asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total number of civil servants serving in his Department in each of the general Civil Service grades up to and including the paperkeeper, on the latest date for which such information is available.

The number of civil servants serving in my Department, in grades up to and including paperkeeper, as at 1 December 1988 is as follows: paperkeeper, 26; blind telephonist, 5; messenger, 74; services attendant, 13; nightwatchman, 1; cleaner, 57 — Total, 176.