I should like for a moment to turn to the philatelic service. I am very pleased to see the Department giving increased attention to this. I am sure the House would like to hear the most recent figures this additional business has brought to the Post Office. I was pleased recently to see the number of special issues which will be available this year. The Department are to be commended on this but these are only the first steps and the Minister should give increased special attention to what is obviously a very lucrative business. It is ridiculous to talk about postal losses when there are thousands of pounds to be picked up on this. The imagination and the enterprise is there but I doubt if they have been given sufficient scope. Business interests are very alive to the philatelic interest and the Department seems to be leaving it to them to scoop the pool in the matter of first-day covers.
The Department used to print its own cards and envelopes and, in conjunction with the Arts Council or the Kilkenny Design Centre, or some other body, surely it could design and issue special covers on the appropriate days? I understand some thought is being given to this. I believe it should get very urgent attention. In the United States of America the P.O.'s best seller "Postage Stamps of the United States 1847/1967" sells at $1.25 per copy. It illustrates and describes every United States stamp of the last 120 years. This idea could very well be taken up by the Department. There is no reason why it should prove less successful here than it has proved in the United States. I believe it would be a tremendous best seller. It would be a very suitable souvenir for those who visit the country. I remember being on the Parliamentary conference in India when the Gandhi stamp was issued. I admit there was a special reason for it but we brought a number of our stamps with us and there was tremendous interest in them and that interest has continued. I do not think we make enough of this kind of thing.
The design has improved very much recently. Many of us were disappointed with the type of stamps issued over a number of years. Some of them could only be interpreted by those who were very highly educated; to them they might represent something very special but unfortunately, to too many, they did not make sense. They did not represent anything. To outsiders the confusion was even greater. An effort should be made to have a more easily understandable design of a better colour. Our stamps are too dull. I do not think the Post Office should stick to black ink for cancelling firstday covers. Now that it has become colour conscious new ground might be broken and colour cancelling adopted. If the super-markets were in this business they would certainly have been doing this a long time ago.
Recently a very successful coin display was mounted in Dublin and Telefís Éireann did an excellent programme on it. It would be worth considering a similar venture in regard to stamps. Every encouragement should be given to such an exhibition especially if it were of an international character. I do not see any reason why it should not be tried. I am sure the Minister has enough initiative to ensure it would get a fair trial.
With regard to the telephone directory—somebody did something which is quite understandable because, with such a large quantity of printing, it is not unusual to find mistakes made; in this case a number of pages were omitted and it is regrettable that that should happen—it is on the whole a very good job. It is a vast improvement on the old directory. What is going to be done about the Golden Pages? I was very critical here a few years ago about an attempt by an outside firm to cash in on the Golden Pages. They sent people around visiting business interests and suggested to them that they could be included in the Yellow Pages on the payment of a certain sum. They did not tell them that they would be included whether that sum was paid or not. All they were getting for their money was their name printed in heavier lettering and this resulted in a great deal of confusion. The State should do it themselves. It should not be farmed out to business interests. Is there any reaon why coloured advertising could not be tried? It is doing very well in the newspapers and I am quite sure business interests would be prepared to pay substantial sums for a coloured advertisement in something like this. I should be glad if the Minister would think it over.
I am going to be rather critical about telephones. For one reason or another the equipment required for extending the telephone service is not available and it is costing much more to purchase it now than it would have done a few years ago. The demand for telephone extensions far exceeds the ability to supply them. I cannot understand why, when exchanges were built a few years ago, the Post Office did not carry out a survey to find out present telephone needs and ascertain future telephone needs. Our exchanges, like some of the new schools built in recent years, are far too small. It seems ridiculous to have to explain to people who urgently need a telephone, and they are asked to pay enough for it, particularly in country districts, that the new exchange which they saw built a few years ago is almost out of date and they cannot get an extension because there are no lines available.
I am not happy with the system of priority. I have mentioned this to the Minister on one occasion. It appears that although there is a heavy demand for lines and lines are there, they are being kept for a priority reason. When one checks on who the extension was finally given to one finds a rather surprising result. I had one or two cases recently where it was proved, as far as telephones are concerned, that all men may be equal but some are more equal than others. It is rather odd to find that somebody who would be entitled to priority living within half a mile of the exchange is not given a line, whereas someone living a mile and a half from the exchange is given a line. There must be another reason apart from priority and this is something which should not be allowed to continue. If lines are available in an exchange they should be given out. The question of reserving lines for a particular priority leaves itself open to abuse in more ways than one. In places where there are heavy demands for lines, increased lines should be made available without delay. In view of the heavy financial payments that have to be made, the lines would be paid for in a very short time. Is it a shortage of equipment or is it a shortage of staff?
