asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will indicate the number of applicants for telephones in the Cork City district and whether, in view of the great inconvenience caused to a considerable number of business people, he will treat this district as an urgent priority and expedite the installation of telephones by employing increased staff or otherwise.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cork Telephone Applications.
There are 390 outstanding applications for telephones in the Cork City exchange area and this figure includes 150 applications received this year. The work of providing service for persons who applied last year will commence shortly.
Applications made in this area are dealt with in order of year of application and I regret it would not be possible to improve on the system without disadvantage to waiting applicants in other areas.
Is the Minister not aware that Cork, as the second largest city in the State, deserves better attention than it has been getting over the past three years?
We will do our best to make quite sure that Cork receives adequate appreciation from the section which is putting in telephones, but if the Deputy will look at the proportion of the population of Dublin and of Cork and the number of waiting applications in Dublin, he will find that, as usual, the Corkmen are not doing so badly.
Having regard to the complaints generally as to the delay in providing new telephones and the consequential loss of revenue, would the Minister consider the possibility of increasing the staff engaged in putting in new telephones?
Every step possible is being taken to recruit additional staff for the electrical engineering service, but recently we have been unable to acquire a sufficient number.
In the event of representations in this connection being made to the Minister's Department by the new Lord Mayor of Cork, will he undertake to consider them sympathetically?