asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if his Department will provide a public telephone kiosk at Bridesbridge, Castlelyons, County Cork.

Kiosks are not provided in areas such as Bridesbridge, Castlelyons, where there is no post office.

Do I understand that there must be a post office there before a kiosk is provided?

In rural areas, yes.

Surely it is where there is no post office that the kiosk is required?

The Deputy will probably be aware of the policy in relation to this, which is that the kiosk would be expected to pay for itself. The only area where that is likely to happen is where there is a post office. As a rule, because post offices close at a certain time in the evening, applications are made to have a kiosk erected outside the post office so that there will be a 24-hour service. These applications have been granted in most cases.

That means the Black Valley can throw their hats at getting a telephone.

Will the Minister state if it is part of the Department's policy to erect telephone kiosks only where it is profitable to do so?

That is the policy.

In other words, the Department will not erect telephone kiosks if they think they will lose money?

I am extremely interested to hear that after a couple of months of this Government in office Deputies on the opposite side begin to raise these matters when they could have raised them with their own Minister a few months ago.

Is it not a fact that Fianna Fáil left the country with the worst telephone system in the world?

I am amazed at the anxiety expressed by so many Deputies whose Government did nothing in relation to this matter.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister aware that there was as much spent on the telephone system during the Coalition period in the last four-and-a-half years as in the previous 17 years?

18.