andMr. Enright asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if the procedure whereby Deputies direct representations to the secretary of his Department is now being altered to channel representations to him or his Minister of State.
19.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Deputies' Representations.
18.
andMr. Enright asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if there has been any recent change in the issue of replies to Deputies' queries by his Department.
20.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he has issued a directive, or other oral or written instruction to the secretary of his Department, that all queries and representations by Deputies, must be through his private office; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take questions Nos. 18, 19 and 20 together.
Written representations from Deputies and Senators are generally being replied to at ministerial level.
Where a Deputy writes to the secretary of a Department, does the Minister of State consider it appropriate that the reply should come from the Minister's office? Will he state why this procedure was introduced?
I wish to refer the Deputy to the Adjournment debate of 23 April 1980—column 1980 of the Official Report—where Deputy Quinn asked a question concerning that matter. On that occasion I informed the House that we had changed the system of answering representations to a new format, whereby we introduced the idea of forecasting. Certain allegations were made by Deputies on all sides of the House—I think correctly—that when they went to the Departments local offices regarding the installation of a telephone they were told the file was in Dublin in the Minister's office. Constituents then asked Deputies to make further representations on their behalf. We have now changed the system and I hope it is working reasonably well. It may not be completely perfect initially but we hope it will be successful in the long-term. When I was speaking in this House on 30 May 1980 in the debate on the Estimate for my Department, I said at column 1305 of the Official Report:
I want to emphasise that I will be impartial to the best of my ability with every elected member of this and the other House. When they make representations on behalf of individuals in their constituencies, they are entitled to that service, irrespective of which side of the House they are on.
I am sure all Deputies are aware of the efforts I am making in this matter to ensure that there will be no confusion at local level.
I thank the Minister for his very lengthy, if rather defensive, reply. While I appreciate the difficulty with regard to files being referred to Dublin, I should like the Minister of State to deal with the matter of a query made to the secretary of the Department in Dublin. I should like to know why such a query is referred to the Minister and replied to by him?
I should like to know if the Deputy is satisfied with the system we are trying to operate now. If he is not satisfied I will revert to the original system. I have tried to do my best in the most impartial way. When any Deputy, irrespective of his party, makes representations concerning a constituent I always reply to such correspondence. I have tried to be impartial but if the Opposition are not satisfied with the new system we can revert to the old situation.
I appreciate the offer of the Minister of State——
We debated this matter for 30 minutes on a previous occasion. I am calling Deputy Deasy.
The Minister asked me for my comments.
The Minister received many criticisms about the previous system. We are trying to make it more favourable for everyone. If Deputy O'Keeffe wants to go back to the original system we can do that.
What concerns me is the extra delay.
Deputy O'Keeffe is making one statement after another. I have called Deputy Deasy.
The Minister of State provoked me.
I accept the impartiality of the Minister of State in this matter. Incidentally, I like also the last line of his letter "...thanks very much for your interest...". Is the Minister aware that many Deputies are concerned at the lengthy delays——
That is a separate question.
——between the initial acknowledgment and the final reply? Can the Minister do anything to remedy that?
I can tell the Deputy that acknowledgment of a letter received in my Department this morning will go out either today or tommorrow.
What about the follow-up?
That is not a bad service when one takes into account that at peak periods in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs we receive 2,200 representations in one week.
We want to know about the follow-up.
The system of forecasting to which I referred already is not perfect but we hope it will progress as we go on.
I should like an assurance from the Minister that if I get in touch with an official in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs that contact can be continued without interference from his office or without the official being told that any communication I may have with him must be made known to the Minister's office. Interference in communications in a matter like this is an intrusion into the responsibilities and privileges of a Deputy. As far as I am concerned, I should like the Minister to leave matters as they were——
The Deputy is making a long statement.
The Minister is an affable person and I like him but I do not particularly want him to write to me about matters on which I have not contacted him.
If the Deputy makes a telephone call or a verbal representation to any official in the Department I could not be aware of it and, therefore, I would not be associated with it. Such an example was given by Deputy Tully last week and I tried to explain the matter as honestly as possible. If a Deputy makes representations on paper to me or to any official in the Department it will be answered through my office. Do Deputies want it that way? Perhaps they want to continue with the old confused system? I am doing my utmost to facilitate every Member in this House and in the other House and indeed all public representatives. I do not think I can be found wanting in this matter.
Could I ask a final supplementary?
The time is up.
When other Ministers said that they had more to do than sign letters addressed to Deputies is it different in the Minister's Department?
I am a mere Minister of State working very hard in a very difficult job.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.