asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if, having regard to the fact that the ESB is now agreeable to instal all supply lines below ground in new housing estates, his Department will also provide in new housing estates that telephone cables be placed below ground; and, if not, why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Underground Telephone Cables.
344.
Telephone cables in all urban areas are placed underground but the lead-in to individual houses is usually by overhead distribution.
It has been the practice for some years past, in co-operation with the builders concerned, to place underground the lead-in from the cables to individual houses in housing estates where a substantial demand for telephones is expected. It would be excessively costly in present circumstances to do this in every new housing estate irrespective of the likely demand for telephones but as the telephone habit grows the practice of placing all telephone lines underground will become more extensive.