asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones there are in business and private premises in Belfast; how many applicants in each of these categories are waiting for them to be installed; and what further delay he anticipates.

There are 11,000 business and 9,645 residential lines in Belfast; 1,970 business applications and 3,334 residential applications are outstanding. There is a shortage of plant in Belfast; and, while certain remedial measures are in hand, I regret that, in view of our limited resources, some time will elapse before the outstanding applications can be cleared.

Is not the number of waiting applicants in Belfast a good deal more than in many other towns and cities of a similar character.

No, Sir. The problem is fairly even, especially in the industrial towns.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to remedy the difficulty experienced by subscribers throughout Belfast in obtaining the dialling tone on automatic exchanges.

I much regret this difficulty, which is experienced mainly by subscribers in central Belfast. Additional equipment is being provided to remedy the trouble, and conditions should be much easier by mid-April.