The Bill has three main purposes, all of which require changes in existing legislation. I should perhaps mention that the principal piece of legislation governing Post Office activities is the Post Office Act of 1908 which, with relatively few amendments, is still in force to-day.
The first purpose is to enable regulations to be made to allow literature and articles specially adapted for the use of the blind to be sent free of postage.
The principle of free postage for literature and articles specially adapted for the use of the blind is already accepted internationally in the Universal Postal Union Convention. Most countries have now abolished postal charges, other than airmail charges, for this class of mail. Our postal charges in this country for such articles have, for many years, been nominal; they range from a minimum of ½d. to 2½d. for packets of 15 lb. Until recently those rates satisfied the interests concerned but the two major organisations concerned with the welfare of the blind in this country have asked that free postage facilities should be provided in line with the general practice elsewhere. In order to accede to this request it is necessary to amend the Post Office Act, 1908, which gives power to fix, by statutory order, rates of postage for different classes of postal packets but does not give power to permit postal packets of any prescribed class or classes to be sent free of postage. Subsection (1) (c) of section 2 of the Bill proposes this extension of the regulation-making power. Any regulation made under section 2 will be subject to the requirement that it shall be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and that notice of the making of the regulation shall be published in Irish Oifigiúil.
The second purpose is to transfer certain powers from the Minister for Finance to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.
Statutory instruments made under the Post Office Act, 1908, must be executed by the Minister for Finance, as the successor of the Treasury. The Minister for Finance and myself agree, and the Government has accepted the view, that such instruments, being of a technical character and primarily the concern of the Post Office, should be made by the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance where charges, fees or scales of weights are involved. In subsection (1) (a) and (2) of section 2, and in section 3 the authority of the Oireachtas is sought for this change.
In detail, subsection (1) (a) of section 2 gives the power to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to make, by warrant, regulations fixing the rates of postage and other sums to be charged on postal packets and to regulate the scale of weights and the circumstances according to which those rates and sums are to be charged, subject, however, as provided for in subsection (2), to the consent of the Minister for Finance.
Section 3 transfers to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the power vested in the Minister for Finance under section 4 of the Act of 1908 to make by warrant such regulations as may be necessary for carrying into effect postal arrangements with foreign states and also the more important power, given under section 82 of the Act, to make regulations generally in respect of any matter authorised or required by the Act. The section again provides that the consent of the Minister for Finance is necessary where financial considerations are involved.
The third purpose is to permit greater flexibility in mail-handling arrangements.
Section 4 provides for the amendment of section 15 of the Act of 1908. That section provides, in effect, that where the despatch or delivery of letters might be delayed by having to deal at the same time with printed papers, samples and postcards, the Post Office can hold over those items until the despatch or delivery next following that by which they would ordinarily be sent. The deferable mail is, of course, that posted at reduced rates, and consists, at present, mainly of circulars and bills.
The Post Office is now faced with greater problems in the postal service than it was in 1908. These problems arise from the steady increase, year by year, in the volume of mail posted, the trend towards shorter hours and more congenial hours for the staff, and the difficult traffic conditions in the cities that impede the collection, transmission and delivery of mail. A stage has now been reached where, in order to ensure that letters are despatched in due course and incur no risk of delay in delivery, greater freedom in the treatment of mail posted at reduced rates is necessary. Accordingly, Section 4 proposes to remove the present restriction on the power to defer such mail only until the next despatch or delivery and to empower the Post Office to deal with it at off-peak periods. The British Post Office got rid of the restriction in 1953 and I understand that most other postal administrations are similarly free to make flexible arrangements. This power is particularly necessary at the present time so as to enable delivery patterns to be rationalised in the light of the further reduction in working hours—to 37½ net—which will shortly be introduced for postmen and to enable a 5-day working week, on whatever basis is finally settled, to be granted to them. The form the rationalisation will take is not yet clear as discussions are going on with the staff on various aspects. But probably some kind of balanced arrangements may be necessary in Dublin and other large centres, that is, letters and newspapers would be delivered in the morning and other mail at a later time or times. It may also be necessary, in order to ensure the prompt despatch of letters, similarly to hold back other mail for a later despatch. I may mention that it is intended to continue to give subscribers' copies of newspapers the same treatment as letters, despite the low rate of postage charged.
In brief, the intention of the Bill is to give the Department in a number of matters the greater flexibility demanded by modern conditions.
