asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that there has been a considerable increase in the number of nuisance telephone calls recently in the Dublin area; whether a record is kept by the authorities of the occurrence of such calls; whether in all cases where complaints are made by telephone subscribers about such calls the origin of the call is investigated; and, if so, what action, if any, is taken in such matters.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nuisance Telephone Calls.
54.
A record is kept of all reports of nuisance calls made to my Department. This record shows no increase in the number of such reports in the Dublin area to date this year as compared with the corresponding period of 1961. Investigation is made in all cases where this is practicable. Proceedings are instituted in every case in which sufficient evidence is available and the circumstances warrant that course.
I happened to complain to the post office on a couple of occasions about calls in which obscene and profane language was used. Surely there is some immediate way of finding out where the call comes from? If there have been prosecutions, I have not read about them and it is what the public reads that has an effect on them.
It is difficult to trace calls and it is very difficult to get aggrieved persons to come forward and give information in court. Every effort is made by the post office to trace calls and bring people to court.
Are their efforts meeting with success?
I am a picturegoer——
The Deputy's pleasures are not relevant.
——and in the pictures it seems to be possible to detect where calls come from in a couple of ticks. If we could do that, we would know that the calls came from some public house and perhaps know who the caller was.
The Minister had better send for Dick Barton.
He would want somebody like that.