Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 8 Dec 1977

Vol. 302 No. 7

Vote 44: Posts and Telegraphs.

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Faulkner)

I move:

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £6,100,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1977, for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and of certain other services administered by the Office, and for payment of certain grants-in-aid.

The main Estimate for my Department for 1977 was for a net sum of £125,374,000. The Supplementary Estimate which I am now introducing is for an additional net sum of £6.1 million. It makes additional provision for £7.54 million under five subheads but there will be savings of £1.44 million on subheads F and G.

Under subhead A provision is made for pay increases amounting to £2.85 million granted under the national pay agreement operative from 1st April this year because provision was not made for them in the original Estimate. Provision is also made for £250,000 for higher social welfare employers' contributions and £150,000 to meet the staff costs of a television licence campaign. In addition, a further £500,000 is required to meet extra staff costs arising out of the creation of new jobs for telephone development and a further £600,000 for overtime on telephone construction works and the installation of telephone. The additional staff expenditure on telephone development is offset by savings of £1.1 million on telephone equipment under subhead F. The total extra amount needed under the pay subhead amounts to £4.35 million.

Under subhead D an additional sum of £150,000 is required to meet the extra costs of conveyance of mails by air because of increased traffic and devaluation of sterling and of conveyance of mails by sea because of higher transatlantic freight charges.

Under subhead E an additional sum of £775,000 is required for the purchase of replacement vans for the postal fleet and new vans for the scheme for motorising rural posts; increased supplies and costs of mailbags; increased costs of stamp stationery; increased contract price for the telephone directory and increased costs of miscellaneous stores including telegraph paper.

Under subhead J, an extra amount of £250,000 is required to meet the higher cost of pensions and lump sums because of the national pay agreement and other pay and pension increases.

Under subhead L.1, an additional sum of £2.015 million is provided for an increased grant-in-aid to Radio Telefís Éireann in respect of increased net receipts from the higher television licence fees introduced from 1st April last and from higher licence numbers resulting from the recent television licence campaign. The increased grant-in-aid to Radio Telfís Éireann and the cost of the licence campaign will be offset by a corresponding increase in the amount payable to the Exchequer as Exchequer Extra Receipts in respect of the sales of television licences.

As I mentioned at the outset the net additional sum now required is £6.1 million which brings the total net Estimte for the year to £131,474,000.

Mr. O'Donnell

Ba mhaith liom a rá i dtosach go raibh mé ag súil go mbeadh an díospóireacht seo ag tosnú ar 3.30 p.m. Ní bhfuir mé scéal faoin athrú go dtí cupla noimead ó shin. Ar aon nós, nil aon easaontas faoin Vóta seo, ach tá cúpla rúdaí ba mhaith liom cur síos orthu.

As I have said, I had anticipated that the debate would begin at 3.30 p.m. There is nothing controversial in the vote and we had a very interesting and extended debate on the Department during the discussion on the Telephone Capital Bill. There is an element of job creation involved here and I hope the Minister's speech indicates that the Government intend to proceed as rapidly as possible with capital works involving telephone development and new installations.

This debate offers the Minister an opportunity to indicate that it is proposed to accelerate the telephone development programme much more rapidly than heretofore. It is ironical, in a sense, that the demand for telephone connections is far outstripping our ability to supply them, and any moves that could be made to speed up the telephone development system, including the building of exchanges, would provide employment. I appreciate that it is not as simple as pressing a button to do this because one cannot complete the building of a telephone exchange today and have it operating tomorrow, but there is a demand for telephones far in excess of supply and the employment potential here is far greater than in most other State areas. It is a very important sphere of employment because it involves technicians, engineers and so forth.

The main point I should like to make is in relation to a problem we had in Limerick recently. I telephoned the Parliamentary Secretary and I was received with the greatest courtesy by his private secretary. The point relates to a decision by the Department to transfer from Limerick to Dublin the system of customs examination of incoming parcels. That system had operated satisfactorily for many years. I made my representations to the private secretary, telling him there was strong opposition to the change not only from the operators of the system in Limerick but from the entire business community who regarded the service as very important.

This service was to have been transferred to Dublin on 1st December. Unofficially, I understand that decision has been put aside and I take this opportunity to impress on the Minister the importance of keeping that service in Limerick. I have received impressive representations from business people and others who expressed great satisfaction with the service they have been getting and who were fearful of the results of the proposed change.

I do not want to put the Minister in a spot by asking him for an immediate reply—I appreciate it is more a matter for his Parliamentary Secretary—but I ask him sincerely to reconsider the decision to take away this service from Limerick. I appreciate that there is a problem about the building in which this service is being performed and about the acquisition of a suitable alternative building. In the past year a proposal was put forward to acquire a building adjacent to the existing GPO in Limerick but that building was found to be unsuitable. I urge the Minister to use his good offices in this respect.

Debate adjourned.