Post Office expenditure for the financial year 1946-47 is estimated at £3,549,320. This represents a gross increase of £216,055 on the provision for 1945-46 of which £206,000 is due to increased emergency bonus and to the provision of extra staff to meet continuing growth of work. There are off-setting decreases of £34,645, leaving a net increase of £181,410. The main variations in the Estimate as compared with the past year are as follows:—
Sub-heads A (1) to A (4)—Salaries, etc. The net increase of £91,180 on these sub-heads is due, mainly, to increased emergency bonus amounting to £87,028. The remainder arises from normal incremental increases and from additional staff provision necessitated by growth in various classes of work, including additional remuneration to sub-postmasters for increased business: also to the transfer of staff expenditure amounting to £38,240 from the former "O" sub-head, now abolished. There are off-setting savings from retirements, reduced provision for extra duty, etc.
Sub-head D—Purchase of Sites, etc. The decrease of £6,050 is due to provision having been made last year for the purchase of a new stores warehouse.
Sub-head E (1)—Conveyance of Mails by Rail. There is an increase of £5,170 due to increased payment to Córas Iompair Eireann for conveyance of letter mails on restoration of train services.
Sub-head E (4)—The extra £5,200 provides for an increase in the amount payable by this Administration in respect of the conveyance of letter mails between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire in the event of the normal frequency of service being restored.
Sub-head E (5)—Conveyance of Mails by Air. The reduction of £5,705 is due mainly to the clearance of arrears of outstanding accounts in respect of British Commonwealth air services.
Sub-head G (1)—Non-engineering Stores. The increased provision of £26,810 is for the purchase, now that normal conditions are returning, of additional supplies of mail bags, letter boxes, cycles and mechanical transport, and for additional costs arising out of the grant of increased mileage rates for private cycles, of which a greater number is now in use than heretofore.
Sub-head I (1)—Engineering Establishment, Salaries, Wages and Allowances. The increase of £17,795 arises out of additional emergency bonus and increased provision for staff, labour, etc., mainly for telephone works.
Sub-head K—Engineering Materials. There is an increase of £29,750 due to provision for increased purchase of engineering stores for new construction and renewal work, etc.
Sub-head L (3)—Contract Work. The increase of £5,555 provides for increased construction work under contract.
Sub-head M—Telephone Capital Repayments. The increase in this sub-head is £5,040. These repayments are in respect of annuities created under the Telephone Capital Acts, which authorise the Minister for Finance to borrow money for the development of the telephone service: the repayment provision to be made each year is determined by the Minister for Finance.
Sub-head N (1)—Superannuation Allowances. There is a decrease of £17,030 in this sub-head. This is mainly due to reduced provision for additional retiring allowances under the Superannuation Acts, and for marriage gratuities; offset by increased emergency bonus and the growth in number of pensions.
Of the sub-heads relating to Civil Aviation and Meteorological Services, Q (1)—Salaries, Wages and Allowances of Engineering Staff—shows an increase of £1,330, due mainly to provision for increased emergency bonus and additional staff. Sub-head Q (2) is increased by £14,615 to provide additional radio equipment.
Sub-head T—Appropriations-in-Aid —shows a small decrease of £1,935. A reduction is expected in the receipts from railway companies for works performed for them and from other administrations for agency services performed on their behalf. The reduction will be largely offset by increased receipts from Savings Bank funds and from the sale of engineering stores, scrap, etc.
Deputies will observe that the separate sub-heads ("O") relating to the Post Office Savings Bank which appeared in former Estimates have been discontinued and the various charges incorporated in other sub-heads. The relatively small expenditure which was included in these sub-heads did not differ in character from that contained in other sub-heads. On the other hand, the discontinuance of the separate Savings Bank sub-heads will facilitate accounting. The total costs of administration recoverable from Savings Bank funds is, of course, still shown in item 5 of the Appropriations-in-Aid (sub-head T).
