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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 4 Jun 1970

Vol. 247 No. 4

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Kiosks.

106.

(Cavan) asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a telephone kiosk at or near Kilnavart, Ballyconnell, to service the people of Templefort area, County Cavan.

Provision of kiosks in areas such as Kilnavart, where there is no post office, is not envisaged under the extended kiosk programme for rural areas.

107.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will consider providing a telephone kiosk at Lixnaw, County Kerry.

Provision of a kiosk at Lixnaw would not be warranted at present but one will be provided under the current five year programme for extension of kiosk facilities in rural areas.

Has the Minister any basis for saying it would not be warranted at Lixnaw?

I presume that the Deputy did not hear the full answer to the question. If he did he would not have asked the supplementary question.

I hope the people in Lixnaw read about this.

108.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the criteria applied by his Department in deciding on the location of telephone kiosks in rural areas.

114.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will revise the regulations governing the extended kiosk programme for rural areas to ensure that the usage of the call office telephone is not the sole determining factor in assessing the demand for a kiosk in a particular area; and if he will take particular cognisance of factors such as the number of coin operated telephones in business premises in the area, the convenience of the call office to local shopping centres etc., and the general availibility of other means of communication with the outside world in the area.

I propose with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 108 and 114 together.

Rural areas are selected for inclusion in the expanded rural kiosk programme on the basis of the use being made of the call office telephone in the local sub-post office. This is considered to be the best and fairest method of selection and I do not propose to revise it. The main factors taken into account in deciding the location of a kiosk in a particular rural area are the location of the sub-post office telephone being replaced by the kiosk, the convenience of those likely to use the telephone and the need to site the kiosk where it will attract the maximum revenue.

Would the Minister not agree that the use of call office telephones is an inadequate guide to the demand for public telephones in an area?

The Deputy appears to be making an argument. Will he ask a supplementary question?

There are a number of matters the Minister has not dealt with.

It is not appropriate to develop arguments on questions.

It is all in the question. I want to press the Minister on Question No. 114.

There is no reason why the Minister should be allowed to take these questions together.

Will the Minister not agree that this is not an adequate guide to the demand for telephones if the call office telephone is in a bad place where it will not be used? Also it is not an adequate guide if there are other coinoperated phones?

The Estimate for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs has still to come before the House. I am sure the Deputy will agree that this is not a suitable subject to argue on this question.

If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will look at Question No. 114 he will see that everything is in that question. I am seeking to press the Minister on matters already mentioned specifically in the question.

The Deputy has got an answer to his question, but he may not be satisfied with it. He can deal with that at a later stage.

The Minister just said "No".

The Deputy will have an opportunity at another stage of raising the matter.

I trust the people who need the public telephones will get an answer. Does the Minister say that usage of call office telephones is an adequate guide to the demand for a call office in an area?

Would the Minister not agree that the economics are what are considered by the Department at all times?

That would be a separate question. I am sure the Deputy would agree that Question Time is not a suitable time for developing arguments in regard to these matters. There are occasions when these matters can be dealt with.

Question Time is a time for intelligent supplementary questions.

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