Vol. 308 No. 7
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs is he is aware of the chronic and worsening telephone service within County Donegal and between Donegal and other areas in the Republic; and the immediate steps he proposes to take to ease the hardships being experienced by all telephone subscribers in the county.
123.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the chaotic state of telephone communication between Donegal and the rest of the country; and, if so, the steps, if any, being taken to effect improvements.
I propose with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle to take Questions Nos. 122 and 123 together.
I am aware that the standard of telephone service in Donegal and between Donegal and other areas has been unsatisfactory. The service in the county was seriously affected by industrial action by local engineering staff late last year and early this year. In addition, the trunk call service to and from County Donegal has been affected by a number of faults in the western co-axial cable in recent months, and more switchboards are needed at the manual exchange at Letterkenny, which is the largest exchange in Donegal.
There will be a significant improvement in service in Donegal in the second half of next year when Letterkenny exchange is converted to automatic working and when new microwave radio links between Dublin and Sligo and between Sligo and Letterkenny will be brought into service.
