asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when a telephone will be installed in the new kiosk in Ashbourne housing estate, County Meath, which has been there for the last ten months.
Written Answers. - Telephone Service.
607.
It is expected that the new kiosk in Ashbourne will be brought into service within the next month or so.
608.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the average delay in answering 10 calls in the months of March and April 1982; and the steps he proposes to take to reduce the present delay.
The average speed of answer at the Central Telephone Exchange, Dublin, over the period was 21 seconds. Improvement in the standard of answering will come gradually through higher output and better management of the staff, by relief of congestion in the trunk network according as new trunk exchanges and more trunk circuits are brought into use, and by a reduction in the volume of calls to be answered through the spread of automatic working.
609.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the urgent need to provide an automatic full-time service for subscribers in the Moneygall-Dunkerrin area of County Offaly; when the automatic exchange service will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The need for an automatic full-time service to serve the Moneygall-Dunkerrin area is fully appreciated and the works necessary to provide it have been approved. The building to house the automatic exchange has been completed and the installation of the automatic equipment has been contracted for. The contractor's plans envisage that installation of equipment will commence early in 1983. Allowing for the time taken by the contractor to install the equipment and for testing by Departmental staff, conversion to automatic working could be expected in the autumn of 1983. However, the contractor has been requested to examine the possibility of bringing forward the installation of the equipment so that automatic service would be provided earlier. I will advise the Deputy of the outcome of the consultation with the contractor as soon as possible.