Vol. 437 No. 6
143 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the areas in County Meath which are not covered by the Government Telecommunications Network (GTN); and the advantages of being included in this network and the disadvantages to an area that is not included.
The development of the GTN came about primarily in response to the telecommunications requirements of departments relocating under the programme for decentralisation. The requirements of regional centres which had significant populations of civil servants in advance, or irrespective, of decentralisation were also catered for in the evolution of the network.
The twin aims of the GTN were to provide efficient, cost-effective interdepartmental and intra-departmental telecommunications facilities and to minimise the impact of decentralisation on the public.
Members of the public wishing to communicate by telephone with decentralised offices may do so in the same way as previously. This is achieved by the call being transferred by the departmental operator in Head Office to the decentralised office over the GTN.
The basic organisational entity in the GTN is the department or office. In this context, no area of County Meath is covered by the GTN as no offices have decentralised to Meath nor are there any in County Meath which would cost-justify the establishment of a GTN centre.
