The Minister intimated that he spoke recently to the district managers. Am I to take it that these people have been appointed but, if not, to whom did the Minister speak? Yesterday in the House the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs said that an interim arrangement had been made in respect of the telephonists at Bantry but now we discover that the Minister of State wishes to go there and talk to those people about some arrangement.

Has the Deputy a question?

What does the Minister mean by saying that it is his intention to go to Bantry to discuss the matter while his Minister tells us that an arrangement has been reached already? There are a number of manual exchanges in which the staff are in the same position as those referred to by Deputy Acheson.

We do not want a debate on the matter. The supplementary concerns Clonmel.

I should have said that I talked to the district engineers and not district managers. That was merely a slip of the tongue. Regarding the question of my travelling to Bantry, arrangements have been negotiated successfully with the trade unions concerned in regard to officials at the exchange there, but there are people in Bantry who wish to put their point of view and it was in the interest of showing my concern for and my consolidation with them that I offered to go to meet them. Does the Deputy take exception to that?

I agree that the Minister should go to meet them but I was confused as to what was said in reply to the supplementary.

I shall allow one more supplementary only.