In co-operation with the unions, technicians were trained a few years ago but it appears there is a shortage now. I was recently asked to recommend a man, who had come into the country and married an Irish girl, for a job as a technician. Even though he was properly trained for the job, I was told he could not be employed. The Post Office cannot be short of staff on the one hand and refuse to employ a trained technician, who having married an Irish girl is an Irish national, on the other.
Yesterday, as the Minister knows there was a row over the use, by a contractor to the Government, namely the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, of imported French labour for the purpose of carrying out work which it is claimed could be done by Irish personnel. I should be glad if the Minister would make a statement on that when he is replying to the debate. It is one thing to employ people no matter who they are in order to get the work done but if Irish people are available outsiders should not be brought in until we reach a situation of full employment and that is a long way off.
Another thing with regard to telephones which is causing trouble is the question of repairs. A friend of mine telephoned me a few days ago to tell me that he had changed his telephone. The Department of Posts and Telegraphs had put in a new switch for him but it would not work. He reported it and it was replaced and the new one would not work. Are the Department using either substandard material or material which has been used before? This may be an isolated case. He was looking for me again this morning in connection with the telephone, so I presume it is still not working. The men who operate the telephone service do an excellent job. They are called out at short notice if something goes wrong. There must be another reason for this. Is shoddy material being used in an effort to keep the cost of the telephone service down?
Have the Department ever given consideration to extending installations to large institutions such as hospitals? It would be marvellous for people in bed to be able to establish communication with members of their family. Telephones are available in most private wards in hospitals but they are not available in public wards. In Britain I was very taken with the trolley telephone which is wheeled around from ward to ward. A plug next to each bed is all that is required and any patient anxious to get in touch with a relative was able to make a call. This would be very much appreciated in rural Ireland, particularly with the high cost of travel at the present time, and patients would not feel they were so isolated from their families. The extension of subscriber trunk dialling should help to make this proposal at least worthy of investigation.
When is it proposed to extend subscriber trunk dialling? We will probably be told that either the equipment is not there or it is too costly and this is what is holding it up. I can understand that but I cannot understand the mentality of people who, when they cannot dial a number, ring up the local exchange and if they do not get an immediate reply, are inclined to be abusive to the telephonist. This is very childish. People do not seem to realise that the introduction of subscriber trunk dialling meant that the number of telephonists in particular exchanges was drastically reduced. This was one of the objects of the exercise.
Some people have the impression that telephonists sit drinking tea and do not bother to answer the switch at all. If such people worked on a switch for a while, as I did, they would understand how difficult it is to try to keep calls attended to in the order in which they come in. If one has difficulty in getting a connection for one caller, there is no point in connecting someone else and telling them to wait a few minutes, because the telephonist would have to go right back again and he might have to do this a dozen times during the course of one call. The telephonist tries to follow through one call and when the connection is made he takes the next call in line. People should be a little more patient. We are not a patient nation and those who are accustomed to using dial telephones are very intolerant about any delay in getting calls on the occasions when they have to seek the services of the telephone operator.
I am only too well aware of the fact that in order to become established civil servants postmen must pass an oral Irish test. Technical and professional grades can be absolved from this requirement and perhaps the Minister would explain why it is necessary that postmen must do the written and oral tests. There appears to be a practice of dividing the staff and telling the lower grades that they must conform with the regulations when others do not have to do the same.
A postman cannot become established unless he passes an oral Irish test, even though he may have passed the written test. If he is dissatisfied with this situation—as he might well be —he can go to England and, simply by clocking up service, he can get an established post in that country. One can well imagine such a person's feelings about democracy in this country. It certainly is no way to encourage a love of the Irish language and I am utterly opposed to this regulation. To deny an established post to a worker in this country simply because he cannot pass an oral Irish test—a language he has little contact with in his ordinary work, other than the odd letter—is absolutely ridiculous. The big business people in this country cannot speak Irish—at times they find it difficult to speak English that can be understood. They get fat on the sweat of Irish workers but nobody criticises them because they do not know Irish. Yet a postman must know Irish and English, he must pass written and oral Irish tests, before he is allowed to deliver letters.
