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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 Apr 1968

Vol. 234 No. 3

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Compensation for Lost Letters.

4.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if there is any procedure whereby a person may receive compensation immediately for a registered and insured letter which has been lost.

Compensation for a lost registered or insured letter is paid as soon as possible on completion of the enquiries which are necessary to establish that the loss occurred in course of post, that the letter was posted in accordance with the regulations, and that satisfactory evidence is available as to the nature and value of the contents.

If the loss occurs abroad the enquiries necessary to ascertain the point of loss may be protracted and may involve more than one foreign postal administration. In such circumstances the decision regarding the payment of compensation rests with the postal administration of the country in which the loss took place.

The detailed regulations regarding the payment of compensation are given in Eolaí an Phoist (the Post Office Guide), at pages 58 to 60 of volume I and at pages 27 to 29 of volume II.

I wonder could the Parliamentary Secretary say, where the loss occurs in this country and where the loss is admitted by the Post Office, what he thinks is a reasonable time for making a settlement? I have a case in point; that is why I am raising it.

Normally the Deputy could take it that there should not be any reason for delay of longer than four to six weeks from the point of view of an internal loss.

Is there any reason why there should be a delay of that length where it is acknowledged that the loss has taken place in this country and it is agreed the loss has taken place. It was insured, in fact, and the whole point of insurance is that the person will be covered when the loss is admitted.

The thing to be determined in that instance is that the claim for the loss does not exceed the value of what has been lost. This demands a certain amount of inquiry to ensure that a person is not claiming over and above what the actual loss was. Once it is admitted and accepted, I do not see any reason for great delay.

You insure for the amount of money put into the envelope. That is insured and you get a receipt. When you acknowledge the loss of that letter containing that money, surely at that time the compensation should be paid and the person should not be kept out of money for a considerable length of time?

The difficulty in dealing with the case as mentioned by the Deputy is the absence of information as to the specific instance of which he has knowledge. If the Deputy would care to contact me subsequently, I shall look into it.

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