I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £1,430,645 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta 1933, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Puist agus Telegrafa agus Seirbhísí áirithe eile atá fé riara na hOifige sin, maraon le Telefóna.
That a sum not exceeding £1,430,645 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1933, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, and of certain other Services administered by that Office, including Telephones.
The total amount estimated for expenditure in the current financial year is £2,130,645, being a decrease of £71,130 on last year's Estimates of £2,201,775. An analysis of the estimated returns, which are not yet complete, and which are due for presentation on or before November 30th of this year, shows the following results from the various departments of the whole service: The returns are shown on the Commercial Accounts basis which includes the credit taken for services rendered to the other Government Departments. In the Postal Department, the estimated revenue is £1,558,000, whilst the expenditure totalled £1,464,200, showing a credit surplus of £94,000.
The estimated revenue on the telephone service is £398,600 and the expenditure £392,600, leaving a credit balance of £6,000.
The credit surplus from these two departments therefore is estimated to be £100,000, but this is offset by the estimated loss of just that amount in telegrams, the revenue in the telegraph section being estimated at £196,700 against an expenditure of £296,700.
These figures are approximate, but I am assured that they can be accepted as representing, with reasonable accuracy, the actual position of these three sub-divisions of the Department.
It will be seen, then, that we expect to have a clear balance sheet on the working of the Department for the year ended March 31st, 1932.
The previous year's accounts (1930-31), worked out similarly on the Commercial Accounts basis, showed a deficit of £45,107, and the Department for the first time shows a clean slate.
For comparison, the revenue figures (estimated) for the year 1931-32 against those for the year 1930-31 (actual) are as follows:—
1930-31 |
1931-32. |
Increase or Decrease. |
|||
£ |
£ |
£ |
|||
Postal |
1,538,775 |
1,558,200 |
19,425 (Inc.) |
||
Telephone |
385,592 |
398,600 |
13,008 (Inc.) |
||
Telegrams |
203,779 |
196,700 |
7,079 (Dec.) |
||
£2,128,146 |
£2,153,500 |
£25,354 |
It will thus be seen that there has been a reasonable increase in revenue from both the postal and telephone departments, with a decrease in revenue from the telegraph section of the business. On the expenditure side there has been a decrease in all departments from that of the previous year, the comparative comparative amounts being:—
1930-31 |
1931-32 |
Decrease. |
|||
£ |
£ |
£ |
|||
Postal |
1,469,722 |
1,464,200 |
5,522 |
||
Telephone |
393,653 |
392,600 |
1,053 |
||
Telegrams |
309,878 |
296,700 |
13,178 |
||
£2,173,253 |
£2,153,500 |
£19,753 |
In the main the decrease in expenditure may be attributed to the fall in the cost of living bonus and various minor economies in the service. The reductions are set out in the Estimates and are reasonably explicit under the various headings, but if there are any items on which Deputies require greater detail, we will endeavour to supply these. Further economies may be possible, but I feel that our policy should be to give improved services if and when our revenue permits.
Reverting to the position of our revenue, it is to be regretted that although the expenditure on our telegraph branch was reduced £13,178, our revenue fell by £7,079, and the total loss on this branch of the service amounted to £100,000. The fact has apparently to be faced that the telegraph department is a decaying service all over the world, and we must continue to bear the loss for this very necessary, but very costly, branch of our work. Deputies may raise the question of how additional revenue may be secured and may argue that a reduction in charges would result in an increase of turnover. I have already gone into all the factors of that problem with the department and the opinion is unanimous that a reduction of the charges would further and substantially increase the loss with little or no hope of a commensurate increase of revenue.
