asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the time schedule for extending automatic telephone service to each sub-post office area in the Lifford and Letterkenny districts of County Donegal.

As the reply is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.

Statement Showing Planned Times for the Conversion to Automatic of Manual Telephone Exchanges in the Lifford and Letterkenny Head Post Office Areas.

Can the Minister say whether, when the work concerned has been done, it will be possible to reduce the time taken to contact the Dublin operators having regard to the fact that if one wishes to phone Donegal now one must wait at least 20 minutes before getting through to the operator in Dublin? Is this the fault of the operators or is it the fault of the system?

All I can say is that each day I come here Deputy Harte seems to have a new complaint. I think the one he is making now is without foundation.

That is about the most unusual answer that I have ever received to a question. I have asked for an assurance that when the new system is in operation it will not be necessary for us to have to wait 20 minutes to contact the Dublin operator in the first place.

When the new system is in operation it will not be necessary to contact an operator in Dublin in order to telephone to Donegal. There will be automatic dialling. The second supplementary represents a separate question.

I am asking what will be the position in the meantime.

Is the Deputy talking about the future or about the present? His original question related to the future and I answered it on that basis.

If I wished to telephone my home this evening there is not much point in telling me that I must wait four years if I wish to avoid the delay in contacting the operator in Dublin.

The matter is simple. The Deputy need only dial 10.

And wait for 20 minutes.

As the Deputy will see from the tabular statement there will be an automatic exchange in Raphoe within four months.

Order. We must move on to the next question.

These slick answers to straighforward questions are not good enough. There are more numbers in County Donegal than my home number. What provision is the Minister making to ensure that people wishing to contact somebody in County Donegal by telephone whether from a private or from a public telephone will not have to wait 20 minutes for a reply from the operator?

Hear, hear.

Deputy Harte seems to be the only one to have this complaint.

How did the Minister ever get a State car?

Were it not for me, Raphoe would not be getting an automatic telephone exchange.

I am calling on the Minister to answer Question No. 8.

The only way he would get through to Galway is by State car.

8.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the reason for the delay in erecting a public telephone kiosk outside Cashel post office, Connemara, County Galway and if he has satisfied himself with the existing telephone facilities provided for the public inside this post office.

The existing public telephone facilities in Cashel Post Office are not regarded as fully satisfactory. It is proposed therefore to provide a public telephone kiosk outside the post office and this will be installed as soon as the approval by the local authority of the new site selected is received. The county council did not approve of the site originally selected by the Department and this has delayed provision.

Good for Bobby.

No problems in West Galway.

9.

asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when it is proposed to convert the manual telephone exchanges at Ring and Ballymacart, County Waterford to the automatic system.

It is expected to convert the telephone exchanges at Ring and Ballymacart to automatic working by mid-1981.