Vol. 309 No. 1
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the difficulties experienced by residents in Clonmel, County Tipperary in relation to securing telephone connections; the number of people in the area awaiting service and the likely date of connection; and his plans for the development and expansion of the Clonmel exchange.
2.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the inadequacy and unreliability of the telephone service in Clonmel, County Tipperary; that this is causing great inconvenience and hampering industrial development in the area; and the steps he proposes to take to rectify the situation.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.
I am aware of the position in Clonmel. There are some 120 waiting applications in the area. About 20 of these will be attended to within the next few months and it is expected that the balance will be attended to about the middle of next year when extra equipment to meet these and any further applications will have been provided. New priority applications will also be met in the meantime.
An interim extension of the exchange building is at present in progress. Further building work at present in the planning stage in the Office of Public Works will cater for future expansion.
The quality of service in the exchange has not been as satisfactory as it should be because of difficulties affecting the service generally to which I referred in reply to previous questions. The causes of these difficulties do not lie in Clonmel exchange itself.
3.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if there is a continuing shortage of staff in this country's manual exchanges; and if there are any proposals to remedy the situation.
Adequate operating staff is provided in the manual exchanges to maintain a good service in normal conditions. However, since the strike by the Irish Post Office Engineering Union conditions have been abnormal; there have been shortages of trunk circuits and problems with the trunk network leading to difficulties in making STD calls. As a result, there have been delays in answering calls in many areas despite the best efforts of the operating staff. Additional operating staff have been recruited recently and will continue to be recruited as required.
4.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that no new telephone subscribers have been connected in the Letterkenny area of central Donegal for the past four years; and if he is in a position to give any indication of improvement in this situation.
I am not so aware. In fact, 324 new connections have been made in the period mentioned. However, because of an equipment shortage in the Letterkenny exchange, connection of new subscribers has had to be restricted to high priority cases during the past two years. Service will be provided for the waiting applicants when the new automatic exchange at Letterkenny is brought into service next year.
May I have an assurance that the bells were rung for questions?
I have just learned that there is a defect in the bells.
I have Questions Nos. 1 and 2 down and I made an endeavour to be here at the appropriate time but the bells were not rung in the Labour Party rooms.
There was a similar situation in the Fine Gael rooms.
We sent an usher outside to listen for the bells and he reported that they were not ringing.
In the unusual circumstances prevailing, may I have a reply to my questions?
In spite of the fact that the bells did not ring, Deputies should be aware that Question Time commences at 2.30 p.m. The answers will be available for the Deputy.
Is the Chair aware that I was only seconds late?
I agree. Perhaps the Minister would repeat the answers for the benefit of Deputy Treacy?
I am grateful to the Chair.
