asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if his attention has been drawn to the great inconvenience caused to people in the Coolock area of Dublin by the transfer of the sub-post office at the Northside shopping centre to Priorswood.

5.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will reopen a sub-post office at Northside Shopping Centre, Coolock, Dublin.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together.

Despite the fact that the vacancy was twice advertised and that two special canvasses of traders in the Northside Shopping Centre were made by my Department, no one from the centre applied for the vacancy and there was no reasonable alternative but to appoint the nearest suitable applicant. While the new post office is not as convenient for some people as the former was, it and the office at Coolock village serve the needs of the general area adequately and reopening of an office in the Northside Shopping Centre would not new appear to be justified. I am, however, having the matter reviewed, and I will communicate the result to the Deputies.

Is the Minister aware of the inconvenience caused to such people as the elderly and to mothers of young children by having to travel such a distance to Priorswood and to Coolock village to collect social welfare benefits? Is the Minister about to take any concrete steps to provide a post office in the Northside Shopping Centre and can he say how much per square foot he was prepared to offer for the necessary accommodation?

We were offered space but as this was on the first floor of the shopping centre it would not have been suitable because of the difficulty that would have been involved for elderly people and for mothers with babies in reaching the first floor. However, I can assure the Deputy that the matter is being given my immediate attention and that if we can find a suitable premises as well as a suitable applicant for the sub-postmastership, the situation will be reviewed again and the Deputy shall be informed accordingly.

Is the Minister aware that within the past few weeks two premises became available on the ground floor but that there was no effort made by the Department to secure either of these?

Apart from the problem of acquiring suitable premises, there is the problem of finding a suitable applicant for the sub-postmastership. In this regard I would be grateful to the Deputy for any help he might give us by way of suggesting the names of people who would be interested in this post.

That brings us to another point.

We must move on to the next question.

The reason for the difficulty in finding a suitable applicant is the pay being offered for the job.

That is not so.