Public telephone coin slots
The Department was converting public telephones to accept 10p coins, with the work expected to continue over the next six months and priority given to heavily used boxes. The Minister said 50p coins would be considered for future boxes but rejected criticism of the Government’s economic planning; he lacked figures on the costs of previous coin-box changes.
asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when, in view of the fact that at present public telephones are in the process of being adapted to the new price code, his Department propose to have all public telephones equipped with 10p slots, bearing in mind the considerable inconvenience caused to users, arising out of the fact that (a) the 1p and 2p slots are now redundant and (b) a call from Dublin to Cork now necessitates the provision of 12 5p pieces; and the percentage of Irish telephones that are coin-operated and the number of these that have already been converted to accept 10p coins.
Comment on this
Many public telephones in automatic areas have already been equipped with a 10p slot. A programme to equip all remaining public telephones, both in automatic and manual areas, with a 10p slot is under way and should be completed within the next six months.
About 9 per cent of all telephone exchange lines have coin boxes and about 10 per cent of these have been equipped with a 10p slot. It is planned to increase this to about 40 per cent during 1981, selecting the most heavily used coin boxes. The remainder will have attention progressively.
Comment on this
In view of the inflation in telephone charges which has taken place and the fact that it is stated in the question that it requires 12 5p pieces to telephone from Dublin to Cork for three minutes would the Minister consider whether the boxes should not be equipped to take 50p coins as well as 10p coins?
Comment on this
That is a question which will be considered by the Department in the purchase of new coin boxes in the future.
Comment on this
Could the Minister give the House any indication of the cost of every round of change in the coin boxes to accept different kinds of coinage and how many such rounds there have been in the last five or six years?
Comment on this
I do not have that information. It is a separate question. If the Deputy puts down a question I shall answer it. I have not the information to answer that type of question at this instance.
Comment on this
Would the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, in considering these things, acknowledge the bad economic planning of the Government and that we shall have to use 50p pieces more rapidly than we have been using 10p pieces?