asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs whether he is aware that a telephone subscriber (name supplied) in the Nenagh town district, whose telephone has been out of order for the past five days, was refused service by the engineering section of his Department in Limerick on the ground that he was not providing an essential service; if a hotelier is considered as providing a non-essential service; and if subscribers are entitled to have their telephones maintained irrespective of their occupation or business.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Maintenance of Telephones.
5.
Faults on telephones affecting emergency services such as hospitals, doctors, clergymen, Garda, fire brigade and others concerned with safety of life and property are given urgent attention at all hours, day and night. Faults on other lines are attended to only during the normal hours of attendance of maintenance staff on weekdays, but during these hours certain other classes, including hotels, are given priority over private subscribers.
The telephone in question was out of order for three days, from Friday evening 26th May until the following Monday. The cable serving it had been damaged by lightning, and the specially qualified staff to repair the cable could not be made available from Limerick until Monday.