asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will have a public telephone provided for 160 householders at Meelick, Swinford, County Mayo, who live seven miles from the nearest exchange.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Mayo Public Telephone.
97.
Provision of kiosks in areas such as Meelick where there is no post office is not envisaged under the extended kiosk programme for rural areas.
The people in the district of Meelick undergo extreme hardship whenever they need a doctor or a veterinary surgeon because of lack of telephone facilities there. If a special case were made for these people, would the Minister reconsider having a kiosk or public telephone installed there?
I am fully aware that there is not a public telephone in Meelick. This is the position in many rural villages in this country. I do not accept the implications as to 160 householders in Meelick. If we are talking about the one village, my understanding is that the population there is about 20. There are numerous areas throughout the country where telephone kiosk facilities cannot be provided because of the light density of population.
A private telephone was recently installed there. Would the Minister consider giving the night service to the private telephone?
I know that the telephone service is linked up only until 10 p.m. I could not make any promise in this regard. I can certainly look into the Deputy's request.