§ 32. Mr. Currieasked the Postmaster-General how many existing telephone subscribers in County Down are being required to surrender existing telephone lines in order to be put on shared lines.
§ Mr. StonehouseOne hundred and seven.
§ Mr. CurrieA month ago I wrote to the right hon. Gentleman about a person in Bangor who had been a subscriber for a number of years and had received a letter threatening that he would be cut off from the telephone service unless he agreed to share a party line. Does not the right thon. Gentleman agree that that is scandalous conduct? What steps will will he take to see that it does not occur again?
§ Mr. StonehouseI well remember the case, which I considered very carefully. But to ensure that as many of our potential subscribers as possible are linked to the system, we have to insist on shared lines.
§ 33. Mr. Currieasked the Postmaster-General how many applications have been made for connection to the telephone system in County Down during the past 12 months.
§ Mr. StonehouseA total of 6,581.
§ Mr. CurrieHow many of these applicants have already been connected to the service? What will be the waiting period for those who have not yet been connected?
§ Mr. StonehouseThere are 390 waiting for connection. I hope that they will be cleared very soon.
§ Captain OrrWhat progress is being made with the technical possibilities of providing shared lines without either subscriber interfering with the other?
§ Mr. StonehouseInvestigations are still continuing.