asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the plans, if any, he has to deal expeditiously with the 40,000 applicants currently awaiting telephone services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Service.
33.
About 10,000 of the applications are being processed at present. It is expected that a further 10,000 will be attended to before the end of the year, in addition to clearance of most priority applications received during the rest of 1977.
In order to deal expeditiously with applications for telephones, it is necessary to have a system with adequate spare capacity in terms of buildings, exchange and switching equipment, trunk and junction circuits, subscriber cabling and so on; the necessary staff resources to plan and execute expansion plans, to maintain existing and new plant, to instal extra telephones at an accelerating rate and so on. Owing to inadequate financing the Irish telephone system never reached that stage of development but as a result of the unprecedented investment of over £150 million in the service during the past four years, it is well on the way towards achieving it. Continued investment will be necessary over the next few years to enable the waiting list to be steadily reduced and eventually eliminated. As the Deputy is aware, a new Telephone Capital Bill was introduced last week for this and other telephone development purposes.
Will the Minister say how much of the £150 million to which he referred came by way of grant or loan from the European Community?
I cannot answer that. It is a separate question.
Will the Minister not acknowledge that if he is going to make reference to what he called an unprecedented investment at least the House and the country are entitled to know how much of that money came from the European Community, as has so much else which has benefited the Government?
The House is entitled to know and if a question is asked it will be answered. I am sorry I have not got the answer here.
The Minister should not throw around figures as an indication of what the Government are spending without telling us how much of the money is coming from the European Community.
We are all aware of the benefits of membership of the EEC. I cannot put a figure on it for the Deputy but, as I suggested, he can put down a question on the matter.
The Minister might have anticipated it.
Will the Minister state what percentage of the money was spent on capital development and what was absorbed in higher wages for the administrative staff?
My understanding is that we are talking of capital expenditure which this year will run at £57 million or three and a half times the figure Fianna Fáil were spending when they handed over the neglected telephone system to us.
That is not an answer to the question. I want to know how much of the money was appropriated to actual work in the provision and installation of new equipment. Is it not the case that much of the money was absorbed in salaries and wages which had to be increased because of inflation?
That is not my understanding.
At the end of the day it is equivalent to what we were spending.
And that was before we joined the EEC.
We are talking of investment here and of course there were increases in costs in recent years. In the four years we have been in office there has been an increase of 139 per cent in the import price index which affected this equipment as well as other items. Nevertheless an increase of three and a half times means that the total volume of activity is several times what it was when Fianna Fáil left office. The best test is that the number of connections made this year—45,000 —is almost double the figure for 1972. That is a real doubling of effort, not just a question of an increase in money.
How can the Minister equate that with the disgraceful state of the telephone system——
I have no doubt whatever about the disgraceful state it was left in——
It is ten times worse now.
The fact that we had to invest more in four years than was done in the previous 70 years is an indication of the appalling state of the telephone system.
Most of the money came from the European Community.
May I intervene at this stage to wish Fianna Fáil their last hooray?