I am glad to say that the financial position of the three main services— postal, telegraph and telephone—on a commercial basis at the end of 1944-45, the latest year for which complete figures are available, was more favourable than I had ventured to hope last year. It was as follows:—postal service —deficit: £20,101; telegraph service— deficit: £122,663; telephone service— surplus: £267,289, showing at 31st March, 1945, a net surplus of £124,525 on the three services. It is estimated that, notwithstanding growing costs, the profit on the services on a commercial basis at 31st March, 1946, had risen to £182,200.
With the cessation of international hostilities, the many difficulties which have impeded the operation of all the Department's services in recent years are beginning to lessen. Foreign mail services are gradually resuming and, except to Japan and some of the territories formerly occupied by Japanese forces, a more or less regular letter service is once more available to every country. The time occupied in the transmission of foreign correspondence by surface services is, however, still very far in excess of the pre-war standard. There will, no doubt, be gradual improvement as time goes on.
Parcel post services to many countries abroad are still suspended. Despite this handicap, foreign parcel post traffic as a whole has improved. During the past year, 12,200 foreign parcels were dispatched as compared with 4,800 during the previous year; while 635,000 were received as compared with the previous figure of 281,000. Some 25 per cent. of the parcels despatched were for the United States and 91 per cent. of those received were from that country. The outgoing parcel traffic is still less than half that of pre-war years, but the inward traffic is much greater.
Transatlantic air mail traffic, after remaining static for some years, now shows a marked upward trend, over 11,000 lb. of mail having been despatched last year as compared with 8,000 during the year preceding. This increase is probably largely due to the speeding-up of mails carried by air to and from the United States, but, no doubt, also, in degree, to the increased contacts with visitors to this country since the cessation of hostilities. The average time for transmission by air between Ireland and the United States is now only three days.
Air mail services are again in operation to all European countries, except Germany. The 6d. Commonwealth air letter service, to which I referred last year, was introduced in September last and the traffic has progressively increased. Foreign money order services are being gradually reintroduced. Difficulties as regards rates of exchange give rise to delay in restoration.
Coming to home services, the position is that the internal mail services are still adversely affected by the restricted services of Coras Iompair Eireann although the restoration in August last of passenger services on all week-days and the re-opening of branch lines have helped to improve matters. It has been possible to arrange for the resumption of certain travelling post offices which were withdrawn in April, 1944, and the day to day uniformity of despatches and arrivals has been largely restored. We are, however, hampered by the continued absence of night mail trains on the midland section, by the absence of suitable night mail connections on certain southern section branch lines, by the non-running of night goods trains on the Dublin-Wexford line on Saturday and, generally, by the longer times now taken by the trains for the journeys.
Every improvement in railway services that could be of benefit to the Post Office is availed of. The use of buses for letter mails has been resorted to as far as practicable and has tended to improve the mail arrangements, particularly in the midland section.
The continued improvement in the petrol supply position during the past year has, with just a few exceptions due to local difficulties in procuring tyres, enabled us to return to motor-working on routes where horse-working had been temporarily employed. Departmental motor services have been further restored and now cover approximately 80 per cent. of the pre-war mileage.
In Dublin City, a considerable improvement has been effected in morning deliveries as a result of an easing in the gas supply position which has enabled earlier staff attendances to be arranged. There has also been an improvement in the time of morning delivery in Dún Laoghaire concerning which complaint was made in the House last year.
Cross-Channel services are still adversely affected by the continued restriction of the Dún Laoghaire-Holyhead sailings to one a day in each direction. I have no information as to when an improvement may be anticipated, but, in any event, I expect that, before long, discussions with the British administration as to the transfer of the cross-Channel letter mails to air will be re-opened.
A recent development was the introduction, in January last, of surcharge air mail services to and from Great Britain. Although restricted in scope, this service has substantially improved the postal facilities to and from cross-Channel offices.
