HC Deb 24 October 1944 vol 404 cc36-7
65. Professor Savory

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will call the attention of the Government of Eire to the German documents recently discovered near Brussels proving that the German military authorities were making preparations for the invasion of Eire in August, 1940, many months after Mr. de Valera had informed the German Minister in Dublin that Eire would maintain her neutrality; and whether he will invite the Government of Eire to break off diplomatic relations with Germany.

The Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr. Emrys-Evans)

My Noble Friend does not feel that any further results could be achieved at the present time by such an approach as is suggested in my hon. Friend's question. The discovery and nature of the documents to which the question refers have been reported in the Press, and the Eire Government are therefore presumably aware of them. Moreover, the views of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are, of course, already well known to the Eire Government as a result of representations which were recently made by the United States and the United Kingdom with regard to the removal of Axis missions from Dublin.

Professor Savory

Will my hon. Friend not bring home to the Government of Eire the fact that they were completely duped by the Germans, and that they have only been protected by the British Fleet from invasion, and from the same fate as Holland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark?

Mr. Emrys-Evans

I think my reply will make that quite clear to the Eire Government.