The estimated expenditure for the current financial year is £2,246,795; the estimated expenditure for the past financial year was £2,258,435, showing a reduction of £11,640 in this year's Estimates. If from the estimated expenditure of £2,246,795 is subtracted the estimated revenue of £1,816,000, a nominal deficit of £430,795 is shown, which compares with a nominal deficit from comparable figures last year of £502,435. These figures are obviously quite incomplete and do not enable us to get a true appreciation of the financial standing of the Post Office. They are not intended to convey in any sense a true picture of its financial position, but they indicate in a rough way the general tendency towards a reduction of the loss on the Department.
Even were we to take the figures of actual revenue from the Finance Accounts, and compare them with the actual expenditure as appearing in the Appropriation Accounts, the picture would still be incomplete. These accounts are merely records of revenue transferred to the Exchequer, and of actual payments made within the year, and not of revenue earned and expenditure incurred during the year. They take no account of services rendered. In fact the real financial position can only be ascertained from the Commercial Accounts, which are prepared on lines similar to those of an ordinary commercial undertaking. The latest published Commercial Accounts are those for the year ended the 31st March, 1928. They show that the total deficit on that date was £262,774. The Commercial Accounts for the previous years are available departmentally, and the following figures extracted therefrom and which show the financial position up to date may be of interest to Deputies. The figures all represent deficits: 1922-23, postal, £656,210; telegraph, £406,036; telephone, £46,014; total £1,108,260; 1923-24, postal, £403,756; telegraph, £344,328; telephone, £25,665; total, £773,749; 1924-25, postal, £290,119; telegraph, £178,507; telephone, £3,348; total, £471,974; 1925-26, postal, £216,548; telegraph, £163,443; telephone, £33,976; total, £413,967; 1926-27, postal, £170,260; telegraph, £165,305; telephone, £44,191; total, £379,756; 1927-28, postal, £71,307; telegraph, £142,212; telephone, £49,255; total, £262,774; 1928-29, postal, £8,683; telegraph, £147,955; telephone, £34,719; total, £191,357; 1929-30, postal, £13,510; telegraph, £132,135; telephone, £30,700; total, £176,345. The figures for 1929-30 are estimated figures as the accounts have not yet been completed and audited.
It will be observed from the above that the deficit continues steadily to decline, and it seems probable that the day is not far distant when the service will no longer ask the taxpayer for a subsidy. Progress towards that end is naturally becoming more difficult from year to year. It would be considerably accelerated by either a fall in the cost of living, a definite improvement in agricultural, industrial and trade conditions, or both.
It would not be unreasonable to expect that at this stage some Deputy would tear himself away from Party ties and say, "Well done". A loss of one million one hundred thousand pounds has been reduced to a loss of only one hundred and seventy-six thousand pounds.
As to the details of the Estimates, I will now explain the reasons for the main increases and decreases under the various sub-heads. I will confine my explanations to the larger amounts, but will be glad to supply any Deputy who desires the information with particulars concerning the smaller amounts.
The reasons for the larger increases and decreases are as follows: —Sub-head A 2—Salaries, Wages, etc. (Metropolitan) —decrease, £12,915, due mainly to savings anticipated as a result of retirements under Article X of the Treaty; sub-head A 3—Salaries, Wages, etc. (Provincial)—decrease, £10,815, due mainly to savings anticipated as a result of retirements under Article X of the Treaty; sub-head A 4— Salaries, Wages, etc. (Stores Branch)—decrease, £2,440, due to a reduction in the volume of work performed in the factory consequent on the introduction of automatic telephones; sub-head E 2—Conveyance of Mails by Road—decrease, £2,100, due to extension of Departmentally-owned motor services and to economies effected in contracts and services; sub-head I 1—Salaries, Wages, etc. (Engineering Establishment)— increase, £7,410, increased maintenance and renewal costs; sub-head L 3—Contract Work—increase, £31,545, due to the replacement of obsolete apparatus at Crown Alley Exchange; sub-head M 1—Repayment on Telephone Capital Account —decrease, £16,025, due to termination of payments in respect of redemption of outstanding Exchequer (Telephone) Bonds and to reduced payments in respect of Telephone Annuities; sub-head M 2—Telephone Development, etc.—increase, £6,505, estimate based on scheme outlined by the Department of Finance for the repayment of borrowings effected by the Exchequer in respect of sums advanced under the Telephone Capital Acts 1924 and 1927 for Telephone Development; sub-head N 1—Superannuation Allowances, etc.—increase, £6,450, due to abnormal increase in the number of new pensions. (The provision for 1929-30 will prove inadequate, but the excess will be met by savings on other sub-heads of the Vote); sub-head N 2—Annual Compensation under Article X, etc.—increase, £16,715, due to anticipated release of all applicants for retirement under Article X of the Treaty; sub-head N 3—Additional Allowances under Article X, etc.—decrease, £6,000. It is anticipated that the greater number of applicants for retirement under Article X of the Treaty, December, 1921, will have been released in 1929-30.
