HC Deb 26 November 1906 vol 165 cc1197-8
MR. COGAN (Wicklow, E.)

To ask the Postmaster-General why it takes forty-eight hours to deliver a letter addressed in the Irish language and posted in one side of the city, about half a mile from the General Post Office, Dublin, to another portion of the city, within about a mile of the General Post Office; whether it takes this time for the officials to translate the address, or is it due to the want of knowledge by the sorting staff of their native language; and will he take the necessary steps to ensure prompt delivery of letters in future.

(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) Correspondence addressed in Irish is necessarily subject to delay, when, as is often the case, it is dealt with by officers who cannot decipher the address. While I regret any inconvenience so caused, I would observe that in almost every case of the kind the remedy is in the hands of the sender of the letter who voluntarily chooses such a mode of address. If, however, the hon. Member will give me particulars of the letter to which he refers I will have inquiry made as to its treatment in the post.