asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will state the reasons why Mr. Patrick Hogan, Kilrush, an ex-Army man having a wife, two children and widowed mother to support, was discharged from his employment as auxiliary postman and a single man without dependents appointed in his stead.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Auxiliary Postman's Position (Kilrush).
Mr. Hogan was employed at Kilrush in a purely temporary capacity pending the filling of a vacancy for auxiliary postman.
Before making the appointment I gave very careful consideration to the claims and qualifications of all the applicants and I am satisfied that the candidate selected was the most suitable in all respects.
Is the Minister satisfied that a man, having six years' Army service, with a wife and two children and a widowed mother to support, is a less deserving applicant than a single man?
Both men had Army service. The man appointed had longer intermittent service in the post office and, in my opinion, he also had heavier domestic responsibilities. His mother is blind and his father is an old age pensioner, and I believe he is the sole support of these two aged people.