asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether the Government have yet bought out the ground rent on the GPO; the amount paid and the number of years purchase that such payment represented; the name and address of the vendor; and whether the ground rent in any portion of the lands occupied by the GPO remains to be acquired.

The answer to the first part of the question is no.

Negotiations to purchase the balance of the ground rent are proceeding.

Who is the ground landlord?

There are two: the late Mr. G.C. Pentland of Surrey, England——

It would be difficult to negotiate with him.

—— rent payable at £60.93 per annum — and Mr. C.H. Taylor of Chicago to whom ground rent is payable at £25 per annum.

When was the last historic effort made by the Department to purchase the ground rent on this building?

I do not have that information here but the matter has not come up for review since 1973.

Was it reviewed in 1973?

I cannot tell the Deputy exactly when the matter was last reviewed, but if it had been in recent years that information would be on the file. Therefore, I am assuming that there has not been any review in this regard since 1973, but I could be wrong.