asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether, before making an appointment recently to the position of sub-postmaster at Cullen, Millstreet, County Cork, he advertised the vacancy; if so, whether he will state the names, addresses and qualifications of the several applicants for the office; whether, in particular, he received applications for the position from a number of persons offering adequate facilities in the village of Cullen; whether one of these applicants, Mr. John Dinneen, is the occupier of centrally situated and suitable premises and during the emergency served for five years with the Defence Forces; whether, in view of these considerations he will state the grounds on which the appointment was given to Mr. Matt Murphy, whose place of residence, now the sub-office of Cullen, is a remote farm house in a rural area, situated a considerable distance from the village which the office is required to serve.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Appointment of Sub-Postmaster.
The vacancy for a sub-postmaster at Cullen was duly advertised and there were 11 applicants, including Mr. John Dinneen. I did not consider Mr. Dinneen's premises suitable.
I am not prepared to furnish the names and addresses of the various applicants, but I can assure the Deputy that the qualifications of each of them were fully considered and that the person appointed was the most suitable. His premises are beside the creamery and are more centrally situated for that postal area than the village itself. He served in the I.R.A. and is a fluent Irish speaker.
The Minister states that he did not consider Mr. Dinneen's premises suitable. Is the Minister aware that the premises occupied by this particular person, Mr. Murphy, are only of small size and that he purchased those premises quite recently to enable him to qualify for this position? In view of the fact that Cullen is situated in a Gaeltacht area, will the Minister say that he was satisfied that this particular applicant had a knowledge of Irish before deciding upon his application?
He is a fluent Irish speaker and his premises are perfectly suitable.
Is he in the Fianna Fáil club, too?