S.I. No. 313/1975:

TELEPHONE (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1975.

TELEPHONE (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1975.

I, CONOR CRUISE O'BRIEN, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 2 of the Telegraph Act, 1885, hereby make, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Telephone (Amendment) Regulations, 1975.

(2) The Telephone Regulations, 1959 to 1974, and these Regulations may be cited together as the Telephone Regulations, 1959 to 1975.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1976.

3. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.

4. In these Regulations--

"The Regulations of 1968" means the Telephone (Amendment) Regulations, 1968 ( S.I. No. 274 of 1968 );

"the Regulations of 1971" means the Telephone (Amendment) Regulations, 1971 ( S.I. No. 63 of 1971 );

"the Regulations of 1973" means the Telephone (Amendment) Regulations, 1973 ( S.I. No. 193 of 1973 );

"the Regulations of 1974" means the Telephone (Amendment) Regulations, 1974 ( S.I. No. 363 of 1974 ).

5. (1) The Telephone Regulations, 1959 ( S.I. No. 118 of 1959 ), shall be amended by:

( a ) The insertion of the following definition, namely, "reverse charge call" means a call between telephones in the State or between a telephone in the State and a telephone in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands where the person making the call requests the telephone exchange operator that the charge or charges payable in respect of the call (save any personal charge in case the call is made from a coinbox exchange line) shall be charged to and payable by the person who is the subscriber in respect of the called telephone and the telephone exchange operator obtains from the person answering on the called telephone a consent to the request before the call is established," after the definition of "private telephone circuit" in Regulation 4;

( b ) the substitution of "3.2p" for "2.36p" in Regulation 5 (2) (a) (inserted therein by Regulation 5 (1) (a) of the Regulations of 1974);

( c ) the substitution of "15p" for "12p" in Regulation 9 (1) (inserted therein by Regulation 5 (f) of the Regulations of 1974);

( d ) the substitution of "15p" for "10p" in Regulation 12 (inserted therein by Regulation 5 (g) of the Regulations of 1974);

( e ) the substitution of "10p" for "7p" in Regulation 17A (inserted by Regulation 5 (e) of the Regulations of 1968 and amended by Regulation 5 (h) of the Regulations of 1974);

( f ) the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 17A:

"17B (1) A reverse charge call shall not be made to a coinbox exchange line.

(2) In case a reverse charge call is made to a telephone in the State from a telephone in the State, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands, there shall be charged to and payable by the subscriber who is the subscriber in respect of the called telephone the sum of 15p in addition to such other charge or charges (save any personal charge in case the call is made from a coinbox exchange line) as may be payable under these Regulations in respect of the call as if the call were made from the called telephone.

(3) If, notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Regulation, a reverse charge call is made to a coinbox exchange line, the Minister may, at his discretion and notwithstanding anything in paragraph (2) of this Regulation, direct that such sums as are chargeable and payable in respect of the call shall be chargeable and payable by the subscriber who is the subscriber in respect of the calling telephone, and in case the Minister so directs, the aforesaid sums shall be so chargeable and payable.

(4) A person making a call from a coinbox exchange line or from a call office, or the person answering on the called telephone, may, before the termination of the call, request the telephone exchange operator that the duration of the call be extended for a further period beyond the period in respect of which payment was made in cash and that the charge or charges payable in respect of the further period shall be charged to and payable by the person who is the subscriber in respect of the called telephone and when such a request is made, and provided the person answering on the called telephone consents to the request when it is made by the person making the call, the call may be so extended as if it were a newly established reverse charge call and paragraph (2) of this regulation shall apply thereto from the time of its extension.

(5) In case a reverse charge call is made from a telephone in the State, subject to paragraph (3) of this Regulation, no charge or charges in respect of the call (save any personal charge in case the call is made from a coinbox exchange line) shall be payable by the subscriber in respect of that telephone save as is provided for in paragraph (2) of this Regulation."

( g ) the substitution of "£2.00" for "37½p" in Regulation 44 (inserted therein by Regulation 5 (q) of the Regulations of 1971).

( h ) the substitution of the following for the Second Schedule (inserted by Regulation 5 (1) (e) of the Regulations of 1973, and amended by Regulation 5 (1) (i) of the Regulations of 1974):

"SECOND SCHEDULE

Charges for Subscriber Dialled Trunk Calls.

In respect of each period or part of a period of time specified in the Table to this Schedule which is appropriate to the call and during which the call continues--

( a ) the sum of 3.2p shall be charged to a subscriber without a coinbox, and

( b ) the sum of 5p shall be paid by a caller from a call office, for the first period of time, 4p for the second period of time and 4p for the third period of time, and if the length of the call exceeds those periods combined, the aforementioned cycle of payment shall apply in relation to such further time as the call continues.

"

(i) the substitution of the following Table for the Table in the Fourth Schedule (inserted by Regulation 5 (u) of the Regulations of 1971 and amended by Regulation 5 (1) (k) of the Regulations of 1974):

"

"

( j ) the substitution of the following Table for the Table in the Fifth Schedule (inserted by Regulation 5 (u) of the Regulations of 1971 and amended by Regulation 5 (1) (l) of the Regulations of 1974):

"

"

(2) The Principal Regulations specified in Regulations 5 (2) (a), 9 (1), 12, 17A and 44 of the Telephone Regulations, 1959, as amended by paragraph (1) of this Regulation are set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively of the Table to this Regulation.

TABLE

Paragraph (2) of Regulation 5.

1. (2) In respect of every call made by a subscriber to a telephone in the same telephone group or to a telephone in another telephone group which is regarded as adjacent to the telephone group of the subscriber making the call there shall be charged to the subscriber and paid by him--

( a ) if he rents an exchange line without a coinbox-- the sum of 3.2p.

Regulation 9 (1).

2.9. (1) There shall be charged and paid for a personal call (in addition to such other charge or charges as may be payable under these Regulations in respect of the call) a personal charge of 15p.

Regulation 12.

3.12. The charge in respect of an alarm clock call shall be 15p.

Regulation 17 A.

4. 17A. The Minister may supply particulars of the duration of or charge for a completed trunk call (excluding a subscriber dialled trunk call), or of both such duration and charge, on the request of a subscriber and there shall be charged to the subscriber and paid by him in respect of each call of which such particulars are supplied the sum of 10p (in addition to such other charge or charges as may be payable under these Regulations in respect of the call).

Regulation 44.

5.44. If any subscription or any fee, charge, expense or damages payable by the subscriber under the agreement or under the other provisions of these Regulations is in arrear for fourteen days, excluding Sundays and public holidays, after the relative account has been rendered, or the subscriber has failed to offer such security as may be required by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 31, the Minister may, without notice, and without prejudice to the terms of the agreement or to the provisions of these Regulations, wholly or in part suspend service on the exchange line or disconnect the exchange line from the exchange and may make in respect of any restoration of service after suspension or disconnection under the terms of this Regulation a charge of £2.00 to be payable on demand.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 18th day of December, 1975.

CONOR CRUISE O'BRIEN.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance, this 18th

day of December, 1975.

RICHIE RYAN.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these regulations is to amend the Telephone Regulations 1959 to 1974 to provide for (a) the introduction of Reverse Charge facilities on internal and Cross-Channel telephone calls-- a surcharge of 15p to apply in addition to the ordinary call charges for such calls and (b) the following increases in charges: