asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will state (a) what sum was paid to the Great Northern Railway Co. in lieu of carriage of mails, parcels, etc., by the Irish Free State Post Office to the end of the last financial year; (b) the amount paid in respect of the various counties.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cost of Transit of Northern Mails.
The amount paid for the conveyance of letter mails by the Irish Free State Post Office since April, 1922, when the service was taken over from the British authorities, up to the 31st March last, was £106,633. This amount was provisional, pending the outcome of negotiations which are still proceeding in conjunction with the British authorities. Payment for the carriage of parcel mails is made through the Railway Clearing House to which the Post Office pays a lump sum quarterly in respect of its liabilities to all companies concerned. The Post Office has no information as to the amount paid by the Clearing House to any individual company. The remuneration for the carriage of mails is not assessed on a county basis.