavia made arrangements during the cattle season (i.e. before the end of 1946) to transport the cattle offered to them and it will not now be possible in view of the present state of the market to fulfil this commitment before next summer.
8. The Relief Supplies entrusted for distribution to the International Red Cross (and transferred as from the end of 1946, on the dissolution of the Joint Relief Commission, to the International Centre for Relief to Civilian Populations) have been earmarked by the International Red Cross for the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia. In making their allocations the International Red Cross have clearly taken account of the relative needs of the countries concerned as can be seen by the fact that Germany has been granted the greatest proportion of the available supplies. She has thus for instance been put down for almost one-third of the total quantity of sugar put at the disposal of the Red Cross and for a large proportion of the condensed milk, cheese, blankets and mattresses.