Is the Minister of State aware that telephone instruments were installed in hundreds of homes in south county Dublin about four months ago but have been sitting in hallways and in sitting rooms unconnected since? That situation exists in spite of the fact that contracts have been signed and deposits paid by those people. Will the Minister have a look at that aspect of the telephone service in south county Dublin? I have received dozens of letters from constituents who have paid their deposit but have not had their new telephones connected. Is the Minister aware that in the Kilternan area of county Dublin the telephone system has been out of order intermittently for long periods of time and that there has been no improvement in the situation? Is the Minister aware also that the only hotel in the district has one telephone connection and that it is intermittently out of order? In spite of all the representations to the Minister's Department, action has not been taken to repair those telephones. The lack of a proper service there is doing great injury and harm to the district.

I sympathise with the points made by Deputy Andrews. I am not aware that telephone instruments have been installed in houses without connections for the last four months. In one such case that was brought to my attention today the telephone instrument was installed last week and I have asked for a full inquiry into it. If the Deputy gives me the information he apparently has, I can assure him that the matter will be fully investigated. On the general position of Dublin city I should like to state that other necessary services were developed to cope with the increase in population, but the former Administration did not recognise the need for the infrastructure for telecommunications and that is what has caused the problem. The laying of cables and the provision of telephone exchanges may not be seen as progress within the Department but a telephone cannot be installed without a cable being laid and a telephone exchange erected first.

£350 million in two years is a lot greater than the Minister of State has done.

At the request of Deputies, Questions Nos. 21, 29, 98, 102, 129, 214, 252, 290, 375 and 494 have gone for written reply.