asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the 20 telephone kiosks in County Monaghan applied for under the guarantee scheme by Monaghan County Council in respect of rural areas will be provided.

21.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the public telephone kiosks requested by Monaghan County Council will be provided.

I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 20 and 21 together. In February last the council submitted the names of 20 places where they wished to have guaranteed kiosks provided. In the meantime joint surveys have been carried out by Post Office and county council engineering staff and sites have been tentatively selected in all but two cases. I am not in a position to say at this stage how soon the kiosks will be provided because the linework required will be very extensive. I propose to accord a certain priority to the scheme but there are heavy arrears of more urgent works in the engineering district concerned.

The reason why Monaghan County Council decided on the guarantee scheme was the considerable delay experienced in installation of telephones. There are hundreds of applications and very little headway has been made in the provision of the telephones. In rural areas where the work involves a long distance of line work the applications have been outstanding for years. Would the Minister take this into consideration and try at least to have the 20 telephone kiosks in question installed as soon as possible?

I am not aware of the reason why Monaghan County Council applied for the kiosks under the guarantee scheme. The Minister does say that he proposes to accord a certain priority to the scheme but that there are heavy arrears of more urgent works in the engineering district. Presumably the work in that district will involve the provision of private telephones. If the Minister were to move the kiosks up he might be depriving private persons within the district of a telephone or reducing their priority.

Would the Minister agree that when you got a similar reply to representations as you got two years ago there is very little hope of immediate installation of these private telephones?

I understand that Monaghan County Council on 14th January, 1975, advised the Department that they intended to guarantee kiosks at about 12 locations to be advised later and inquired if such guarantee would be accepted. It was only in January of this year that the council informed the Department that it would be prepared to guarantee the kiosks.

My last question refers to private telephones. People have been waiting for years for private telephones.

I am sorry I have not the information about private telephones in that area. I suggested that if the kiosks were moved up the priority list those awaiting private telephones might have to wait longer. The Minister and the Department would take into account every aspect of every application before they would erect a kiosk or instal a telephone.

Has the contract between the county council and the Minister for the provision of these telephones been signed?

Detailed terms will be quoted to the council as soon as possible. The council and the Department are still discussing sites. They have 18 sites and a further two will have to be agreed on between them before the contract for the 20 will be submitted to the county council.

Would the Minister tell the House the criteria that is used by the Department in determining the urgency of applications?

The Deputy is raising a wider issue now.

No. The Minister referred to this in his reply.

I would ask Deputies to co-operate with the Chair in striving to ensure that as many questions as possible are disposed of.

I have not got the information.

Could I ask the Minister to bring to the notice of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs that the application concerned in the question is for public kiosks and that the order of priorities known to Deputies applies only to the provision of private telephones? Rural areas should not be deprived of public telephone kiosks where the council are prepared to guarantee them, on the ground that there are more urgent works in relation to private applications.

Question No. 22.

22.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the county councils that have been called upon to make good the shortfall under the guarantee scheme for telephone kiosks; and the amount of their contribution in each case.

For the most recent 12-month guarantee period Carlow and Wicklow County Councils have been called upon to make good shortfalls of £38.64 and £58.01 respectively.

23.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will agree to provide a telephone kiosk at the Hill, Malahide, County Dublin.

The use likely to be made of a kiosk in the Hill area would not be sufficient to justify providing one there at present.

There is a considerable amount of development in the area which is known as The Hill, Malahide. It is some distance to the nearest telephone kiosk and I should like the Minister to re-examine the possibility of siting a kiosk at that location.

I shall refer the Deputy's comments to the Minister concerned.

24.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a telephone kiosk for the Naul area, County Dublin.

The use made of the call office telephone at the Naul is not sufficient to justify provision of a kiosk there.

The reason there is not more use being made of the telephone which is in the post office is that there is no box there and when people wish to make a personal or a business call they are not inclined to use that phone. If there was a kiosk outside the post office it would have a greater use. In addition, the telephone is available only during business hours and, as most of the people in the area return there after work, they would have greater need of a telephone after business hours.

I understand there are about 20 telephones in the area and the population is approximately 250. Receipts for the call office for the year ending 1973, which is the latest date for which figures are available, were lower than those in 1972. The downward trend was maintained during 1973 and the receipts at 31st December, 1973, were £34.79.

The downward trend was for the reason I have given, namely, that people are not inclined to use the phone because of the lack of privacy. If there was a telephone in a kiosk outside it would be used to a greater extent. In addition, the county council are building houses in the area and the need for a telephone will be greater than in the past.

I am sure the fact that there is, or will be, further development in the area will be taken into account by the Minister.

25.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when it is proposed to erect a public telephone at Seanafearachán, Finny, County Galway.

26.

andMr. Daly asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will provide a public telephone kiosk for Parteen village, County Clare.

I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 25 and 26 together.

Kiosks are not being provided in rural areas such as Seanfearachán and Parteen where there are no post offices.

27.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when it is proposed to erect a public telephone kiosk at Murrough, Ballyloughane, County Galway.

The use likely to be made of a kiosk in the Murrough area would not be sufficient to justify providing one there at present.

28.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if it is proposed to provide a public telephone kiosk at Pigeon House Road, Dublin 4; and, if so, when.

Arrangements are already in train to provide a telephone kiosk at Pigeon House Road. It is hoped to have the kiosk in service within the next three to four months provided the necessary consents for a suitable site are obtained without delay.