asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the proposals, if any, he has made to provide a telephone service at an early date in the Mileen and East Kilcummin area of County Kerry where there are seven urgent applications.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Service.
26.
It is hoped to meet the waiting applications in this area during the second half of 1976 following completion of a large cabling scheme. On the information available none of the applications in the area falls into the priority categories.
27.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when residents in the Bellevue Park area of Greystones, County Wicklow, will have telephone connections; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
28.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when residents in the Bellevue Heights area of Greystones, County Wicklow will have telephone connections; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 28 together.
It is hoped to instal telephones in Bellevue Park about the 3rd quarter of 1976 and in Bellevue Heights about the 2nd quarter of 1976.
Could the Minister give me any indication of the reason for the delay, which seems quite appreciably long, in this case?
The fact is that main cable to serve Bellevue Park is necessary between Greystones exchange and that estate. Local cabling within the estate has been completed for the waiting applicants. The main cabling is expected to be completed about the middle of 1976, following which service will be offered to the waiting applicants.
My information is that the main cabling has been completed, that the internal cabling is also complete and that in fact it is a question of awaiting the connecting ducts.
The Deputy is giving information rather than seeking it.
Main cable to Bellevue Park is still necessary. Main cable to serve Bellevue Heights has been provided from the exchange to a distribution point about 200 yards from the estate. Local cabling has been completed within the estate and it remains only to link the main cable to the local cable.
As two questions are being taken together perhaps the Chair would allow me some leeway on this matter? Could the Minister indicate whether there are sufficient lines available in the Greystones exchange, or might that also be a factor in the delay?
The equipment position in Greystones exchange is satisfactory and applications are being met within about three months provided cable is available from the exchange to the premises at which service is required.
29.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone will be installed for a person (name supplied) in Greystones, County Wicklow.
It is hoped to provide service early in the new year.
30.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a telephone kiosk at Corlough, Belturbet, County Cavan.
The use made of the call office telephone at Corlough is not sufficient to justify provision of a kiosk there.
31.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that telephone subscribers who have to dial the telephone exchange at Galway experience along delays in being answered; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am not so aware.
32.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will consider having a second public telephone kiosk erected at Dunmore, County Galway.
The use made of the existing kiosk in Dunmore is not sufficient to justify provision of an additional kiosk there.
33.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when he will provide a public telephone kiosk for Naul, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In reply to a previous question by the Deputy on 5th June, 1974, I said that the use made of the call office telephone kiosk in Naul post office was not sufficient to justify provision of a kiosk there. That is still the position.
34.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the great difficulty experienced by subscribers in getting an answer from the telephone exchange at Castlerea, County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
35.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is satisfied with the standard of the night service at Castlerea telephone exchange, County Roscommon; and if he is aware of serious complaints in regard to it.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 35 together.
Castlerea exchange was short of switchboards up to early November and there were some delays on calls as a result. Since the provision of the extra switchboards the service has improved.
There have been some reports of difficulty with the night service and these are being looked into.
Could the Minister indicate if it is hoped to switch this exchange over to the automatic system in the near future?
I do not think that is likely at an early date. It is quite a small manual exchange and there would be many ahead of it on the list.
It covers a very wide area.
36.
andMr. Daly asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a telephone kiosk at parteen, County Clare.
andMr. Daly asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the urgent need for a post office at Parteen, County Clare; and if he has any proposals in the matter.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 37 together.
I am not aware of an urgent need for a post office at Parteen. The sub-offices at Bridge Street and Thomondgate, Limerick, and at Ardnacrusha are each about two miles away and the very small amount of post office business arising in the Parteen area would not warrant provision of a sub-post office there.
Kiosks are not being provided in rural areas such as Parteen where post offices are not warranted.
Is the Minister aware that this should not be described as a rural area? It is a rapidly growing village. In fact it is bigger than a village at present, with Clare County Council and private house developers operating in the area. Surely the people there are entitled to a public telephone, even at night, when they have no access to one?
I apologise if I have given any offence by the description "rural area". The information I have from my Department states that Parteen is a village with a population of 500, which seems to me to qualify for the description I used. I agree that approximately 100 of the houses have been built during the last three years. Of course, as development takes place, the matter will be further considered. However, when Deputies press for new post offices in very small areas they should realise that, in relation to population, the number of post offices in this Administration is rather extraordinarily high. On average there is a post office for approximately every 1,300 of the population. Figures for some other countries are: Britain, 2,300; West Germany, 2,400; France, 3,000; Denmark, 3,600; Italy, 4,000 and the USA, 6,400. Therefore, we are well at the top of the league in the matter of post offices. In these conditions, and in the light of the general economic situation, any Government would have to think twice about opening considerable numbers of new post offices. Admittedly, population shifts do from time to time require this, but I am not satisfied that this is the case.
Does the Minister not think it is misleading to give the figures he has just given without, at the same time, giving the relative density of population per kilometre or per square mile?
I do not think they are misleading. I think they are of interest.
They are totally misleading.
I do not say they could not deserve further analysis but analysis is, I think, hardly appropriate here.
The Minister mentioned 500 people living in Parteen village. Could the Minister say how many inhabitants would be required in a village to warrant a public telephone?
I am afraid I could not give the Deputy that information—I would need notice—but I know it to be very much more than 500.
Surely 500 people living in a village should be entitled to a public telephone. They have no access at night to a telephone and they live some distance from Limerick.
The Deputy has already made that point.