It is proposed to take business in the following order: Nos. 4, 5, 6 (resumed), 3 and 7 (resumed). Private Members' Business, No. 11 (resumed) will be taken between 7 p.m. and 8.30 p.m.
Order of Business.
I wish to give notice that I propose to raise on the Adjournment of the house tonight the extremely grave situation which has resulted from the prolonged stoppage of postal facilities in the Blackrock Post Office. I will be urging the Minister to take action immediately.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.
Has the Taoiseach under consideration the taking of any initiative in the present Post Office engineering dispute in view of the continued widespread disruption of communications? Looking at the situation today, can the Taoiseach tell us whether there will be any initiative on his part?
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs answered that question fully yesterday in Deputy O'Leary's absence. One of the Deputy's colleagues might have communicated——
I have read what was said, but the dispute still continues and it is time the Taoiseach intervened.
In regard to the call for intervention by me, I want to say positively that the Cabinet and I, and the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, have been in constant touch with this problem all the time since we came into Government—a problem which we inherited from our predecessors. I do not say this in any antagonistic way but I want to put it on the record. I am taking the whole situation very seriously indeed. We are doing everything possible, and in the present circumstances the Deputy might suggest a way in which intervention could take place at a time when the union responsible are not able to deliver on promises and undertakings made. On two previous occasions when an under-taking was given of a resumption of work, following which there would be a complete and sympathetic review of the working conditions, on each occasion they failed to deliver on those promises. Unless we can get the goodwill of the union responsible it is very difficult to see how progress can be made.
I want to say as well, and the Deputy knows this, that the ICTU representatives met the Minister responsible and the Minister for Labour yesterday, and I hope there may be some possibility of progress as a result of that initiative.
The Taoiseach said yesterday he would not intervene at that stage. He did not answer my question which was at which stage and how much worse will the situation have got before he would intervene.
Intervention is not a practical possibility because there are no means whereby I can intervene. As the Minister said yesterday, if I intervene now it would be a recipe for chaos because we cannot make any contracts or any agreements with those people because they refuse to honour them. The executive agreed on two occasions but some members of the executive ran off and instructed people who were unwilling to carry out any agreement to break those agreements.
How much more chaos must there be——
We cannot have a debate.
Is the position then that the Taoiseach can see no possibility of intervening?
"At this stage", he said.
(Cavan-Monaghan): The Taoiseach will not intervene and the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs is not here. Where is he? He should be here.
That is a stupid observation. Why was Deputy O'Leary not here yesterday when the matter was being fully debated? If he was all that concerned why was he not here?
In our period of office when disputes occurred we did not hesitate to intervene. Would the Taoiseach look up the record of our interventions?
Will I tell the Deputy what he would have done, what his colleague, the former Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, would have done? Perhaps later on the Deputy might be told.
The Taoiseach has a majority of 20 and he is behaving accordingly.
The Taoiseach has told us this was debated fully in the House yesterday. It was not, because the Taoiseach refused to answer questions put to him.
Deputy O'Leary was not here yesterday when a complete and comprehensive answer was given.
It was not fully debated.
Consumer Information Bill, 1976.
Deputy O'Leary is smiling now—he has got his point in.
There is nothing to smile about.
Why then is the Deputy smiling?
A private conversation with Deputy Fitzpatrick is none of the Taoiseach's business.
Order. I have called No. 4.