asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that the post office in Dunderrow, near Kinsale, County Cork does not have a telephone; and if he will take immediate steps to remedy this situation.
Written Answers. - Telephone Service.
270.
Yes. The volume of public telephone business would not justify the provision of an official telephone at the post office named. An application from the postmistress for a private telephone has just been recorded however and it is expected that service will be provided before the end of this year.
271.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs why a person (details supplied) in County Galway has just had his telephone service terminated.
Due to a clerical error, which is regretted, a notice terminating this subscriber's agreement issued on 25 February, 1981. The termination notice, which has since been withdrawn, was not acted upon, however, and the subscriber continued to have service, except for some days in the middle of March when there was intermittent fault on the line.
275.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will arrange to link the proposed automatic telephone service for Oldcastle, County Meath with the new digital system based in Kells, County Meath, rather than with the crossbar exchange in Cavan; the services to subscribers (a) which are now available on digital but which are not available on crossbar systems and (b) that are planned to be available in the future on digital exchanges but which will not be capable of being provided in areas still covered by crossbar exchanges; when the Oldcastle exchange would be converted to digital working if it were now installed as a crossbar exchange; and the approximate financial saving, if any, accruing to the Department by installing the crossbar rather than the digital system in Oldcastle.
The replacement of Oldcastle exchange was planned on the basis that it would be connected to the crossbar exchange at Cavan. A crossbar exchange was therefore ordered for Oldcastle. That exchange is in course of manufacture. The extra cost of providing a digital exchange at Oldcastle suitable for connection to Kells exchange would be of the order of £150,000. There are no adequate grounds for incurring this extra cost as the crossbar exchange is capable of giving a high quality of service comparable to that of a digital exchange. A change would also involve delay in the provision of automatic service at Oldcastle.
The special services to be provided to subscribers connected to digital exchanges have not been finally determined but there will be additional charges for whatever such services are provided.
It is unlikely that a digital exchange will be installed at Oldcastle for quite some time as the exchanges at Cavan and Oldcastle will have capacity to meet requirements for some years.
279.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that the international call charges on page 7 of the 1981 telephone directory, which is now being delivered, are out of date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Production of Part I of the directory had already been largely completed before the increased charges were announced and as a result, the new charges could not be incorporated in it. All subscribers were notified separately of the revised charges and details of these were advertised in the national press on 30th March and in the provincial press in the week ended 28 March. Notices of the revised charges are being produced and will, when available shortly, be inserted in Part I directories not delivered, and will be forwarded to subscribers who have by then received their copies.
280.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone which has been out of order since 7 March 1981 will be repaired for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin.
Service has been restored.
281.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a person (details supplied) in County Dublin will have a telephone installed.
Service is dependent on the provision of additional cabling to serve the area. Because of the volume of engineering work requiring attention in the Dublin area, it is unlikely that this work will be carried out for at least a year.