I will now deal with the three principal services of this Department, taking them in the order of their relative financial importance. As to the postal service, as shown in the summarised table of commercial account balances, the loss on this service in 1922-23 was £656,210, and has since been reduced to £13,510. It is expected that this section of our departmental activities will shortly be on a self-supporting basis. The analysis of this services under its various subdivisions given in previous statements indicates that the letter post is the remunerative portion of this branch, and recouped the losses on the other sections to a large extent. A too literal interpretation of the apparently abvious conclusion to be drawn from the figures is likely to mislead. It must be remembered that the apportionment of charges is, to an extent, artificial, and that the service stands together as a whole. The withdrawal of an unremunerative portion of the service or the upward revision of a charge would not necessarily set matters right.
Under the heading of postal services it may be appropriate to refer to an event of considerable historic and economic importance which took place during the past year. It was the opening of the reconstructed General Post Office in O'Connell Street. The accommodation made available has greatly facilitated the transaction of postal business to the public. The building contains the public office, accommodation for the accounting section, including savings bank and studios for broadcasting, together with administrative offices. When the Prince's Street wing is completed the central telegraph staff will be removed from their present temporary building. The shops in the Arcade and Henry Street have been let at satisfactory rents.
In April last a special postage stamp in three denominations was issued in commemoration of the centenary of Catholic Emancipation. The stamp was designed by an Irish artist, Mr. Leo Whelan, and the printing was carried out in the Irish Free State. The design met with general approval, and the stamp is in considerable demand by philatelists.
It has been decided to erect a number of automatic stamp-vending machines in the City of Dublin, and a contract has been entered into for the provision of 24. Of these 12 will be available for use very shortly. This development is, to an extent, experimental, and its further extension will be dependent on the efficiency of the machines in use and the extent to which they will be availed of by the public.
In connection with correspondence by air mails, facilities are in force for the conveyance of correspondence posted in the Irish Free State by the principal international air mail services. The volume of such correspondence posted continues to be small. It is estimated that 4,500 items were posted during the year, and of this number 3,700 were for the Indian service.
To afford additional postal facilities in country districts arrangements have been made to have letter boxes affixed to a number of the Irish Omnibus Company's buses. Correspondence so posted will be subject to late fee. The arrangement so far must be regarded as of a temporary and experimental nature.
Other improved facilities of a useful, if perhaps of a somewhat minor character, have been made available for the public. They include such additional accommodation as the attachment of late fee boxes to certain trains, the establishment of additional mails on weekdays and of Sunday despatches principally in connection with Dublin. Later collections from letter boxes were arranged for where practicable.
Coming to telephones, the financial position as shown in the summarised Commercial Accounts indicates that the loss on this service has now been reduced to £30,700. This is an improvement on the position in previous years. Deputies are aware that a reduction in charges took place in 1925. This reduction is greatly increasing the loss on this service. The overhead charges have considerably increased owing principally to the annual payments under the Telephone Acts. Despite assertions to the contrary, our scale of charges is comparatively moderate, and the task of balancing the account; will be a difficult one. It is axiomatic in the telephone world that large additions to the number of subscribers do not reduce the unit cost. The advantage is reaped by the subscribers in the additional quick communication facilities which the additions make available to them.
