asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will amend the relevant regulations to enable medical doctors to instal telephones in their cars.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Car Telephones.
7.
A doctor may, under existing arrangements, have radio telephone communication between his car and his home, surgery or other approved base station such as a bureau for handling messages for doctors, subject to obtaining licencing authority from my Department.
Would the Minister reply to the question which is not referring to radio communication but in fact to telephonic communication? What regulations would prevent a doctor from having a telephone installed in his car?
Has the Deputy in mind the intallation of radio-telephone systems with access to the public telephone network?
I have in mind, as quite clearly stated, the installation of a telephone which would be connected to the telephone communication system.
It is not my Department's policy to allow a direct connection to the public telephone network of privately-owned radio-telephone or paging systems.
Is it not a fact that certain members of the Cabinet have been offered and have used temporarily prior to the prohibition by the Minister on this sort of service, such a system which would, in fact, be a great help?
No. There is an ambiguity in the question in the sense that a radio-telephone system between a car and a home is perfectly feasible under existing arrangements and that is what has been considered and, in some cases, developed in relation to the ministerial cars and so on, but in no case has there been permission for connection of a car telephone to the general telephone system. Our policy in this matter is the same as that of all other countries as far as I know.
I think the ambiguity referred to by the Minister was cleared up on the tabling of this question with the Department because of the obvious ambiguity that could arise.
Could we have a supplementary question?
The ambiguity is not in fact——
We must get over the ambiguity at another time. A supplementary question, please.
Is it not the policy of other European countries to allow telephones to be installed in cars by businessmen and medical personnel?
As I have informed the Deputy, our policy is not to allow direct connection to the public telephone network of privately owned radio-telephone or paging systems. This is also the policy adopted by other administrations, a number of whom have provided their own system. A radio-telephone system for cars, and so on, with access to the public network requires high quality radio transmitting and receiving equipment at base stations suitably located to ensure satisfactory communication. The range of each base station depends on transmitter power, topography and other factors and even in favourable circumstances might not exceed a radius of about 15 miles, so that to get wider coverage would require a large number of stations. This would be quite expensive and I have no evidence that there is sufficient demand for such a service to justify that kind of expenditure.