asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will take steps to ensure that no university student or person without family responsibilities will be engaged by his Department on Christmas postal work in preference to unemployed married men.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment on Christmas Postal Work.
43.
Mr. Ryan
Temporary staff for Christmas postal work are selected from persons registered for such work at the Employment Exchanges. Subject to physical and educational suitability, preference is given to married men in receipt of unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit.
Would the Minister not give unmarried men in receipt of unemployment assistance preference over university students and other such people?
The procedure is the same every year. Persons who register and offer themselves for such work are interviewed by the Department Officials and the list they compile of both married and single persons is first exhausted. Students are not employed until that list is exhausted.
May I take it then that persons who have been on the unemployment register, married or unmarried, will be considered before students?
Yes. They are considered before students, but they must be suitable for the employment for which they offer themselves. The difficulty of the Department is that they must have persons who are capable of performing the duties of sorting and delivering letters during the Christmas rush.