Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Mar 1951

Vol. 124 No. 12

Committee on Finance. - Vote 54—Posts and Telegraphs.

Minister for Social Welfare (Mr. Norton)

I move:—

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £19,270 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1951, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (45 and 46 Vict., c. 74; 8 Edw. 7, c. 48; 1 and 2 Geo. 5, c. 26; the Telegraph Acts, 1863 to 1928; No. 14 of 1940 (secs. 30 and 31); No. 14 of 1942 (sec. 23); etc.), and of certain other Services administered by that Office.

The Estimate for Posts and Telegraphs, already approved by the Dáil for the financial year ending 31st March, 1951, amounts to £5,488,600. Owing to causes which could not have been foreseen, this provision will be insufficient, and an additional sum of £19,270 will be required to meet expenditure up to the end of the financial year.

The gross extra expenditure on the sub-heads for which the original provision is insufficient is estimated at £186,920. Against this, however, receipts from Appropriations-in-Aid will be higher by £60,600 than was estimated and savings amounting to £107,050 will be available from other sub-heads, leaving a net sum of £19,270.

The causes of the increased expenditure are briefly as follows:— Sub-head D, increase, £5,500; this is due to expenditure on the acquisition of certain sites, for which no provision was made in the main Estimate.

Mr. Little

Will the Minister indicate the sites?

Mr. Norton

One site in question is at College Green. This refers to the purchase of a head landlord's interest in 28 College Green, one of the buildings constituting the College Green Post Office. It amounts to £9,000. There is then the purchase of a new post office site at Wicklow. The sale was to have been closed last year, but it is being closed this year. The provision there is £420, making a total of £9,420. Savings owing to the purchase of other sites not being completed amount to £3,920, so the net sum required is £5,500.

On sub-head E (5), the increase is £119,000. The increase is due to (1) growth of traffic, mainly to the United States of America and to the British Commonwealth and Europe, and (2) payment in this financial year of accounts due to be paid, but not received last year.

In sub-head G (1) the increase is £47,420. Of this sum £45,920 is attributable to the purchase of emergency reserve stocks owing to the international situation. The balance is due to increased prices of commodities purchased.

The increase in sub-head G (2) is £10,000 due to purchases of emergency reserve stocks, mainly of cloth. The increase in sub-head N (1) is £5,000, due to greater expenditure on marriage gratuities and death gratuities. That explains the various increases.

Mr. Little

I regret very much that the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs is not here; I regret it for several reasons, especially as it is largely due to ill-health. However, it has placed the Tánaiste in an extremely awkward position because, having been secretary of the Postal Workers' Union, he is now in the position of being the employer, and this makes it very difficult for him to deal with the matter properly and adequately.

I do not want to go into a general criticism of the Department now. As regards the sites, I am glad the situation in College Green is being cleared up. I do not know whether that involves any of the property where the new building is, but as regards the new building it is very urgently needed and it is essential to have it completed, because apparently the present position with regard to the telephone exchange is a chaotic one, owing to lack of space and the lack of a proper room for the personnel to deal with the calls coming in on the increased number of telephones which have been installed all over the country.

Mr. Norton

The Deputy knows, of course, that this has nothing to do with the proposed new exchange.

Mr. Little

I see. As regards stores, apparently the only increase here is due to an increase of price. Both here and in the Book of Estimates I notice there does not seem to be any awareness of the possible shortages that may occur later on and I urge the Department to try to lay in as much in the way of stores as they can. When we were in office—I do not claim this as a political claim at all—I would like to emphasise that our controller of stores was quick enough to pick up an amount of material, especially of cable, which carried us through the emergency.

Every effort should be made now to increase this Estimate for the next year and to show that the attitude indicated in the Supplementary Estimate is not going to be the attitude during the coming year. I know there may be difficulty in obtaining supp lies, but every effort should be made to obtain them because that is the one thing that may hold back development later on.

I hope the Minister will bring in his Telephone Capital Bill soon in order to deal with the problem of increasing telephones all over the country. I do not intend to discuss legislation now but I would like to say that. I do not suppose the property at Ardmore comes under the Post Office. Has it been bought by the Post Office for broadcasting purposes and is it on that account?

Mr. Norton

The Board of Works Vote.

Mr. Little

There is one item which should be on this Supplementary Estimate. I do not know if it is contained in it and covered up. I refer to the extra expense of changing the Post Office in Baltinglass from one place to another and back again.

Mr. Norton

There is not a halfpenny in it but perhaps the Deputy might like to have a day later in the year to discuss it.

Mr. Little

We will be looking forward to another occasion for discussing it.

Mr. Norton

I thought it would be more seasonable for you in the spring.

Mr. Little

I meant to ask the Minister, who, when in opposition, was so enthusiastic about the Pearse Street post office, whether that is included in the sites.

Mr. Norton

No, but I shall be glad to give you a little information about it, nevertheless.

Mr. Little

I should like also to take the opportunity of asking why on earth the Bill has not been introduced legalising the very illegal position with regard to stamp money which is at present being collected without any legal authority.

Mr. Norton

I shall convey Deputy Little's sympathy and good wishes to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and his expression of kind solicitude for his early return to his parliamentary duties. Deputy Little is concerned about the purchase of stores and I want to set his worried mind at rest by telling him that we are making provision for the purchase of more stores than were ever bought before. If the Deputy thinks that his achievements during the emergency were monumental, he will be satisfied that the purchases on this occasion will be substantially more. The Department of Posts and Telegraphs will not want for money when it comes to buying stores in advance, because the Government's desire is that the maximum possible quantity of available stores should be bought as prudently as possible.

Mr. Traynor

The Minister is not forgetting that there was a war period during his predecessor's term of office?

Mr. Norton

I have been reasonably friendly in this discussion, but when Deputy Little proceeds to warn us about the need for purchasing stores, without having made any inquiries as to the quantity we bought, even Deputy Traynor will not object to my defending myself. I am doing that by telling Deputy Little that there is no need for any furrowed brows on this matter. We are buying all the stores necessary and will continue that policy, so as to ensure that there will be no shortfall in the matter of supp lies, so far as money will enable us to purchase these supp lies.

With regard to Pearse Street, while it is not referred to in the Estimate, I know that it is a problem dear to Deputy Little's heart. He toyed with it for 16 years and the place was just the same in the 16th year as it was in the first year. The Deputy will be glad to know now that an alternative site to Pearse Street has been purchased, or is about to be purchased— a very much better site, very much more conveniently located, a very much bigger site and much more suitable—and, for the first time, there is now a ray of hope that some effective steps will be taken in due course to give the City of Dublin the central sorting office that it ought to have had during the many years Deputy Little sat on this side.

Mr. Traynor

Will the Minister tell us where the site is?

Mr. Norton

I should be only too happy to do so, but I do not think it wise to release the information until everything is sewn up. I know that, in our successful efforts in this matter, we have the good wishes and profound encouragement of Deputy Little, who must now feel that at least something is being done with the problem on which he sat with magnificent indifference for about 16 years.

Question put and agreed to.