I agree with the comments of Deputies about dissatisfaction with the billing system. Due to the fact that this is no longer the responsibility of the Minister it has not been possible to highlight here some of the faults that still exist in that system since that section of the Department went semi-State. I accept that in the first year of operation there will be a lot of bumps to be ironed out. Last week a constituent showed me a bill he had received for £400 although his quarterly bill up to then had been between £60 and £70. I had queried a bill earlier for him but nothing happened. Sometime later the subscriber received a bill for the current quarter and the arrears. The bill for the current quarter was at what the subscriber felt was the normal rate.
The Minister should convey to the chief executive of Bord Telecom the fact that people are finding it difficult to get information from Bord Telecom. I am aware that there have been certain difficulties between Members and Bord Telecom in regard to information. Whether we like it or not in a democracy elected representatives of the people are supposed to act as a buffer between the people and the bureaucrats. If we do not have such access there is little point in our being here. In that event we will have a system whereby the bureaucrats will reply to the bureaucrats. When a public representative writes to Bord Telecom on behalf of a constituent the board should reply to the Deputy. I understand there may be some arrangement for sending on a copy of the correspondence to the subscriber but Members will not have any way of knowing if the matter has been dealt with. We are trying to do a job on behalf of people who feel they are facing a gigantic bureaucracy.
I should like to compliment the board on introducing a cheap rate for calls to the United States over St. Patrick's weekend. If the Minister has any information on that he should give it to us in the course of his reply. That was a good way to generate business. It is better to have some income rather than none at all.
There has been criticism of the length of time that passes between a new subscriber signing a contract and when the telephone is connected. I have some examples and I will pass them on to the Minister. I know of people who signed a contract up to six months ago and are still awaiting connection. I must point out that that has not occurred in the Dublin area. When subscribers are presented with excessive bills they should be given a better explanation of how the cost arose. Is there any plan to improve on the existing system? People who want to query their telephone bills feel they will come up against a blank wall. Is there a proposal to introduce a system whereby subscribers can pay by way of a budget account similar to the system operated by the ESB? That is a good way to get in money and people would not wait to pay until the last day.
I do not have any objection to the Bill under discussion. I must express my fears about the microwave radiation as reported in today's issue of The Irish Press. The Minister should arrange to have the people concerned medically checked immediately. If one of the machines for checking the measurement of the microwave radiation has broken down the Minister should see to it that a substitute is provided immediately even if that means having it shipped in from some other country. You do not play around with this sort of thing. If there is any thought that people will be blinded or develop cancer and so on from these microwaves you can be assured immediately that that worry does not apply just to the workers involved but also to their wives and children.