I would ask the Minister to ensure that the oral Irish requirement is abolished for the lower grades. If it is retained for promotional purposes for the higher echelons in the Civil Service I will not quarrel with that, although I do not think it is a good idea. However, it is absolute rubbish to make it a qualification for the man who is earning £12 or £15 a week.
Last year, and the year before, I asked the Minister the position in relation to the proposed new post office in Donegal. I am aware of difficulties that can be encountered. Donegal seems to be unfortunate and perhaps the Minister will let us know when he expects to be in a position to invite tenders and commence operations. I hope there will be consultation with the staff so that the architects may get the benefit of their suggestions. I would draw a parallel here with the housewife who has not a voice in the design of the house in which she will live. There should be some arrangement whereby the views of the housewives might be considered in the matter of house design. Even where people are building their own homes they frequently have difficulty in getting the architect to design the house to their satisfaction and in accordance with the lay-out they prefer.
In the case of post offices, it is not unreasonable that people who work in these buildings should be asked for their views. Their views may not be accepted but at least they should be asked how they think the building should be laid out, having regard to their work. If the Minister encouraged this practice he would get very helpful suggestions from the staff. It is not sufficient merely to show the plans to the staff, they should be explained and discussed by professionals with the local staff and in this way each side could learn of the other's difficulties. Valuable contact would be made in this way, which would be to the advantage of all. This type of joint consultation may be something new but I do not think the Minister is afraid to try out a new venture. Perhaps some professional eyebrows might be raised but if people are paid to do a job they should be prepared to take advice. There should be more in joint consultations than sermonising and highfalutin discussion about certain subjects.
The Minister should ensure that when economies are decided on in building projects the amenities of the staff should not be the first target. This has happened on more than one occasion and it brings me back to Sheriff Street. The Minister must be aware that in that instance, in the interests of economy, it was decided to remove certain items from the original plan without consultation with the lower echelon of staff. The items removed included dustextractors and arrangements to prevent dust from coming into the building, also ventilation and car parking arrangements. In each case these matters affected the workers. I appreciate that a great deal of money was spent on erecting the building but it is a pity that arrangements were not made to ensure that dust did not continually enter the building. One would imagine that the installation of an air-conditioning plant was essential but this was omitted as part of an economy drive.
Originally, the charge for the air-conditioning plant may have appeared to be large and perhaps the experts decided that it was one large item that could be omitted. Whoever was responsible for the exclusion of this plant should be obliged to spend the rest of his life with the staff working there— it would be a fair punishment.
The Minister should let us know what progress has been made in rectifying the defects. I am especially interested to know what has been done with regard to the elimination of the coal dust problem. It is no answer to say it is hoped some time in the distant future that the coal yard will be moved, because there is no possibility that this will happen. This matter must be rectified before the summer. The windows facing the coal yard cannot be opened, and, as there is no ventilation, in the summer the place is like a furnace. Even with the windows fully closed, coal dust seeps in and people who have been working in the building for a period tell me that they taste coal dust. I spent one night perhaps in every week on guard duty down at the Pigeon House during the Emergency and it would not matter what you ate for weeks after that it tasted of coal dust. Just imagine anybody who spent his life under those conditions. I do not know of any cases of pneumoconiosis. Claims in respect of this ailment will be made.
Could the Minister say whether arrangements have been made to acquire a premises at Ballsbridge? I realise that the purse strings are limited and the commercial interests are quick to complain about the postal services but the inevitable situation will have to be faced. Four or five years ago a suggestion was made that it was not possible to buy a site in this immediate area and that the post office would have to be moved. It is lunacy to suggest that by waiting two, three or four years a site can be acquired cheaply. Site costs are going up every year. I appeal to the Minister to make a start on this problem. Perhaps the Minister should have compulsory power in regard to the acquisition of sites for postal services which serve the whole community.
Will the Minister say what has been done about the postal premises in Mullingar? In a busy provincial town like Mullingar the premises should be reasonably good. The Minister might consider building a premises which would accommodate various Government agencies. The Government are at present renting accommodation from outside interests. A new post office should be built.
