asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will arrange for the provision of a telephone kiosk at Kent Terrace, Castleyons, Fermoy, County Cork.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Services.
30.
My Department is not at present providing kiosks in areas such as Kent Terrace where there is no post office.
31.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of applicants in County Meath on the waiting list for telephones; and when they will be facilitated.
Nine hundred and ninety of which 205 are having attention at present. It is hoped that about two-thirds of the remainder will be given service progressively over the next 18 months with the balance— largely those requiring very extensive construction work—being dealt with during 1976.
Is that not a very long time for some of those people to have to wait for their phones?
Yes, unfortunately it is.
When the new equipment is put in in Dunboyne, Kells and Navan, would the Minister try to speed up the installation of new phones in the area?
I share the Deputy's concern about this matter and the size of the waiting list for applications which has, of course, being steadily increasing over many years. The only way of dealing with this is by increasing the rate of installations of telephones as much as possible. Therefore the rate has been stepped up.
32.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of applicants for telephone installation in the Ballincollig area, County Cork, who are awaiting connection and whose applications are still outstanding for each of the years 1972, 1973 and since January, 1974; the present average waiting period; and the categories of applicants who receive priority treatment.
There are 240 waiting applications at Ballincollig exchange, comprising 12 received in 1972, 150 in 1973 and 78 in 1974 to date. The average waiting period for telephone service is about one year. The priority categories are as outlined in the reply I gave to the Deputy on 26th July, 1973, (Column 2190, Volume 267, No. 12 of the Official Report).
33.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of applications for telephones on the waiting list on 1st June in 1973 and in 1974.
Thirty thousand on 1st June, 1973, and 38,000 on 1st June, 1974.
34.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of telephones which were installed in the first six months of 1973 and of 1974.
Fourteen thousand, six hundred and thirteen and 16,208, respectively.
35.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs why regulations in his Department now stipulate that priority for telephone connections will not be given to any industrialist unless he employs more than seven people; and, if in view of the fact that this regulation militates against people who wish to establish small industries, he will make a statement on the matter.
The priority categories include undertakings with a fair employment content. A minimum of seven employees has for very many years past been taken as automatically satisfying the employment criterion, but this does not rule out the granting of priority to undertakings with a lesser employment content where circumstances warrant it. I would certainly like to meet all applications for business lines. The difficulty is that the priority categories now amount to about 40 per cent of total demand. To increase the priority categories appreciably would make priority ineffective. Nevertheless it can be taken that applications for telephones from persons wishing to establish small industries will receive sympathetic consideration.
I should add that employment is not the only criterion employed in determining priority for business line applications. Priority is also extended to specialised businesses, irrespective of employment content, for which a telephone is clearly essential, for example, a full-time auctioneer, a registered hotel or guest house.
I should like to ask the Minister: why specify seven? It may have been there many years but, in view of what he has said—that there are other matters taken into consideration as well—I should like to see the figure of seven omitted altogether and have them all judged on their merits. Is the Minister aware that people have come to me and said that when they made application and afterwards inquired, by telephone or by letter, they were told that the fact that they had not got seven employees militated against their chances.
I will consider what the Deputy says. The fact is that seven is an arbitrary figure; it was fixed very many years ago; maybe we should fix another figure or have no figure restriction.
Well, it is being used now.
Perhaps the Deputy will forgive me if I try to complete my answer to his question. The fact is that if a business has seven employees and over, they automatically rate as priority. If it is below that, they are considered for priority. That is the difference between the two categories. Clearly there has to be some weighting in favour of the larger business. I should like to be able to provide lines for all businesses as soon as they apply. I should like to move in that direction and I am sure the Deputy and the House will support me in that.
Is the Minister aware that it militates against home industry, especially in rural areas and in the Gaeltacht areas, where there may even be a family interest?
I can assure the Deputy, and other Deputies, that if they bring to my attention any cases which could be adversly affected by this, I shall see that they get consideration.
Questions Nos. 36 and 37 postponed.