No. 407 NAI DT S11582B
Memorandum from Leo T. McCauley to Éamon de Valera (Dublin)
(402/190)
Dublin, 16 September 1947
- I submit herewith a note prepared in this Department (after consultation with the Departments of Industry and Commerce and Social Welfare),1 in connection with the conversation which the Government, on the 29th July last, decided you should have with Lord Rugby concerning the restrictions introduced by the British authorities in the matter of the grant of Visas to Irishmen going to work in Great Britain with a view to diverting such applicants as are regarded as physically suitable to the British coal-mines. The Government suggested that you should inform Lord Rugby that, in view of these instructions, the recruitment facilities provided by us can only be continued if increased allocations of coal and coke are made available to us by Great Britain.
- The attached note deals with
- our normal (pre-war) imports of coal;
- our present allocation from Great Britain;
- our minimum requirements;
- Since the Government decision of the 29th July, there have been certain developments which may make an approach on the lines then contem-plated difficult or unnecessary. The difficulty of an approach on those lines would come from the fact that we have become associated with the European Coal Organisation which deals with the allocation of coal to European countries. Britain is also a member of this organisation. Members are, of course, expected to observe the organisation's recommendations. We have recently been granted by the organisation an allocation in respect of the last quarter of the present year of 27,000 tons of coal per week from all sources. We must, therefore, assume that any increase in our allocation of coal from Great Britain will not mean an increase in the over-all allocation from ECO. There is, however, no reason why we should not use the argument of Irish workers for British coal mines to induce the British to increase the proportion of the ECO allocation which we receive from them. We would, generally speaking and apart altogether from the dollar consideration, prefer to receive all our coal from Britain. The approach may be rendered unnecessary at this stage by the fact that the British Recruitment Office here seems, in the meantime, to have arranged for the grant of Visas to a number of men who, under the instructions received in April last, should only have received Visas for the coal mines. It looks, therefore, as if these instructions are not being strictly adhered to. It is possible that the recently announced drive for increased agricultural production, which is said to involve the recruitment of an additional 100,000 agricultural workers for Great Britain, may lead the British authorities to leave these instructions in abeyance.
- An improvement in the quality of the coal supplied by Britain would be of almost equal importance with an increase in the quantity. The quality has so deteriorated that twice as much coal as in pre-war days is now required on the railways to achieve a given result.
- It is possible that the question of workers going from here to Great Britain may be raised during the forthcoming talks in London. In that case, it might not be necessary to raise the question specifically with Lord Rugby at this stage.
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