asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of applicants at present on the waiting list for telephone service in each of the Dublin postal districts.

17.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number of telephones that have been installed in each of the Dublin postal districts for each of the last four years.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 17 together.

I regret that it is not possible to furnish the information requested as statistics of telephone applications and installations are not maintained on a postal district basis.

Could I ask the Minister in what way they are maintained, by county or otherwise?

Statistics of waiting applications of demand and of connections are maintained on the following basis: (a) exchange areas, (b) engineering districts, for example, 01 area Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda, Portlaoise, Galway, and Sligo and (c) nationally, that is, of course, all engineering districts combined. Each engineering district comprises a number of exchange areas. For example, 01 area covers 50 such areas and, of these, 23 are in the Dublin postal district which embraces an area bounded by Santry on the north side, Chapelizod and Palmerstown on the west, and Ballinteer on the south. The Dublin postal districts bear no relation to the exchange areas in the 01 area. For example, Dublin 4 postal district contains portions of Crown Alley, Merrion, Beggar's Bush and Nutley exchange areas, and so on.

If I ask the Minister another question about the number of connections, and so on, in exchange areas I will get the information, I gather.

Yes, indeed. I would be happy to oblige the Deputy.

18.