asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
424.
Written Answers. - Telephone Service.
423.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
425.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
426.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 423, 424, 425 and 426 together.
It will not, I regret, be possible to provide service for the applicants referred to until major underground cabling works, on which provision of service is dependent, are carried out next year.
The length of time each of these applicants has been on the waiting list is as follows: three years and six months; two years and six months; eight months; five months.
427.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
428.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
429.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
430.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
431.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin and the length of time this applicant has been on the waiting list.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 427, 428, 429, 430 and 431 together.
It is expected service will be provided for the five applicants referred to when major underground cabling works, on which provision of service is dependent, are carried out next year.
The length of time each of these applicants has been on the waiting list is as follows: four years and five months; three years and five months; two years and one month; 21 months; 11 months.
432.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the action being taken to ensure continuing telephone communication service to people and business on the Ferrybank side of Waterford City during the reconstruction of Redmond Bridge.
In order to avoid disruption to telephone service which would arise from the bridge reconstruction works, arrangements are in hand to reroute the cross-river cables and to provide a mobile automatic exchange on the Ferrybank side to serve the subscribers in that area.
433.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that his Department approved the transfer of a telephone kiosk from outside 61 Kylemore Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin to the opposite side of the road in November 1978 and if he will now state when this resiting will take place.
It had been planned to transfer the kiosk to a site across the road but it was found that this would have involved interfering unduly with a playground and was not therefore proceeded with. The selection of a suitable alternative site is still being pursued but pending the selection of one it is proposed to remove the kiosk within the next month or so.
434.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the current position concerning the provision of a telephone service to the Westminster Lawns and Torquay Woods housing estates at Foxrock, Dublin 18.
It is expected to offer service to waiting applicants in Westminster Lawns within the next two months or so. About one quarter of the Torquay Woods estate has been cabled and service will be offered to the applicants concerned shortly. The remainder of the estate cannot be cabled until site development has progressed sufficiently to enable this to be done.
435.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the current position concerning the provision of a telephone service to the Cherbury Court housing estate at Booterstown Avenue, Blackrock, County Dublin.
It is expected that the underground cabling works on which provision of service is dependent will be carried out in the second half of this year following which telephones will be installed for waiting applicants in the estate.
436.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if the additional telephone cabling in the Dunboyne area of County Meath expected to be completed before the end of 1979 as stated in reply to parliamentary question 220 of 13 December 1978 has been completed to date and if the 85 applicants affected have received telephone service.
The cabling scheme has not, I regret, been completed as had been envisaged; the delay in completing it has been due to the diversion of jointing staff to maintenance work following the heavy flood damage last winter. It has been possible, however, to provide service to 55 applicants in the area, including 25 of those waiting for service in December 1978, from the work done so far. It is expected that the cabling work will be completed and service provided for the remaining applicants during the second half of this year.
437.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when extra telephone lines will be available in Charleville telephone exchange, County Cork for new telephone applicants and when the surrounding areas of Newtown, Dromina and Milford will become automatic.
Work on the extension to the automatic exchange should be completed by May-June next. Clearance of the waiting list will then commence and it is expected that service will be offered to all applicants by the end of the year.
Newtown, Dromina and Milford exchanges should be converted to automatic working in late 1982.
438.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the amount of money held on deposit from payments in advance made by telephone subscribers, if interest is payable to these subscribers on such moneys, if such moneys are placed in a special fund and, if not, the purpose for which they are used.
The total amount of money held on deposit from telephone subscribers, excluding connections and other charges paid in advance, is approximately £1.5 million. Interest is not payable on these deposits which are paid into the General Exchequer Account.
The deposits represent advance payments in respect of call charges, which are not collected for considerable periods after the calls to which they relate are made.
439.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when telephone service will be provided for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin who was approved by the Department of Social Welfare for free telephone rental allowance on 6 November 1978.
I regret that it will not be possible to provide service until major underground cabling works, on which provision of service is dependent, are carried out next year.
440.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when repairs will be carried out and telephone service restored to a person (name supplied) in County Meath who is without service for the past two months and has reported the fault several times.
Service has been restored.
441.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the reasons a subscriber (details supplied) in County Dublin who has four telephone lines rented for a number of years is now required to pay a deposit of £100 to obtain a transfer of an existing telephone line.
The deposit was sought in accordance with standard practice in such cases as a security against the use to be made of the service in accordance with the provisions of section 31 of the Telephone Regulations, 1959.
442.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in Dublin who made application in March 1976.
Service was offered to this applicant in April 1976. The offer was not accepted and the application was accordingly regarded as cancelled.
443.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if his attention has been drawn to the chaotic position of the telephone service in Dunboyne, County Meath for the past seven weeks and the measures he proposes to remedy the situation.
I am aware that due mainly to a series of underground cable faults caused by flooding there has been an unusually large number of telephones out of order in the Dunboyne area in recent weeks. A number of other areas have been similarly affected and as a result there has, I regret, been delay in restoring service to the subscribers concerned.
Extra staff have been assigned to repair work and extensive overtime is being worked. Every effort will continue to be made to have service restored in all cases as quickly as possible.