andMr. Enright asked the Minister for Education if the procedure whereby Deputies direct representations to the Secretary of his Department is now being altered to channel representations to him (or his Ministers of State).

35.

andMr. Enright asked the Minister for Education if there has been any recent change in the issue of replies to Deputies' queries by his Department.

36.

asked the Minister for Education 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. 34, 35 and 36 together.

The normal procedure is that letters or representations in any other forms, from Dáil Deputies, in their capacity as such, are, in general, replied to from the office of the Minister of State or of the Minister for Education, irrespective of whether they have been addressed to the Department or to the Ministers. This practice has obtained since before the date on which I assumed office as Minister for Education.

Surely the Minister must agree with me when I say that if a Member of the Oireachtas writes to the Department of Education he is entitled to an answer from the Secretary of that Department if he addresses his letter to that person?

The practice obtaining in the Department of Education at present is the one which obtained before the Minister for Education took office, and indeed before I took office. As far as I am concerned, if there is a desire on the part of Deputies that that practice be altered I am sure the Minister would listen to any representations they might have to make.

Is the Minister aware of instances in the constituency I represent where I made representations regarding school transport to the office of the Minister for Education, when the particular problems happened to be solved successfully, and when communication was established with another Deputy representing the constituency prior to my being notified?

If the Deputy will give me particulars of the case to which he refers I will have them examined very carefully. I have responsibility for the scheme to which the Deputy has referred. I can assure him that that is not, and has not been the practice since I took over duties in that office.

Does the Minister of State accept that if a Deputy makes a representation on a particular matter, on which no other Deputy has made a representation, that that Deputy is entitled to the first sight of the information contained in the reply?

There were never any doubts about that as far as I am concerned in the administration of my duties.