asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is implementing the decision to establish sales offices for telecommunications around the country; and, if so, the locations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telecommunications Sales Offices.
2.
It is the policy of the Department to open sales offices at a number of additional locations throughout the country but this step has been opposed by one of the staff unions because of the loss of work they claim would be involved for their members in so doing. Negotiations on this are continuing.
The centres at which it has been proposed offices should be established are Dundalk, Ennis, Kilkenny, Longford, Mullingar, Naas and Tralee.
Has the Minister any plans to set up a sales office in Letterkenny?
No, there never was any plan to set up a sales office in Letterkenny. If my proposal to set up a headquarters in Letterkenny, to which services could be devolved from Dublin and Sligo, is what the Deputy is referring to, I should say it is not a sales office as such. It is an office at which Donegal people from the entire county can obtain information about postal and telecommunications matters.
Is the Minister saying that the type of functions he has described would not be involved also in sales offices?
I did not hear the Deputy.
Is the Minister saying that such office would be open to members of the public to come in and seek information? Is that not a function of the sales offices he intends setting up?
I have told the Deputy it was not a sales office as such. I believe the setting up of the office has the goodwill of many members of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in both the postal and telecommunications sections. But, as I explained to the Deputy on a couple of occasions over the last few days, both services are going semi-State during 1982. The Deputy will appreciate also that members of different unions are very sensitive about demarcation lines and do not want to see any other branch of the Department taking over work they might want to do.
For the Deputy's information, as far as the office in Letterkenny is concerned, agreement in a general way was reached by the members, but there was sensitivity about a telephone officer coming into the county. The post office clerks made the point clearly that the work being done at present in Donegal as far as contracts and sales are concerned should be continued by them. I respect that decision and their concern about bringing in an outside union. If one is to decentralise services to Donegal — a proposal with which I think Deputy Reynolds is in general agreement — then a telephone officer must go with the transference of the files. The work I was transferring to Letterkenny is being done by a telephone officer in the Sligo office and the work I want them to do in the Letterkenny office would amount to nothing more or less than what he would be doing with files from Donegal on which he is now working in Sligo. I thought that it was a reasonable position for me to take up. But I appreciate and acknowledge publicly that at this time it is not opportune for me or any other person in my position to try to negotiate a new arrangement with any union in view of the forthcoming separation of the postal and telecommunications services.
In view of what the Minister of State has said now, would he agree that in retrospect it was ill advised of him to get involved in this area of high sensitivity, he now freely admits it is? While it may be logical to set up an office in Letterkenny, it may not be logical to do so in the Fine Gael headquarters there. Surely he will admit now that in retrospect he should have consulted the telephone officers' union as well when the project might have got off the ground despite its location and political impact.
First of all, the office is not situated in the Fine Gael headquarters, as the Deputy said. The Deputy appears to be ill-informed at present. The headquarters of the postal services were to be located in the former North-Western Health Board offices, not the Fine Gael headquarters.
Well, it was the original site for it.
On the question of trying to set up an office on the lines I had in mind for Letterkenny, and which I think is still on, Deputy Reynolds' attitude seems to be: do not do anything and you will not be wrong.
Do it properly when you go about it and it will work out, but the Minister ignored an important union involved which resulted in an embargo on the project.
Question No. 3.
Who chose Letterkenny as being the most central point to service Donegal, in order to bring the services closer to the county from Sligo? In my opinion Letterkenny would not be the proper location. Secondly, when does the Minister envisage that this service will be provided for the county? When will the office be opened?
As I explained to Deputy Reynolds, when one starts talking to unions about demarcation lines one discovers it is a very sensitive issue. I have spoken with the telephone officers' union, I have spoken with all the unions and there is general acceptance that the people of Donegal want this type of service. There is general acceptance by the workers in the post office on all sides that it would be a good idea. Working out a formula of words and getting agreement to do it is what is at present inhibiting progress. But I can assure both Deputies that within a short period of time I hope to win the confidence of all concerned so that they will know at least that when I give my word they can take it I will keep it.
The Minister gave his word originally and it is a different story today.
The Minister did not answer my question.
I am sorry, Deputy, we cannot have a debate on this. I have called Question No. 3.