§ MR. MEAGHER (Kilkenny, N.)I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether it is contemplated to establish a branch of the Controller of Stores Department in Dublin; and, if so, whether the existing storesmen and stores clerks at the local depots in Cork, Belfast, and Dublin will have the option of being transferred to the new branch as they desire, or is it the intention to import a staff from Great Britain and appoint an Englishman to the control of the new branch at Dublin, in accordance with the usual practice of the Post Office in Ireland nowadays?
§ MR. SYDNEY BUXTONAt present the officers in charge of postal stores in 1169 Ireland are under the control of the Secretary in Dublin, and those in charge of telegraph stores are officers of the engineer-in-chief in London. It is intended, on the ground of administrative convenience, to unite the two branches and to place the stores department in Dublin under the control of the Controller of Stores. The details of the rearrangement have not yet been settled, but due regard will be had to the claims of the existing staff.