asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the grounds on which his Department's allowance of £66 per annum to an assistant who works from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. has been determined to be appropriate in view of the fact that subpostmasters are not required to give personal service.

I assume that what the Deputy has in mind are the special allowances paid to subpostmasters for attention to telephone calls between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. These allowances vary with the size of the telephone exchange. The present allowances were fixed in February, 1959, following acceptance of an agreed recommendation by the Subpostmasters' Consultative Council on a claim submitted by the Irish Subpostmasters' Union.

In addition to these special allowances, unit credits for remuneration purposes are allowed to Subpostmasters for night calls at a rate six times the day rate.