Edition Bobbett1. Texts by Elizabeth F. Bobbett: 1.1.2. Correspondence, Letters to the authorities

1949 Elizabeth Bobbett: Letter to the Taoiseach, 28.10.1949

Source: National Archives of Ireland (NAI), TAOIS/97/1/1031

Dear Sir. On behalf of our members I wish to thank you for granting us the interview on 20th instant. Though we came away with rather sad hearts as you held out no hope of relief for us, we do appreciate that we can go and place our cause before you.

The latest bombshell on farmers is the White Paper on Social Security. It will lead to a demand for higher wages and therefore higher production costs. When you consider the very heavy demand for Rates and realise that owing to farmers under £20 PLV getting nearly de-rating we find that there are only about 50,000 farmers who pay labour and are in the highly rated holdings.

It is the farmers who pay high rates and who employ labour who produce most of our agricultural exports, if the farmers’ income is reduced, employment will be the first thing to be hit. Stabilisation is vital in any business. We still hope that you will find a way to give farmers some relief from excessive rates and more stability in their livelihood.

We sympathise with you in your very difficult office, and your worry to provide housing tempts me to enclose you a very interesting address given some years ago by a friend of ours.

Your remark that you had only two ways open, i.e. more taxes on the community or a new loan, urges me to send you the enclosed.

Some years ago when we met on a deputation to the late Cardinal Joseph MacRory we asked his opinion on the necessity for a change in our present financial system, and his reply was that “he could not understand why our Government had not taken control of the credit of the country long ago”.

Please pardon me for making these suggestions to you but I do so from sincerity of heart.

I remain yours respectfully, Elizabeth F. Bobbett, General Secretary.