§ Mr. LARDNERasked the President of the Board of Trade whether any workers at munitions in England have been obtained from Ireland through the medium of the Labour Exchanges, or otherwise; and, if so, will he give the numbers of males and females, and the names of the districts to which they have been sent and the terms of employment?
1386W
Mr. RUNCIMANThe numbers of workers sent from Ireland to Great Britain through the medium of the Labour Exchanges for the manufacture of munitions, from the 1st October, 1914, up to date are as follows:—
Men. Women. Shipbuilding 2,103 Nil Engineering 1,253 1 Explosives 2,245 22 These workpeople were sent mainly to Glasgow, Barrow, Southampton, Newcastle, Birkenhead, Govan, Woolwich, Devonport, Stevenston, and Widnes. They appear to have been engaged on the usual terms of employment prevailing for munition workers in this country. No record is available showing the number of munition workers obtained from Ireland other than through the medium of the Labour Exchanges.
§ Mr. BYRNEasked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) whether he is aware that Irishmen who were sent over from Ireland to Great Britain by their trade unions for the purpose of doing munitions work have been notified by the local tribunals to report themselves for military service on 16th March; if he will issue instructions to the said tribunals as to the position of Irishmen who were not permanently resident in Great Britain on 15th August last; if he will give guarantees to the trade unions that send their members to Great Britain to carry out work of national importance that the said men will not be asked to become conscripts; and (2) whether he is aware that many munition workers, Irishmen, who were sent from their trade unions in Ireland to carry out munitions work in Great Britain have been notified by the tribunals (Holloway) that they must report for military service on 16th March; and will he say what steps, if any, he will take to prevent this use of the Military Service Act, 1916, and a breach of faith with the Irish trade unions?
§ Mr. TENNANTI am not aware of the circumstances mentioned by the hon. Gentleman, and I think he must be under some misapprehension in stating that Irishmen coming from Ireland to Great Britain to do munitions work have been notified by the local tribunals to report themselves for military service. It is, of course, not the duty of any local tribunal to order anyone to report himself for military service; that is a matter which rests with the military authorities. An Irish- 1387W man who is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain or does not become ordinarily resident in Great Britain is not subject to the provisions of the Military Service Act.