asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether he is aware that the radio-telephone between Owey island and the mainland is obsolete, and continually out of order, and if he will take steps to have up-to-date apparatus installed and have the mainland location of the apparatus transferred from Bunbeg to Kincasslagh.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Donegal Island's Radio Telephone Service.
I am aware that communication with Owey Island has been interrupted for periods from time to time, mainly during the winter when the engineering workmen often have difficulty in reaching the island to clear faults in the apparatus. The equipment provided for communication with Owey and with a number of other islands around the coast gives the most up-to-date form of radio link available up to the present, having regard to the non-availability of electric power supply in these remote places. With the hope of improving that position, however, the Department is keeping in close touch with experiments that are taking place in the development of a more effective type of radio equipment for short-distance communication.