I have had under consideration the question of improving the postal delivery facilities on rural posts on which a less frequent delivery than six days a week is afforded. The total number of such posts is approximately 5,200 and of these about 3,500, serving about 70 per cent. of the rural population, have a daily delivery at present; some 50 others get a delivery on four to five days a week; 1,700 have a thrice weekly delivery; while some 30 very remote areas, mainly islands, are served on two days a week only or less. I find that the cost of granting a six-day delivery all-round would be very substantial and would involve a heavy deficit on the postal service as a whole. Indeed the existing rural services, such as they are, are already operated at a loss in very many instances. I am satisfied, however, that I would be justified in spending another £20,000 a year on the rural posts and I have pleasure in announcing that I have secured the approval of the Minister for Finance to do so.
The details have yet to be worked out but the expenditure of that sum should make it possible to grant an additional day's delivery to the areas of limited service and may possibly permit of more being done in some cases. These improvements will be carried out as soon as possible.
The increase in telegraph traffic and revenue, which manifested itself in recent years as a result of emergency conditions, continues. The loss on the service during the financial year just ended is estimated at £121,000 as compared with £123,000 approximately for 1944-45.
The telephone service continues to grow. Traffic during the past year shows large increases. Trunk calls increased by 553,000 over the figures for the previous year and local calls by 5,000,000. Since pre-war days trunk calls have increased by 3,820,000 and local calls by 18,000,000. Telephone revenue increased correspondingly and for the first time in the history of our telephone service passed the £1,000,000 mark to reach the figure of £1,006,200.
While these figures are very satisfactory in themselves the rapid growth of traffic involves serious difficulties for the Department in its endeavours to maintain a satisfactory and efficient service by reason of the fact that there are not sufficient circuits or exchange equipment for the enormously increased load. I have already on various occasions explained to Deputies the serious difficulties caused by the impossibility of procuring during the emergency, except in the most limited quantities, renewals of essential construction stores and equipment and very many important items were not obtainable at all. In this connection it may be no harm to state, once more, that we started the emergency period with a reserve of three year's supplies, but this reserve and the limited supplementary stocks we subsequently managed to procure proved insufficient for the unanticipated and unprecedented requirements brought about by the emergency.
Almost from the outset a huge new network of communications had to be provided for the defence services and, subsequently, traffic soared to record proportions. In spite of the difficulties, however, we managed to carry on reasonably well—I might indeed say surprisingly well in the actual circumstances—but only by employing to the utmost every possible expedient that could be devised to extend the life of old plant. The shortage of new construction stores rendered it, however, quite impossible for us to provide, during the emergency years, the additional circuits which would have ordinarily been erected to carry the increased traffic, with the result that, in spite of the best efforts of the Department and the staff, the standard of service, particularly at busy periods, is not what it would be under normal conditions.
Although the period of belligerency is happily over, the end of the emergency, so far as it affected supply conditions for communication materials to this country, has not yet been reached. It is true that in some respects there has been a marked and welcome improvement in the position, but some vitally important items of equipment are still unobtainable. Even in these latter cases, however, there is an improved outlook, because we now have promises of delivery at some future and not too far distant date.
Notwithstanding, however, our restricted supplies, we succeeded in erecting last year some 600 miles of new trunk overhead circuit, and we intend during the coming year to undertake a substantially enlarged programme. In addition, three-channel carrier systems were provided last year between Dublin and Tralee and Dublin and Limerick. Lately, delivery has been obtained of a new type of carrier equipment—a "12 channel" system—by means of which it is proposed to provide additional circuits on the Dublin-Limerick route. This equipment embodies some of the most recent technical developments and, although difficult problems may be involved in employing it under the conditions that obtain in this country, it is hoped that it may be possible to have the new channels working in the coming summer.
The cross-Channel service has been very adversely affected by the heavy growth of traffic and there is urgent need of additional circuits. Arrangements are being made in co-operation with the British Post Office for the provision of 12 additional channels in the submarine cables. These, when installed, will result in a material improvement in the service: they may be ready by August next.
The position as regards the taking on of new subscribers is, I regret to say, still unsatisfactory. Although, last year, we gave service to 1,069 new subscribers there are, at present, some 4,000 applicants on the waiting list, of whom over 2,500 are in the Dublin area. There are two main factors limiting the provision of service freely to applicants at present, namely, (a) shortage of spare circuits in the underground cables in cities and towns, and (b) shortage of switchboard equipment at a large number of exchanges throughout the country.
