This article is from page 31 of the 2007-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
TUAMGRANEY residents have mounted a campaign to stop eircom removing the last standing phone box in their village.
A small notice was recently posted in the box, which has stood at the centre of the village for years, in- forming locals that the box is soon tO go.
“Not everyone has a mobile phone. There are elderly people here who have never used a mobile and never
will,” said Tuamgraney Develop- ment Association Chairman, Dami- en Heaney.
“It’s also used by tourists in sum- mer and by some children. It’s good to have it there,’ he added.
Campaigners to keep the phone in the village point out that if someone runs out of credit, a phone call costs just a few cents while the minimum payment for credit is €10.
Tourists who regularly use the box in summer are happy to have the op- tion of paying directly for the call
rather than face huge roaming charg- es, said Damien.
“We have quite a few foreign stu- dents and it’s a very useful facility for them,” the Community Develop- ment Chairman added.
The development association has written to eircom asking why the phone needs to be removed and are awaiting response.
Meanwhile, locals have started a petition to keep the facility, which 1s available for signing in The Graney.
“The problem is that if you have a
facility like this, once it’s taken away you never get it back,’ said Damien.
“Tf it’s not broken, don’t fix it and if it’s working perfectly don’t take it away, he added.