I wish to refer again to rural postmen. I asked a question recently and in reply the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs said that I would be getting information shortly. I asked the Minister if he had details of the overtime worked by rural postmen attached to each head office. The Minister said in reply that he was having the information compiled and would forward it to me.
That information has not arrived. Last year I also raised the point and the Minister who was then in office was quick to say that he had already got the information which I had asked for and that there were only seven complaints. The Minister will find that there are far more than seven complaints this year. I have advised the people concerned not to complain to me or to their union but to ensure that their complaints were sent in in the normal way. Around Christmas-time—even though there was a big drop in the posting of Christmas cards this year—the postman who reports at normal time at his post office will have to wait until the delivery comes in, and in many cases the people coming with the post have to deliver letters on their way and are held up at the head office by sorting or on their journeys by deliveries. Having arrived, they have to sort their own letters and then they must start out, no matter what the weather is like. Very often these men are working from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. They work through their lunch hour. There is no way in which they can get lunch because they are not allowed to go into a house or hotel carrying mail. They continue around the district until perhaps 9 o'clock at night, although they should have been finished at 2 p.m. A postman may not get anything to eat until 10 p.m. A departmental inspector, who never got wet feet delivering letters, will only sanction one hour's overtime instead of seven or eight hours overtime saying that the area is entitled to only one hour's overtime.
If this matter is not dealt with adequately this year I would advise the postmen to deliver what post they can during the official hours and to bring the remainder back to the post office. This will result in the Christmas mail not being delivered. I can see no other way of dealing with the situation where people who work hard without too many complaints simply get "walked on " by people who themselves ensure that they will get whatever is going. This is a petty, pennypinching policy which should be attended to by the Minister himself. The Minister should ensure that this does not happen again. The amount involved is not very large. It is not amusing for a postman to find his overtime cut after the Christmas is over. This happens every year.
Last year I tried to find out whether there was a limit on the overtime or not. The Minister should not ignore this question. It is embarrassing for me to be asked questions, having raised this matter in the Dáil, and to be told now by people that nothing was done about this problem. If there is a limit, how is it arrived at? Is it on a purely mathematical basis which does not take into account the variations of what happens on different deliveries at different times? The weather, terrain and exceptionally heavy post are all things which must be considered. Who sits in judgment on these claims? Is this done by someone who knows nothing about the difficulties? I recall asking previously that a number of posts be selected in different parts of the country and tests made. Occasionally inspectors go on a test run, usually on a very fine day in the summer when there is no rush, except in a seaside resort with extra mail at that period. The inspectors should choose a day some other time of the year in that case. It would be a good idea if one of these gentlemen went out two or three days before Christmas with a substantial amount of food and a few flasks of tea to find out what really has to be done by postmen at this particular time. To the best of my knowledge this has never been done. I cannot understand anyone who does not know the circumstances sitting in judgment. There may be an occasional case of overclaiming. This is human nature but the fact that somebody is suspected of overclaiming, perhaps through no fault of his own but because he was delayed, is no reason why the Department should look for so many hours of free work during the Christmas deliveries. That is the fairest way to put it. I ask the Minister to take a personal interest in this and to have the matter dealt with.
Arising from the reply I received last year, I put down a question and the Minister said he would give details. I hope he will do so even though I have spoken now on this debate. In cases of disputes about overtime would the Minister arrange to have the post tested at Christmas and have the matter judged properly once and for all?
Some progress has been made at last on the question of gratuities for unestablished postal staff and part-time staff. I am concerned about cases of hardship among people reaching the age limit. What criteria are applied in judging these individual cases? The Press seemed to take incorrectly a point I made last week. I said that I was glad that the Department were giving small gratuities. I still hope that, ultimately, like other State services they will reach the stage of giving pensions as well. The Press seemed to think that no gratutity was given. I do not want to be unfair to the Department and it is only right that I should mention this point.
Another matter which causes a lot of trouble in so far as postmen are concerned is the system of naming streets by local authorities. For instance, the first street in an area may be, say, Limerick Street, the next one may be Limerick Crescent and the next Limerick Drive and so on. I am only mentioning Limerick because of the Minister's associations with that particular part of the country. Is there any reason why this system should be used. When writing letters to friends, many people might be aware that these friends live in Limerick something or other but they cannot remember the exact address. It should be easy to think of different names for the different streets.
