Life in Éire during World War II Shortages and rationing Fuel and the glimmer men
Shortages and rationing
Ireland relied on imports of food, fuel and other items. This was a problem during World War II as German submarines were stopping British ships bringing supplies to and from Britain, affecting imports and exports to Ireland. Seán Lemass was appointed Minister for Supplies during the war. He had to make sure Ireland had enough essentials to keep functioning in wartime. To achieve this he needed supplies, and so he set up the Irish Shipping Company to transport goods to Ireland in 15 cargo ships. Fuel and some foods remained in short supply, however. Lemass also introduced the Compulsory Tillage Scheme, which meant that all farmers had to till a certain amount of land and sow a certain acreage of wheat.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ireland was bombed by the Germans during World War II, probably by accident. Bombs were dropped in Campile, Co. Wexford, killing 3 people, and also on the North Strand in Dublin, killing 28 people.
Rationing of food, clothes, footwear and so forth was introduced due to the shortages. People were given ration books, which contained coupons that could be exchanged for goods in shops. This method of rationing limited the goods people could buy to a fi xed amount. Tea, fl our, butter, sugar and other essentials were hard to get. People dried out and reused their tea leaves.
