§ 73. Captain Orrasked the Assistant Postmaster-General the number of applications for telephones outstanding in Northern Ireland; the number of new 39W telephones installed during 1952; and how the proportion of the latter to the former compares with the average in the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Gammans10,404 applications were outstanding in Northern Ireland at 31st December, 1952, and 4,677 new telephones were provided during the year. Taking into account the new applications which were received, about 29 per cent. of the demand was met in Northern Ireland as compared with 38 per cent. for the rest of the country. The main reason for this lower figure is that we had to make good damage caused by the storms of the winter of 1950–51—which were particularly severe in Northern Ireland—and this prevented our making as much progress there in 1951 as in the rest of the country. I am now considering whether a higher proportion of our resources can be allocated to Northern Ireland.
§ 74. Captain Orrasked the Assistant Postmaster-General the number of applications for telephones outstanding in County Down; and what steps are being taken to reduce this figure.
§ Mr. Gammans1,936 applications were outstanding at 31st December, 1952, this being slightly below the figure a year previously. Some new exchange equipment and cables will be brought into service this year but the new demand for telephone services, and the limitation on our total resources, make it impossible to say whether the waiting list in the county can be reduced this year.