asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs what steps are being taken to remedy the long delays experienced by telephone callers to Dublin exchanges after 6 p.m. nightly; and if he will state (a) the number of operators at such exchanges now and a year ago and (b) the number of calls nightly now and a year ago.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Telephone Delays.
17.
Additional operating staff are being trained and more are being recruited to deal with the greatly increased volume of traffic which has led to some delay in answering callers at certain times after 6 p.m. at Dublin exchanges.
The number of operators employed after 6 p.m. varies from hour to hour and from day to day; the average number employed on operating duties during the peak period each evening after 6 p.m. during the first half of this month and during the same period last year was 180. Figures for the gross number of transactions in the exchange are not available but the number of effective trunk calls dealt with each evening during this period averaged 5,040 compared with 4,450 during the same period last year.
Am I to take it that the Parliamentary Secretary and the Department are aware that the usual experience is a wait of some five to eight minutes when calling the operator at Dublin exchanges in the evening time? Will he say how soon we can expect the operators will be in a position to answer calls within, say, a half minute of receiving them?
As I said in the reply, we have additional operating staff being trained at present and arrangements made for the recruitment of more. Every effort is being made, because of our awareness of the fact that the delay is over long in this regard, to bring the staff up to the required strength to meet the situation.
Is it not notorious that the reason for this delay is that the evening staff is temporary unestablished staff as compared with the day staff which is permanent and established and until you have an adequate permanent staff available for the night business these incredible delays will continue owing to the rapid turnover of the temporary unestablished staff?
That is not quite so. We have established staff, certainly, up to 8 p.m. and a lesser proportion of established staff on duty after that time. We are in the process of bringing the staff up to the required strength.
Is it not so that the staff is largely temporary unestablished staff during the night period and that that is the real reason for the intolerably bad service?
I do not accept that.
The sooner you accept it the sooner this business will be rectified.