The extension of the telephone in rural areas, in so far as the breaking of fresh ground is concerned, has now almost ceased. Consideration is always carefully given to applications for the opening of new exchanges or the establishment of call offices. Whenever those applications can be justified on financial grounds the installations are carried out. During the past year telephone exchanges were opened at Ballybofey, Foxford, Ratoath and Tara. In addition 31 exchanges with less than four subscribers each were opened. Exchanges are being provided at seven other centres. The total number of call offices now open is 1,211 an increase of 51 on last year. There has been an increase of 985 in the number of subscribers' stations. A considerable number of trunk and junction circuits were provided during the year. In connection with trunk calls, a system of "personal" calls has been introduced. The subscriber can ask to get a particular person in addition to the number and is not charged the trunk fee unless the call is effective. A considerable amount of underground cable-laying took place during the past year, and included in this has been work at Dublin, Bray, and Shankhill, Killiney-Dalkey, Wexford, Dundrum, Terenure, and in connection with the Shannon scheme crossings.
During the year the extension of automatic equipment to the extent of 4,800 lines, was carried out in Dublin. The lines were transferred gradually, a method which has proved to cause least inconvenience and expense. The work of installation, together with the incidental operations, such as laying of new cables, was carried out by the staff of the Engineering Branch. The engineers in charge deserve commendation for the manner in which they performed a difficult task. I am informed that the transfer was greatly facilitated by the helpful attitude of the public.
The conversion of Rathmines area to the automatic system has been authorised and will be carried out in due course. A site has been obtained for the erection of a new exchange at Rathmines, and it is hoped the work will be commenced soon. It is regretted that in that thickly-populated area we have been unable to meet the full telephone requirements of the people. As an expedient a temporary exchange is being arranged for. This, it is hoped, will considerably relieve the congestion.
It is to be regretted that in the rural towns the demand for the installation of telephones shows little signs of expansion. I personally know of one such town, one of the most prosperous of its class, the population of which is 5,000 approximately. It contains 3 banks, 7 hotels, 6 doctors, 6 lawyers, of which 2 only are telephone subscribers. There are also numerous corn stores, provision dealers, etc., etc., but there are only 15 telephone subscribers in the whole town. Extraordinary to relate, the lawyers there combined to refuse to instal telephones on the ground that our charges were excessive. It is difficult to believe that business would not be facilitated and developed by a more extended use of the telephone. Institutions which should be expected to keep abreast of the times are very slow to avail of it. One of the leading banks which has approximately 115 offices and branches has only 20 telephones.
A comparison with a few other countries may be of interest:—
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Telephones per 100 of population.
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Telephone conversations per head.
|
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Australia
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7.2
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59.6
|
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Austria
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2.4
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69.5
|
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Canada
|
13.2
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221.5
|
|
Denmark
|
9.3
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136.8
|
|
Great Britain
|
3.6
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28.6
|
|
United States
|
15.8
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224.7
|
|
Irish Free State
|
.9
|
7.4
|
Conditions differ, of course, in different countries, and it is probable we suffer in telephone density by reason of our excellent postal facilities and the many other alternative means of rapid communication.
Telephonic communication with foreign countries is being developed. Last year a transatlantic wireless service with the United States was inaugurated, and recently the Continental telephone service was extended to include Finland. Negotiations have just been completed for a wireless service with Australia.
As to telegrams, in this, as in other administrations, the telegraph provides a problem for which there seems no easy solution. Traffic continues to decline. The main reasons for this are probably the following:—(1) Increased use of the telephone; (2) the many means of rapid communication now available, principally buses, and (3) increased charge per telegram. The estimated number of telegrams originating in the Irish Free State, excluding Press messages, for the past year was 2,069,000, as compared with 2,411,000 for the previous year. The revenue for the past year was £219,350 as compared with £225,369 for the previous year. Expenses on the service were curtailed to an extent which enabled the deficit to be reduced to £132,135, as compared with £147,995 for the previous year. Despite the fact of the decreased volume of traffic, which is only due in part to the increased charges, we are satisfied departmentally, after careful examination of all the relevant facts, that the increased minimum charge imposed in August, 1928, has resulted in effecting a saving in the cost of this service.
It may be of interest to Deputies to know that the volume of our telegraph traffic compares favourably with many other countries, as, for instance:—
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Telegrams per head.
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Belgium
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0.7
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Denmark
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0.6
|
|
Germany
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0.6
|
|
Great Britain
|
1.5
|
|
United States
|
1.8
|
|
Irish Free State
|
0.7
|
In conclusion, I wish to express appreciation of the general conduct of the staff during the year. I believe the standard of civility and courtesy has been high, and we have received several voluntary tributes in this connection. There may be isolated instances to the contrary, and when such are reported and proved we deal with them very severely, because we recognise that the efficiency of the service is dependent on the spirit of good will between our officials and the public.
