asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that great inconvenience is being caused in the Mount Uniacke area, Killeagh, County Cork, because there is no post office or telephone facilities there; and, if so, if he will arrange to have the former sub-post office reopened at Mount Uniacke in the near future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Postal Facilities in County Cork.
I regret that the volume of business likely to be transacted would not warrant the expense involved in the establishment and maintenance of a sub-post office at Mount Uniacke. The postal services in the area are already carried on at a loss to revenue.
Public call office facilities in rural districts are provided only in post offices; as a sub-post office at Mount Uniacke is not warranted, the question of providing telephone service cannot usefully be pursued at present.
In view of the Minister's reply, I feel I must ask him again to look into this matter. The residents in this area have postal facilities on only three days a week and for that reason alone it is desirable that there should be a sub-post office re-established there and that some effort should be made to provide telephone facilities. The people there, I should like to point out, are very keen on getting the telephone. In the event of accidents occurring, apart altogether from other reasons, it is imperative that they should have telephone facilities. In some cases people have to travel nine miles in order to communicate with the doctor. I trust the Minister will do his best to reopen the sub-post office and also establish telephone facilities. This is a matter of great importance for the people of that district.
There is a loss at the moment of about £80 on the working of the post office and until that situation changes it is difficult to see how we can alter our policy.