I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £5,460 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1950, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Transport and Power.
The Department of Transport and Power was established on the 27th July, 1959, and it is necessary to provide funds to meet the cost of the services administered by the Department to the end of the present financial year. It is considered inadvisable to make any changes in the existing financial arrangements in the current year in respect of the services transferred for which provision is made in the Votes for Industry and Commerce (Vote 50); Transport and Marine Services (Vote 51), and Aviation and Meteorological Services (Vote 52). Accordingly, expenditure on those services to the end of 1959-60 will, as indicated in the note to this Estimate, continue to be borne on Votes 50, 51 and 52 and accounted for by the Office of the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
The expenditure for which the authority of the Dáil is now being sought relates only to certain services not provided for in any other Estimates.
The staffs working on the functions which have been transferred were taken over by the new Department and their salaries, etc., will continue to be borne on Votes 50, 51 and 52. Provision has to be made, however, for the new Minister, for two new posts, Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary, for the Private Secretary to the Minister (Higher Executive Officer) and the Private Secretary to the Secretary (Executive Officer) of the Department. In addition, a provision is included to cover the allowances paid to the Private Secretaries and to the confidential Shorthand Typist to the Minister. The salary provision amounts to £5,160. In addition, a sum of £300 is provided to cover the travelling expenses and subsistence allowances of the staff of the Department whose salaries are borne on this Vote.