In normal times underground cables for subscribers' service are provided on a systematic basis well in advance of the spare wires in the cables being used up. During the emergency, supplies of cables were obtainable only in the most limited quantities, with the result that there is now a widespread shortage of underground spare circuits. It will, therefore, be necessary to lay new cables extensively in the cities and large towns.
As regards exchange equipment, the position in Dublin is that spare terminations at the Crown Alley, Ship Street and Merrion Street exchanges are approaching exhaustion and arrangements have been made for a major extension of the Crown Alley Exchange to provide for present and future needs. A contract for the extension was placed in July last and installation will, it is hoped, be completed by the end of this year. In the meantime it will be necessary to continue to restrict the provision of subscribers' service in areas served by these three exchanges. The position as regards spare terminations in the other automatic exchanges (Terenure, Rathmines, Clontarf and Dún Laoghaire) is fairly satisfactory but, to provide for the future, a contract for extending each of them was placed in November last.
In order to relieve pressure in the main switchroom at Exchequer Street exchange an auxiliary switchroom has been provided to deal with cross-Channel and Northern Ireland calls and to take a certain amount of other trunk traffic from the main switchroom.
In the provinces additional switchboards are required at numerous exchanges. Supplies are on order and first deliveries have recently been made. Installation will be arranged with the least possible delay. In some cases, namely, Cork and Waterford, complete replacement of the exchanges on conversion to the automatic system will be necessary and the necessary steps are in train.
Special attention is being given to the question of improving the position generally by the clearance of waiting applications for service, by the provision of additional trunk circuits, by the installation of further exchange equipment and of underground cabling. Additional staff, technical and workman, are at present being recruited and will be argumented later as far as may be necessary. Every effort will be made to deal with the situation generally with the utmost possible expedition, but it is important at the same time that I should make clear that no immediate rectification of the position can be expected in view of the magnitude of the task and of the uncertainty of deliveries by contractors. It will take from 12 to 18 months at least to clear waiting applications for subscriber service.
I referred last year to the "five-year plan" for the installation of a telephone call office at every Post Office now without service which had been decided on.
There are over 900 such offices and as most of them are situated in remote areas the construction work involved will be very heavy. The scheme will have to be spread over a number of years and the selection of offices to be equipped each year must be determined on engineering grounds, the object being to carry out the work in such order as will enable the whole scheme to be completed in the shortest time possible.
A start is being made on the scheme this year and it is hoped that it will be possible to provide about 180 call offices. We also expect to provide about 40 new kiosks, mainly for the provinces.
It will be appreciated from what I have said that our activities during the coming year, so far as telephones are concerned, are likely to concentrate mainly on a rectification of existing shortcomings rather than on any large scale expansion. I hope, however, in connection with a new Telephone Capital Bill which will be necessary to make funds available for future development, and which will be shortly introduced, to indicate in some detail our plans and ideas in regard to the future.
The value of contracts placed by the Stores Branch last year was £967,810, a decrease of £462,401 on the figures for the previous year but, although expenditure was lower, there was an increase of approximately 10 per cent. in the number of contracts and orders. The value of contracts placed for articles manufactured or assembled within the State was £625,717. The falling-off is, of course, due to the easing of the emergency situation, the reduction of the Defence services, etc.
One of the biggest tasks of the Stores Branch during the past year was the provision of civilian suits for discharged soldiers, a task which was complicated by the unexpectedly rapid rate of demobilisation. The services of the branch were also availed of in connection with the Government's scheme for the relief of distress in Europe under which a large variety of stores and commodities was supplied to various countries.
There has been a general improvement in the position regarding imports from Great Britain. This has enabled the Post Office factory to resume its normal activities and the employment situation is now sounder than it was when the factory was burned down in November, 1942, and the prospects generally are brighter.
