asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he has authorised changes in the 24-hour telephone repair service and, if so, when did he do so, the different categories and the persons involved in the new changes he has made, and if medical doctors are now being regarded in lower priority for these repair services than heretofore.
Private Notice Questions. - Telephone Repair Service.
As announced by the previous Government, the financial allocation for overtime in the Post Office Estimate in the current year has been greatly reduced — from an expenditure of over £34 million last year at the pay rates in force throughout 1981 to £23.7 million in the current year at the increased rates of pay applicable throughout 1982. To keep within the reduced provision, the volume of overtime worked throughout the Department has been scaled down drastically. Despite this other measures have to be taken to keep within the approved allocation.
One of these measures is to curtail, on an experimental basis, with effect from 19 April the number of subscribers in the Dublin area whose telephones are repaired after normal working hours. The cost of calling out staff to attend to an individual fault can be as much as £50 and in quite a number of cases where staff are called out it is not possible to repair the fault until more staff become available during normal working hours. The intention is that the new arrangements should be operated in a flexible way and with discretion to go outside the limits of the revised arrangements if individual circumstances warrant it. The effects of the restrictions will be monitored on a continuing basis and changes made if these are considered essential.
All categories whose telephones were formerly repaired outside normal working hours will, of course, continue to get priority attention during normal hours.
In the experimental arrangements introduced, staff are not being called out to repair doctors' telephones, but doctors' telephones will continue to get priority attention within normal working hours. The position is being monitored continuously and if it is found essential to give attention to some doctors' telephones outside normal working hours, that will be done. In the meantime, the aim is that the new arrangements should be worked flexibly and with discretion to vary them in individual cases where the circumstances warrant that.
Since the Minister is charged with the running of this Department, is he aware that taking doctors off the A list is a most dangerous experiment? How does the Minister decide who should come into the discretionary category?
I had a letter from the Irish Medical Association and I have asked senior officials of my Department to meet representatives of the IMA and to handle their representations with due care and consideration. I hope that as a result there will not be any difficulty in having a satisfactory arrangement to cover the range of medical services.
Can the Minister confirm that a doctor may go on the priority list if he pays an extra fee? One doctor has told me that when he telephoned the Department he was told he could be put on the A list if he paid an extra fee.
I am not aware of that but I will check it for the Deputy and write to her with the information.
I asked the Minister whether he would set out the persons who are on the A priority list and also those on the B list. The Minister should give this information for the benefit of the general public who are asking questions about this matter.
The A list contains 40,000 names and I would not be able to give the Deputy a list. I will make inquiries in my Department and I will let the Deputy have the relevant information.
The Minister is trying to evade the question. I am talking about the category of persons.
I will let the Deputy have the information.
Does the Minister not think it would be more in keeping with the responsibility he holds if he had consulted with the IMA before he excluded doctors from the list?
On the matter of this experimental change from A priority to B priority, we left the whole matter totally flexible so that following representations we could come to a decision about changing whatever was necessary and give priority where that was necessary and thus make the best possible arrangement for the people who are entitled to this kind of priority.
I am very concerned about people in the A priority but I am even more concerned about what must be the Z list. People in my constituency have paid for telephones——
Will the Deputy please ask a question?
There are people in my constituency who will be showered with a lot of attention from Fianna Fáil in the coming weeks. They have paid for their telephones——
That does not arise on this question.
What is the Minister going to do about people in the Dublin West constituency and elsewhere who paid for telephones 14 months ago?
I do not think I need answer that supplementary. The smile on Deputy Cooney's face, the Deputy sitting beside Deputy Mitchell, answers that question.