I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £6,100,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1977, for salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and of certain other services administered by the Office, and for payment of certain grants-in-aid.
The main Estimate for my Department for 1977 was for a net sum of £125,374,000. The Supplementary Estimate which I am now introducing is for an additional net sum of £6.1 million. It makes additional provision for £7.54 million under five subheads but there will be savings of £1.44 million on subheads F and G.
Under subhead A provision is made for pay increases amounting to £2.85 million granted under the national pay agreement operative from 1st April this year because provision was not made for them in the original Estimate. Provision is also made for £250,000 for higher social welfare employers' contributions and £150,000 to meet the staff costs of a television licence campaign. In addition, a further £500,000 is required to meet extra staff costs arising out of the creation of new jobs for telephone development and a further £600,000 for overtime on telephone construction works and the installation of telephone. The additional staff expenditure on telephone development is offset by savings of £1.1 million on telephone equipment under subhead F. The total extra amount needed under the pay subhead amounts to £4.35 million.
Under subhead D an additional sum of £150,000 is required to meet the extra costs of conveyance of mails by air because of increased traffic and devaluation of sterling and of conveyance of mails by sea because of higher transatlantic freight charges.
Under subhead E an additional sum of £775,000 is required for the purchase of replacement vans for the postal fleet and new vans for the scheme for motorising rural posts; increased supplies and costs of mailbags; increased costs of stamp stationery; increased contract price for the telephone directory and increased costs of miscellaneous stores including telegraph paper.
Under subhead J, an extra amount of £250,000 is required to meet the higher cost of pensions and lump sums because of the national pay agreement and other pay and pension increases.
Under subhead L.1, an additional sum of £2.015 million is provided for an increased grant-in-aid to Radio Telefís Éireann in respect of increased net receipts from the higher television licence fees introduced from 1st April last and from higher licence numbers resulting from the recent television licence campaign. The increased grant-in-aid to Radio Telfís Éireann and the cost of the licence campaign will be offset by a corresponding increase in the amount payable to the Exchequer as Exchequer Extra Receipts in respect of the sales of television licences.
As I mentioned at the outset the net additional sum now required is £6.1 million which brings the total net Estimte for the year to £131,474,000.