Extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet
'Emergency Planning: Technical discussions suggested by British authorities'
(GC 5/194) (Item 5) (S11445B)

Following consideration of a memorandum dated the 18th July, 1950,¹ submitted by the Minister for External Affairs relative to a Note of the 9th May, 1950, addressed to him by the British Representative in Dublin suggesting technical discussions between the two countries, and certain action by this country, in relation to precautionary measures of an emergency character, it was agreed that the Minister should reply to the British Representative to the following effect:-

1. that the Government are agreeable to the suggestion that discussion of the matter in question should be pursued through technical channels and that any information of the kind referred to in Appendix A to the British Representative's Note which may come to notice should be made available confidentially to the British authorities; and
2. that it must be understood that the arrangement referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above is without any military commitment on the part of the Government and that the arrangement must be subject to whatever decisions of policy may be taken by the Government in the event of an emergency.

It was also agreed that, in the implementation of the abovementioned arrangement, the utmost care should be taken, at all stages, to preserve carefully Irish independence of action and sovereignty.