asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when he will provide a public telephone kiosk to serve the Wedgewood Estate, Sandyford, County Dublin.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Telephone Service.
25.
(Dublin South-Central): There are no plans to provide a kiosk at Wedgewood Estate which is already served by kiosks at Dun Emer Road and Sandyford village.
Is the Minister aware that the kiosk in Sandyford village is almost permanently out of order and that this causes considerable problems for people in that area who want to make public telephone calls?
(Dublin South-Central): I am not aware that the kiosk is continuously out of order. I will take a note of that, but my information is that it is not so.
Will the Minister keep the situation under review as the estate expands? I gather that 100 more houses are to be constructed.
(Dublin South-Central): That is the intention.
26.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the 1978 telephone directory will be published.
(Dublin South-Central): It was planned to distribute Part I this month but this will not now be practicable because the engineering work necessary to implement about 7,000 changes of telephone numbers which are included in Part I will not be completed in time to enable this to be done. Part II will be distributed about next August.
Would the Minister consider in future issuing each section of the telephone directory in two parts, one part for the telephones that are working and one for those that are not?
Is it correct that this will be distributed next August?
(Dublin South-Central): That is right.
Is that the 1978 directory? That is not marvellous.
(Dublin South-Central): This is partly due to the engineering strike which is going on at the moment, but we have to change 7,000 telephone numbers for the various exchanges throughout the country.
This will be virtually useless if it is not distributed until next August. Surely the Department knew before Christmas which numbers would have to be changed.
(Dublin South-Central): Part of the delay is not the fault of the Government. Many of the difficulties which arise here are owing to the virtual ban on the increase in new posts in the civil service from 1974 to 1977 where we had an expanding Department at that time.
(Interruptions.)
Will the Minister tell me when Part II of the 1977 directory was distributed?
(Dublin South-Central): As I said, we had not sufficient staff when we took over the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
Has the Minister said when Part II of the directory was distributed?
That is not on the Order Paper.
When was it distributed?
(Dublin South-Central): In April.
Therefore the delay from April to August was their fault.
(Interruptions.)
Question No. 27.
27.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the very unsatisfactory telephone service in County Galway and the west of Ireland in general; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
(Dublin South-Central): I am deeply conscious of and concerned about the present difficulties with the telephone service. The service in County Galway and the west of Ireland in general is unsatisfactory. This situation has arisen as a result of industrial action by the Irish Post Office Engineering Union and this was dealt with recently in the House by the Minister.
Would the Minister say it is generally unsatisfactory?
(Dublin South-Central): The service in County Galway and the west is generally unsatisfactory. This is the result of the industrial action.
May I remind the Minister that a long time before this strike and this industrial action the service in Galway and the west was possibly the worst in the country? Has the Minister any comment on that?
(Dublin South-Central): The Deputy's party were in Government for the past four years. Why did they not do something about it?
We have a different role at this stage. Is the Minister prepared to do anything about it?
(Dublin South-Central): We have plans. We had a Bill recently.
(Interruptions.)
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper. Deputy E. Collins wishes to raise a point of order.
I would like to raise on the Adjournment the question of the financing of primary schools' running costs.
I will communicate with the Deputy.