A reduction of the minimum charge from 1s 6d. to 1s. would mean—
(a) If applied to all telegrams for delivery in An Saorstát, Great Britain and Northern Ireland a loss of |
£41,130 |
(b) If applied only to telegrams for delivery within An Saorstát a loss of £24,678 (Telegrams for delivery within An Saorstát=60% of total number of telegrams) |
£24,678 |
Our Postal Services show a credit surplus of £94,000, but it will be obvious that until this margin increases and whilst the Telegraph Department continues at a loss, it is not easy to see where any reduction can be given in the postal charges. It has been suggested by various organisations of Commerce that we should reduce our letter post to the British rates, but to do so would show a loss in revenue that we cannot afford. If we assume that we adopt the 1½d. post for all letters for delivery in An Saorstát, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and reckon on the basis of 1½d. for the first 2 ozs. and ½d. for each additional 2 ozs. the loss in revenue would be approximately £246,200. If the same basis were to be applied to letters for delivery within An Saorstát only, the loss in revenue would be £182,300.
Obviously this reduction is out of the question at the present time and such profit as we are now making on the postal side has to be utilised to reduce the loss on the Telegraph Service. The Departmental experience has been that the reduction in rates has not been to any extent compensated by any appreciable increase in the amount of traffic.
With regard to the Telephone Department, it is anticipated that the 1931-32 accounts will show a surplus of £6,000. This is the first year since 1922 that this Department has been run without a loss. It is interesting to note that the gross revenue from this Department has been almost consistently growing since 1922, the amount in 1922 being £229,736 whereas in the year just closed the estimated revenue is £398,600. It is reasonable to think that this Department will continue to expand whilst the Telegraph Department, which it is mainly displacing, may be expected to shrink. At the same time, the surplus is yet too small to contemplate any reduction in tariffs for the coming year. The Department are now watching all phases of the situation and whilst there are apparent anomalies, particularly in the rural areas, that are not readily understood by the nontechnical mind, all these are being examined with a view to the wider development of the service in the interests of the Department and public alike.
During the year new telephone exchanges were opened in 35 rural areas and extra accommodation for additional subscribers has been provided at several Exchanges. The congestion in the Rathmines and Terenure areas has been almost cleared and at both centres it is proposed to provide greater accommodation. Building operations in connection with the schemes will be proceeded with without delay. Twenty-five additional street kiosks will be erected in Dublin and suburbs during the coming year. The facilities afforded by the kiosks are being availed of by the public and further extensions of this service will be carried out.
There was a considerable increase in the amount of correspondence posted during the year for conveyance by the International Air Services. The experiment of having letter boxes fixed on buses is being tried, but it is too soon yet to form an estimate of how successful or otherwise this service will be. The transfer of the Central Telegraph Office from Amiens Street to the new General Post Office Building will be carried out on April 24th. The lay-out and equipment of the instrument room are on the most modern lines. As a temporary measure, the section of the building in Amiens Street vacated by the telegraphs will be used for parcel post work now performed in 99 Amiens Street and Fowler Hall. It is proposed to erect in Pearse Street an extensive building to deal with all metropolitan work in both letters and parcels. The whole scheme is being pressed forward as quickly as possible, and it is expected that building operations will be commenced later in the year. A new Sorting Office is being provided in Cork and proposals to improve the office accommodation at College Green, Athlone, Killarney, Thurles and Macroom are well advanced.
Special arrangements are being made to augment the telephone facilities in the Dublin area to meet the increased traffic during the period of the Eucharistic Congress. Additional apparatus is being installed in the Central and Sub-Exchanges and temporary telephones will be provided in places where telephone traffic is likely to be heavy. Additional Postal and Telegraph facilities will also be provided as may be necessary.
It is expected to have the midnight collection services started on next Monday, 25th April, in Dublin City and suburbs. Certain boxes in all suburban areas and at central points will be marked for these special collections and motor van collections—one on the north side and one on the south side of the city—will be made.
I have as far as it is possible put the most important features of the service before the House in as brief and as accurate a form as I was able to have them in the time at my disposal. I did not feel that it was advisable to weary you with all sorts of details which in former years seem to have formed the bulk of the statement, giving the number of telegrams, the number of letters and telling what we did in 1922 and in 1923. I endeavoured to give a close analysis of the actual financial and economic position of the service. As Deputies will have heard, the service for 1931-32 has broken clear on an even balance sheet. The figures have yet to be audited, but the Departmental officials assure me that they can stand over them with confidence, that they will be found reasonably accurate. I shall, of course, be glad to deal with any question and with any matter that any Deputy wants to raise.