Edition Bobbett2. Speeches and statements by Elizabeth F. Bobbett
1953 Roundwood, By-election Meeting
Source: Wicklow People, 18.04.1953
Miss Bobbett, in the course of her speech, dealt with the four main points that constituted her policy. First of all she would strive for greater economy and efficiency in the spending of public money, and thereby bring out a reduction in taxation, rates and cost of living. The second plank in the policy was the promotion of a spirit of co-operation and unity amongst all section of the community. She emphasised that under this heading she, as an Independent candidate, owed no allegiance to any party. “I have already been asked,” she said, “what side I am going to vote for if I am elected, and my answer is that if the electors of County Wicklow honour me with their confidence, I will vote for any bill or proposition that my conscience deems to be of benefit to the people of this country, and I will vote against what I think will not be to their benefit, no matter whether the Government of that time is composed of Fianna Fail or Fine Gael or Inter-party.”
The speaker said that as her third point she advocated a curb on the interference by state officials in the lives of the people. She said that since she was elected to the County Council she was fully convinced that they were more or less under a dictatorship, a bureaucracy, that there was very little power left in the hands of the County Council, though it was the premier body of the county, as almost everything was being dictated to them by the Departments. She referred to the Health Bill in this connection, and held that it was leading to a dictatorship by State interference in all such matters, and she outlined what she deemed to be disadvantages contained in the proposals of this bill. There would be nothing free under the Health Bill, as from after the first year it will be all met out of rates. Her fourth point was that she would do all in her power to promote greater production in agriculture and industry. She reminded her agricultural hearers that all parties had agreed that agriculture is the chief wealth-producer industry to-day, but she was sorry to say that no party was agreeable to play fair with that wealth-making industry.
For instance they were told to produce more, but when that was complied with, and they did produce more crops, the prices immediately went down. She instanced the present position regarding pig production and the restrictions imposed with the new weights for export markets as announced last week. Two years ago when an agreement was made with Britain to take all live pigs and pork that Ireland wished to export, they gave the farmers a very meagre price; later that was increased by 2s per cwt, and later still by a further amount, so that pig producers got a bit hopeful and thought there was some safety under this bill for investment. Now when they had got into the production, this new order practically cuts out the heavy-weight pig which must be sold now at a loss.
Farmers, she reminded her hearers, had no friends in either party whose policy was not agricultural. Farmers were to them the hewers of wood. When the storm of 1947 had taken its toll, she had invited them to send her in returns of their losses in livestock, as she was endeavouring to get grants from the State or reasonable loans to help them restock their denuded farms. It had always happened here in Ireland, that when foreign countries, such as India, Italy, Holland, or Britain suffered disasters from flood or famine, we as a Christian people, sent them a contribution in their distress. But was it not a remarkable fact that when the farmers of Ireland appealed in their time of trouble for help after that awful storm of 1947 there were no grants given but a scheme for loans was set afoot, which was most difficult for the applicants to obtain. At that time 131 farmers had written to her giving their losses, which amounted in the aggregate to almost 600 cattle, 4,341 sheep, 13 horses, 63 pigs, all lost by County Wicklow farmers through no fault that could be attributed to them or to ordinary circumstances. She felt sure that the people in the hills of Wicklow whom she had always striven to help, would not forget her in this selection.
In the matter of housing, she said that the County Council owed over a million pounds on local loans and with the higher interest rate that now obtained it meant that houses were going to be dearer on the people. She believed that with the goodwill of all the parties, if they would but come together and put into force a financial scheme that used the credit of the country for the benefit of the people, they would be able to secure money interest free for the further development of housing and other necessary works.