asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that Ballyfermot, Dublin which has a population of 47,000 people, has no proper post office facilities; and the action he proposes to take in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ballyfermot (Dublin) Postal Facilities.
52.
There are two sub-post offices in the Ballyfermot area providing the full range of post office services except for telegraphs. There appears to be little demand for telegraph facilities in the area and the existing arrangements for sending and delivering telegrams are regarded as adequate having regard to the scale of demand, to comparable facilities available elsewhere, and to the cost involved in providing telegraph services.
As in other Dublin suburban areas, two daily letter deliveries and a daily parcel delivery are provided on Monday to Friday and a restricted delivery service is provided on Saturdays.
There are ten telephone kiosks in the Ballyfermot area.
Further to the Minister's reply, which is identical to replies given to me on no fewer than four occasions by his predecessor, would he personally look into this matter? I cannot accept the reply given as being fair to the question regarding a very expanding area of 47,000 people, comparable to Galway or Waterford. This is the kind of stereotyped reply that was given to me by the Minister's predecessor. It is not correct and it certainly is not warranted.
I am sorry the answer did not give satisfaction to the Deputy. If he can show me that there are inaccuracies in the reply, I would certainly consider any charge based on them. It appears to be a fact that there has been very little direct complaint from the public in this area. Of course, facilities are determined not by the number of people in a given area but by the volume of business there. I am also sorry if the reply is stereotyped but if facts are inflexible then replies tend to reflect the same facts each time if you keep on putting down the same question.
Would the Minister seriously look into this matter? The fact is, because of these previous replies, the people have had to suffer. They have had to go out of the area to send telegrams and use the services of post offices in other areas because no satisfaction was forthcoming from the Minister's predecessor. I hope the present Minister will look at this a little more favourably in the light of the demands in this area.
I appreciate the Deputy's concern for those whom he represents, which is genuine, and we all respect it. I shall certainly keep in touch with him about the situation in Ballyfermot and if he brings any new facts to my attention I shall certainly have them brought in to review this question.