asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the need for telephone facilities for the people of Loughshinny, who are mainly dependent on the fishing industry for a livelihood; and if he will have a service provided there in the near future, especially as the nearest telephones, at present, are at Rush and Skerries, three miles away.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Loughshinny, County Dublin, Telephone Service.
In rural areas public telephone facilities are only provided where there is a post office at which a call office could be opened. As there is no post office at Loughshinny and the establishment of one is not warranted, I regret that it is not possible to arrange for telephone service.
If it is desired to have this service, the only solution of the difficulty would be for some person to rent an exchange line (with or without coin-box) to one of the houses in the village. The annual rental of the installation would be £6 10s. 0d. (£8 if a coin-box is required).
Can no effort be made to provide Loughshinny with telephone facilities? The Minister must be aware that fishing is the main industry there. Practically everybody living there is engaged in the fishing industry. Over a period of years people have been drowned there, and there is a great need for a telephone service so that doctors and nurses may be summoned when required. I would ask the Minister to see if something cannot be done to remedy the present situation.
Quite recently I have been making inquiries to see if anything could be done.