asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware that because of a delay of two hours in telephone calls from County Donegal to Dublin on Friday 16 February 1979 subscribers were forced to pay double charges on calls which because of the importance had to be dealt with as a matter of urgency and furthermore that in telephoning Dáil Éireann on parliamentary business the cost of the telephone call was also a double charge and can he explain why subscribers in Donegal not on the automatic system are compelled to pay overcharge amounts.

(Dublin South-Central): Ordinary telephone calls made by subscribers in County Donegal are in common with calls made by subscribers in the rest of the county, charged for at normal rates. Where there are delays in making calls over a particular route in any part of the country and a caller requests preferential treatment—in other words to be put in front of the queue—on grounds of particular urgency, the normal operating procedure is to offer to book the call as an “urgent” one at twice the normal rate. The double rate is not applied to distress or to emergency services calls. This procedure is similar to that which applies in telephone services generally. Its purpose is not to secure extra revenue but to relieve operating staff of the impossible task of trying to decide the relative urgency of business or private calls.

Because of a sharp increase in traffic in County Donegal on 16 February, 1979, there were unavoidable delays to calls. Callers, including the Deputy, seeking preferential treatment, were therefore offered the urgent call facilities on the standard basis in such cases.

Has there been any increase in the incidence of the use of the double charge facilities in recent times?

That is a separate question.

(Dublin South-Central): I have not got that information.

Would the Minister agree that if there was it would be an indication of a deterioration in the general standard of service?

(Dublin South-Central): No, on the occasion referred to in the question the number of phone calls from Donegal was particularly heavy and there was a reason for it because there was a strike starting on the following Monday.

Would the Minister look into the question I asked?

(Dublin South-Central): Yes, I will.