Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House.

The issue of the Irish troops in the Second World War has always been a thorny one. Those troops have been celebrated and admonished by historians and viewed as both traitors and heroes by different ends of the spectrum. During the Second World War, Ireland, or Éire as it was known then, held neutral status. Recently, I was reading that in the early 1800s, half of the British Army was Irish, because of the people of both countries being so similar. Dublin was a military base for the British Army and provided soldiers to it. Many of these soldiers probably came from families with a tradition of joining the British army, a tradition many families here had before the formation of the State, for family reasons, for financial benefit or in order to acquire a trade or pension.

Hundreds of these Irish soldiers deserted their positions in the Irish Defence Forces at the time and crossed the Border into Northern Ireland or travelled across the sea to Britain to join the ranks of the British Army, British navy and British air force. The Minister may have figures on how many may have joined the US army also. It would be interesting to see those figures if available.

Regardless of their motives for deserting their Irish positions and taking up new roles in the British armed forces, it would be naive to believe they were singularly driven to fight the spread of Nazism in western Europe. The better pay and conditions were surely a factor for many men with large families at home to provide for and many came from large families that could not keep them at home. Many of the men who deserted from the Irish forces to fight with the British, American and other Allied forces were killed or wounded in the cause of liberating Europe from Nazism and fighting Japanese imperialism in the Far East.

Those who subsequently survived the Second World War and returned home, were found guilty by a military tribunal or were unable to be prosecuted for desertion or being absent without leave and were dismissed from the Defence Forces pursuant to the provisions of the Emergency Powers (362) Order. Furthermore, these soldiers found they were barred from employment by the Irish State and as a result they suffered numerous hardships throughout their lives. This carried on to their families and the stigma carried on with them for generations. Approximately 100 of these men are alive - I am not sure whether any women are involved - and they deserve the recognition alluded to by the Minister.

I am very proud this Government and Bill acknowledge the Second World War gave rise to grave and exceptional circumstances. Irish citizens who left their posts to join the Allied side against Nazism and fascism played a key role in defending the freedom and democracy of the people of Europe and Asia. In fighting with the Allied side, Irish deserters, by extension, protected a militarily weak Irish State and its sovereignty and protected independence and democratic values from far right oppressors. We should be proud of the Irish men, our compatriots, who left their posts and took great personal risks to oppose the biggest threat to democracy that Europe had ever faced.

The brutality of the Second World War was on a scale unimaginable to later generations of Irish men and women. I hope this Bill allays the concerns of the remaining Second World War veterans and is part of a phase of proper remembrance for our fallen citizens, not only those who died in the Second World War, but the 49,000 Irish men who fought and died in the First World War and those who survived the inconceivable horrors of the trenches. I welcome the Bill and believe it will give some relief to the many men and families conscious of what happened. Most citizens probably do not know what happened these men, but the Minister has highlighted the issue and it will be a good day's work if the Bill is passed.