asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether he is aware that in March last the commissioner administering the affairs of the Kilkenny Mental Hospital Committee entered into an agreement with the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union regarding wages, salaries, holiday arrangements, etc., concerning the staff of the Kilkenny Mental Hospital; whether the proposals agreed to by the commissioner in this case were submitted to his Department for approval, and, if so, whether he will state the date on which they were so submitted, and whether he has sanctioned them, and, if not, whether he will state the grounds on which he has withheld sanction.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kilkenny Mental Hospital.
I am aware that the commissioner received an application from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union on behalf of the staff of Kilkenny Mental Hospital to have the present wages increased by 25 per cent., but I have no information that any agreement was entered into between the commissioner and the union on the specific matters referred to in the question. The proposals of the commissioner were received on the 4th April last. They have not been approved. The community as a whole is affected by the present economic conditions and there were no adequate reasons why any particular sections of the community who are in permanent employment and enjoy pension rights should be secured at the expense of others who may not be so well circumstanced. Moreover, economy in local administration is of vital importance at the present time if the standard of local government service is to be maintained without imposing undue strain on the ratepayers.