asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the date on which it is expected that telephone service will be provided for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will expedite the application.
Written Answers. - Telephone Service.
432.
It is expected service will be provided towards the end of this year, which is the earliest time by which the necessary cabling can be completed.
433.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will give sympathetic and urgent consideration to the application for a transfer of telephone service for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin.
It is expected that service will be provided when the necessary cabling work will be completed during the first half of next year.
434.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the date on which it is expected that telephone service will be provided for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin.
Service was provided recently.
435.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in County Dublin who applied for telephone service over three and a half years ago.
Towards the end of this year.
436.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when it is expected that telephone service will be provided for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will give priority to this application.
Subject to the necessary development work being completed by the parties involved in the building of the estate, it is expected that service will be provided in about six months' time.
437.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone will be connected for a person (details supplied) in County Meath who has been waiting five years for service and whose business is suffering as a result.
It is expected that service, which is dependent on cabling work being carried out in the area, will be provided towards the end of this year.
438.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the necessary cabling will be installed to enable telephones to be connected for residents of the Abbey Grove housing scheme, Navan, County Meath.
It is expected that the necessary cabling will be provided before the end of this year and service provided to the waiting applicants within about three months thereafter.
439.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if, in view of the facts of a case (details supplied) in County Dublin, he will arrange for the early provision of a telephone; and if he will grant free rental.
Service is dependent on the provision of additional cabling to serve the area which, because of the volume of engineering work awaiting attention, is unlikely to be completed for at least a year. Eligibility for benefit under the free telephone rental scheme is at present under consideration by the Department of Social Welfare.
440.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a public telephone kiosk will be provided at Mullinarigle, Tullogher, New Ross, County Wexford.
As soon as possible after a suitable site has been selected and the necessary consents obtained.
441.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a person (details supplied) in County Louth can expect to have his telephone installed.
In about a year's time.
442.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will give urgent consideration to a telephone application by a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will give priority to the application.
Priority would be accorded to this applicant in normal course, but service cannot, regrettably, be provided until additional cabling is provided to serve the area. Because of the volume of engineering work awaiting attention in the Dublin area it is unlikely that it will be possible to have this work carried out for at least a year.
443.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that some of the public are experiencing great difficulty in obtaining a reply from the number of the telephone accounts section of his Department; if he will state (a) the number of lines at that number, (b) the number of telephonists available to receive calls, (c) the normal shift work and times that they are available and (d) the number of receptionists who are available to answer telephones at any one time during a working day.
There are times, particularly in the weeks following the issue of accounts, when the standard of service on the number in question is not as good as it should be. There are 20 lines available at the number and the switchboard is staffed continuously by two telephonists during normal office hours. There are 30 extensions off the switchboard. These are staffed during the normal office hours. Much of the problem in providing a satisfactory service at peak times stems from the fact that extensions in the sections concerned are sometimes engaged for long periods leading to congestion at the switchboard. More staff are needed to deal with the inquiries and it is planned to increase the number when additional accommodation which has been acquired is occupied within the next few months.
444.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of telephone applications outstanding at present in County Mayo; the longest outstanding application; and when he expects to have the matter reasonably in hand.
The number is about 1,600. The earliest applications date from November 1975 and will be met within the next six months or so. It is expected that most of the existing applicants will be given service by the end of next year.
Overtaking the backlog of telephone applications so that service can be provided promptly is one of the main objectives of the current accelerated telephone development programme. Progress will be made on a continuing basis towards meeting that objective but it is likely to be the end of 1984 before it is reached.
445.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when telephone service will be provided for an applicant (details supplied) in County Dublin.
Service is dependent on the provision of cabling which, because of the volume of engineering work requiring attention at present, is unlikely to be completed for at least a year.