Deputies’ representations to the Department
The Minister said no current instruction requires officials to refer Deputies’ inquiries to his office. He explained that his predecessor had directed such referrals; Deputy Killilea said this followed a House-approved proposal to address confusion in the Department, while Mr. Reynolds criticized the use of Private Secretaries to answer Deputies.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he or his Minister of State gave instructions to their officials to refer all representations and inquiries from Deputies to them before any reply or information is furnished; and, if so, why.
Comment on this
At the request of the previous Minister of State all representations and inquiries made directly by Deputies to officials at the Department were referred to the office of the Minister of State and were acknowledged and replied to from there. The only exception was that the Secretary replied to inquiries made to him directly by the former Taoiseach, Ministers and Ministers of State. The effect of the former Minister of State's decision is that all letters and inquiries addressed to the Secretary, sections within the Department and sections locally and nationally are now directed to my office. This has caused a pile up in my office which is almost impossible to disentangle. The decision was solely that of Deputy Killilea.
Comment on this
He was. It was on the orders of the House that I made that arrangement because of the utter confusion that existed in the Department. It was done with the approval of the House and not by any ingenious method those two smart men would have us believe.
Comment on this
I should be complaining because I get replies from only two Ministers. The remainder of the replies are from Private Secretaries and that is no credit to the Government.
Comment on this
To quote what Deputy Killilea said — a mere Minister of State working in hard and difficult times.