asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will arrange for the installation of a telephone kiosk for the public telephone in Cornamona Post Office, Clonbur, County Galway, as this phone is now unenclosed in the public post office.

It is assumed that what the Deputy has in mind is a silence cabinet to enclose the public telephone in Cornamona Post Office.

I regret it is not possible to accede to the request.

Surely the Minister will agree that the people of Cornamona are entitled to have an enclosed telephone as well as those in any other part of the country?

We install a silence cabinet where we regard the traffic as being sufficiently heavy, but the heavy engineering work involved in the erection of silence cabinets means that some preference must be given in the matter.

Is the Minister not aware that Cornamona is a thickly populated area?

I have indicated the position to the Deputy.

Could not the Minister promise that he will have the telephone enclosed?

In due time we hope to install a silence cabinet.

What is to prevent the work being done by a local cabinet maker?

The Minister says that there are heavy engineering problems involved in erecting a cabinet.

It involves engineering organisation to such an extent that it is entirely a matter of what should be taken first and if we were to undertake all this work in installing silence cabinets it would delay work in other directions.

What good is a cabinet without a telephone?

The telephone is there. All that is wanted is to put a cabinet round it. You would put it up yourself.