HC Deb 08 April 1913 vol 51 cc991-3
54. Mr. MITCHELL-THOMSON

asked the Postmaster-General whether under the Government of Ireland Bill the Irish Parliament will be free to reduce postal facilities in Ireland and to place future postal servants upon a lower scale of pay than that now prevailing?

The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Herbert Samuel)

Under Clause 2 (8) of the Bill the Irish Government will have power to arrange at its discretion any internal postal service. Clauses 32 to 36 in the Bill, relating to Civil servants, apply to existing officers of the Post Office, and the Irish Government will be free to determine the conditions of service of future Post Office servants in Ireland.

55 and 57. Mr. MITCHELL-THOMSON

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what is the increase in the cost of the Post Office in Ireland in the last fifteen years; to what causes it can be attributed; and what has been the increased cost under each of the principal heads; and (2) whether, having regard to the opinion expressed by the Committee on Irish Finance that the increased cost of the Irish Post Office certainly requires explanation, he will issue a Memorandum giving the particulars and the necessary explanation to enable Members to share the information given to the Committee on Irish Finance, and the better equip them for a thorough understanding of the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland under the Government of Ireland Bill?

Mr. HERBERT SAMUEL

The increase in the cost of the Post Office in Ireland in the fifteen years to 1911–1912 was £599,000. It is attributable mainly to the Jubilee Concessions of 1897, under which extended postal and telegraph facilities were afforded to the rural districts, and to improvements in the scales of pay and conditions of service of the staff made in accordance with the recommendations of successive Committees. The increased cost under each of the principal heads is as follows:—

£
Headquarters Salaries … 142,000
Provincial Salaries … 310,000
Superannuations and Marriage Gratuities … 34,000
Conveyance of Mails … 26,000
Maintenance, Renewals, and Extensions of the Telegraph and Telephone systems … 37,000
The causes of the increase are stated in paragraph 12 of the Report of the Committee on Irish Finance, and I do not think any further useful information could be furnished in a Memorandum.