asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if his attention has been drawn to the discrepancy between the charges for letters posted in Saorstát Eireann for transmission by air from Great Britain to places overseas and the charges made in Great Britain for similar facilities and, if so, what steps he has taken to ensure a more equitable charge.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Air Mail Fees.
Mr. Boland
I am aware of the fact that the air mail fees operative in the Saorstát are higher than those operative in Great Britain. The Saorstát fees are, however, the minimum necessary to cover the payments which have to be made by this administration to the British Post Office for the conveyance of Saorstát correspondence by British air services.
In this connection, I should, perhaps, state that the charges we pay are in accordance with the international regulations on the subject, and have no relation whatever to the British air mail fees. The British administration is, of course, entitled to fix any fee it chooses in respect of its own correspondence carried on British air services, whereas no outside administration can claim this special fee.