asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (a) the year in which work will begin on the conversion to automatic working of Ceanannus Mór telephone exchange, County Meath, (b) if he will detail the necessary plans that have to be made before such work can begin, (c) the sub-office exchanges to be brought into automatic working in the over-all plan for this exchange and (d) the period of time it will take to complete the entire work.
Written Answers. - Meath Telephone Exchange.
127.
It is expected that the installation of an automatic exchange in Ceanannus Mór will commence in 1973 and will take close on 12 months to complete. It will be necessary to erect a building to house the new exchange on a site which is now in course of acquisition, to design an automatic installation to meet the needs of the town and of the smaller dependent exchanges served through Ceanannus Mór and to seek tenders and place a contract for the manufacture and installation of the necessary equipment before the work of converting Ceanannus Mór exchange to automatic working can commence. The sub-office exchanges in the Ceanannus Mór Group are Carlanstown, Carnaross, Crossakiel, Moynalty and Mullagh. It would be premature at this stage to forecast when these exchanges will be converted to automatic working.