asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if a public telephone will be provided at Clonkerdon, Cappagh, County Waterford.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Services.
21.
Clonkerdon is not included in this years programme. It will be considered for inclusion in a future programme.
22.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a public telephone kiosk at College Road, Ardmore, County Waterford.
The provision of a telephone kiosk at College Road, Ardmore, is not considered warranted at present.
My supplementary may be slightly outside the ambit of the question but it is the Minister's view that it is a good idea to answer individually on a series of questions? We had this practice in the last Dáil when we had pages of questions to the Minister concerning personal telephones.
I do not object to the practice. It is the right of a Deputy to put down a question concerning any subject on which he has a query. If a Deputy wishes to question me about individual applications for telephones or in relation to the provision of telephone kiosks, it is his right to do so.
We seem to be embarking on a discussion of policy and that is not included in the question.
We have series of questions relating to individual applications for telephones but has the Minister any idea of the cost of answering each of these questions?
That is a separate question.
If the Deputy puts down a question to that effect I will answer it.
23.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if an emergency telephone service will be provided in Fettercairn Estate, Tallaght, County Dublin, having regard to the fact that the nearest public telephone is a considerable distance away and consequently, in emergency situations, the estate is isolated; if this will be dealt with as a matter of priority, having regard to the fact that there are a number of children in this estate with serious medical conditions and that some form of telephone service or communication system is absolutely essential; and if as a temporary measure he will consider making the emergency telephone service available in one of the houses in the estate if an offer is forthcoming.
It is planned to provide two telephone kiosks to serve Fettercairn estate within the next three months or so. These kiosks are in replacement of two kiosks provided in February 1981 which were destroyed by vandals.
Would the Minister not agree that it is an intolerable situation to leave a large corporation estate like this one without any form of telephonic communication and would he take into account the fact that there is no private telephone in this estate where, as in every other estate, there are some very sick children? Therefore, as an emergency measure and pending the provision of the kiosks, would the Minister arrange at least to install a telephone in a private house especially in what Deputy Mac Giolla refers to as communications year?
It is not the policy of the Department to provide as an emergency a telephone in a private house. To do so would create difficulty for the public in terms of availability of service on a round-the-clock basis. There might be the problem of nuisance calls to the household in which the telephone was located and in addition there would be the question of liability in the event of someone using the phone being injured in the house in question.
Would that objection not be overcome in the event of a householder agreeing to accept the responsibility of having the phone in his house? It is absolutely essential in this day and age that in the event of an emergency there is access to a telephone. No estate should be left cut off in this respect.
I appreciate what the Deputy says but as I have stated it is not feasible to have a public telephone installed in a private house. As indicated in my reply, there were two kiosks provided in the estate in question in 1981 but they were wrecked. We are endeavouring to provide replacements for those as quickly as possible and we will try to do that in even shorter time than the three months mentioned in the reply.
I am grateful to the Minister for his efforts in trying to have the matter expedited; but regarding his point about a public phone and its location, is it not the position that many coinbox public telephones are installed in places other than in street kiosks?
That is true but the Deputy is talking about a private house. There are public phones in such places as public houses but these are always installed at the request of the proprietors and they are generally treated as public telephones. It would be almost impossible to have the sort of situation that the Deputy suggests.