With regard to Post Office buildings, the Department continues to be hampered by the difficulties which confront the building industry everywhere. This is unfortunate as Post Office accommodation as a whole has become very congested by reason of the large volume of work falling to the Department as a result of the introduction of various new social services during the emergency, particularly children's allowances. The difficulties in this connection have been considerably increased by the enormous development of the telephone which has already taken place and the certainty of further considerable expansion. The position is one which is causing the Department no small anxiety and special measures are being taken to deal with it.
The new Postmen's District Office in Whitehall is nearing completion and should be ready for use some time during the summer. The Office of Public Works is engaged in the preparation of working drawings, etc., for the new post office and exchange at St. Andrew Street, Dublin. In view, however, of the magnitude of the undertaking, it will be some considerable time before building operations will commence. Early priority as regards materials, etc., will be given.
The growth in Savings Bank business was well maintained during the past year. For the second year in succession the number of deposits accepted exceeded the million mark, and for the first time the value of deposits exceeded £10,000,000. Compared with the previous year, deposits at £10,630,000 showed an increase of £2,280,000 and withdrawals at £4,959,000 an increase of £1,520,000. The balance to credit of depositors on 31st December, 1945, was £32,754,000. The number of accounts remaining open increased by 56,000 to 599,000.
Under the scheme whereby Army gratuities payable to demobilised defence personnel are lodged in the Savings Bank 20,000 accounts involving a sum of £1,010,000 were opened. The scheme is, of course, not yet completed.
In addition to ordinary deposits a sum of £1,080,000 was deposited by way of investment of moneys received by the Minister for Finance for the credit of Trustee Savings Banks, and £61,000 was withdrawn. Interest amounted to £103,000. The balance to credit of the banks with the Minister for Finance increased by £1,122,000 to £4,266,000.
Investments by the public in Savings Certificates during 1945 totalled £1,549,000, an increase of £38,000 on the previous 12 months. Withdrawals amounted to £725,000, leaving a net saving for the year of £824,000 as compared with £892,000 for 1944. The increase in withdrawals may be accidental or it may be due to traders having more scope for obtaining supplies or to a tendency on the part of the public to spend more as a result of the end of the war.
In conclusion, I would like to refer to three matters affecting the staff of the Department which, although purely matters of internal administration, may be of interest. The first relates to night telephonists employed in the Central Telephone Exchange in Dublin. These were formerly employed on a part-time basis but their posts have recently been converted to fulltime status.
The second concerns the engineering branch. Linemen in that branch who are responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of telegraph and telephone installations have much travelling to do and have heretofore been supplied with motor-cycle combinations for this purpose. Experience showed that a more efficient maintenance service could be provided by the use of light motor vans instead of the combinations, owing to the greater carrying capacity of the vans and the greater protection they afford in bad weather to the men concerned. Accordingly, it has been decided gradually to replace these combinations, numbering in all 52, by light vans.
The third matter affects only the accountant's branch at present, but it is likely to have much wider repercussions later. Deputies may recollect that when the Minister for Finance spoke in November last on a resolution regarding Civil Service re-organisation, he was kind enough to refer very favourably to the efficiency of Post Office methods of work. That tribute was, I think, fully merited, but the achievement of maximum efficiency is a continuous process and my Department is continually seeking new ways of bringing about still greater efficiency in personnel and organisation. We are now trying out some experimental measures in the accountant's branch which has been selected as a suitable proving ground because of the volume and variety of the work there. One of the measures consists of a continuous and systematic review of organisation and methods by means of a minute examination of working techniques. The examination aims at economising effort and relieving the staff of strain and monotony.
Another measure has been the establishment of a reception and training school for entrants to the branch. The initial course of training lasts from eight to 12 days, during which the entrants are given short lectures and practical instruction to acquaint them with the code of Civil Service rules and conduct, and with the technique of office work, and to give them a general background of knowledge about Post Office services. The results so far are very promising and if further experience continues favourable the practicability of adopting similar measures in other sections of the Department will be investigated. I desire, in conclusion, to express my appreciation of the excellent service rendered by the staff of the Department as a whole during the past 12 months.
