I wish to thank the Deputies who have contributed to the debate for their kind wishes. I hope I live up to the opinion Deputies opposite have of me. I will be trying to tackle one of the most difficult tasks facing any member of the Government, to try to set up an efficient telecommunications service and an efficient postal service. It is what we all desire and the country cannot afford to do without it. These services have not kept pace with other developments in the Irish economy. Lack of finance over the years has been partly responsible, but this Government gave a commitment to develop a new communications service.
I have been but a matter of hours in the Department—I was in the Seanad earlier in the afternoon—and I would have liked to have acquainted myself more fully with the workings of the Department. I know the challenge that is there, I know the job of work that has to be done but it cannot be done without the provision of the proper tools. In general, I welcome the suggestions made during the debate, I have taken note of them, and in the assessment I will be doing in the Department, starting tomorrow morning, I will bear these suggestions in mind.
I am aware of the difficulties public representatives have had in relation to representations to the Department, but personally I have not had the same experience as Deputy McMahon. I will look into the complaints he has made in relation to replies to Deputies and to the public. I agree there is a public relations job to be done in the Department. The Department is an organisation employing 28,000 people and it is not an easy thing to come in here to try to suggest simple solutions in an organisation of that size.
Staff relations problems have been referred to but I must give these matters great consideration before I would be prepared to put any comments on the record. A special committee was established under an independent chairman nominated by the Chairman of the Labour Court to review the Department's rules and regulations, disciplinary and consultative procedures. The work of that committee is proceeding. Furthermore, a mediation committee, also with a chairman nominated by the Chairman of the Labour Court, was established to deal with staff grievances which had not been settled in direct discussions. A number of such problems have been resolved by that committee.
Although it may appear to many people outside that proper attention is not being given to staff relations problems, from the brief knowledge I have and the information given to me by my predecessor, I appreciate the big job of work that has to be done in that area. I know I am aware of the great efforts by my predecessors and I can assure the House that I will not be lacking in effort to try to improve staff relations. I have worked as an employee and as an employer and I know that if you can get to the root of the problem before it starts to fester it is often easier to solve it. I will bring this type of thinking to bear in the Department when I begin to examine the whole area.
Deputy Tully raised an interesting point about equipment and the vast amounts of money being spent by the Department on equipment being imported. This has not gone unnoticed in the Department or by my predecessor. Much of the equipment is now being made in Ireland. In my constituency, Ericsson of Sweden, one of the world's leaders in telecommunications, are manufacturing equipment. Technicon are also in this work.
I should like to draw the attention of the House and the Deputy to the fact that the IDA have a section known as the imports substitution section which has been very successful in substituting Irish manufactured goods for imports. The IDA carried out an in-depth study of the imports into this country and have been successful in establishing industries here to cope with that situation. This will be kept under constant review by me in connection with the purchase of equipment for the Department. Anything that is manufactured in Ireland will get priority as far as I am concerned. That is my philosophy and it would be the philosophy of any Irish politician.
Some Deputies, when referring to my term of office, queried whether it would be a long or short stay. I do not know what evidence they may have that I might have a short stay, but I hope it is longer rather than shorter, because a short stay in the job that confronts me would not be very good. I could not hope to produce the results Opposition Deputies expect from me if my stay were short. There is a long job of work to be done and it will take a concentrated effort by everybody to succeed. I must pay tribute to the management and staff in the Department on having gone so far in laying the foundations for what I believe will be a challenging task for me in trying to set up the two new boards, An Bord Phoist and An Bord Telecom. Those two boards are chaired by two successful businessmen who are presently engaged in carrying out their own assessment in the telecommunications and postal areas. I will have an opportunity of meeting them next week. I look forward to working with those two very successful Irish businessmen. Hopefully, together we will be able to push forward the impressive programme the Government have laid out for us in developing a very efficient telephone and telecommunications service.
Deputy McMahon raised a question about providing telephone kiosks. I should like to tell him that where an area cannot be served immediately by telephone lines priority is given to the establishment of telephone kiosks. I have noted the areas mentioned and I will communicate with the Deputy in relation to them.
Deputy Deasy raised the question of the up-dating of the equipment in exchanges and I should like to tell him that that is part of the present programme in progress.
We are all aware that there are problems in the telephone service. I would not be foolish enough to deny that. I am aware that a special committee, under Mr. Michael Dargan, set a minimum time limit of five years to try to bring the service up to an efficient standard. That does not mean that in the interim we will not be endeavouring to improve the service. I will be endeavouring to implement the programme as fast as possible.
We face a major legislative operation in setting up the two semi-State boards. Many of the matters complained about today can only be properly tackled by such boards. They are not easy to deal with in present circumstances. This is all part and parcel of the new thinking in relation to the two boards and, hopefully, we will introduce the necessary legislation soon. I look forward to that move, like everybody in the country, because a proper telecommunications service is the cornerstone of a good viable economy. As a former industrialist I am aware that people use the telephone and telex systems extensively. Industrialists want a good service and they are prepared to pay for it, because without it their business, and hopes for expansion, are severely handicapped. I look forward to the challenge of this new position. I will give it all the effort I can and, if I fail, it will not be for the want of trying. I do not intend to fail. I intend to do the best I can. With the full cooperation of the management and staff of the Department we can go forward from there. The foundation stone has been laid and together we can deliver an excellent and competent telecommunications and postal service.