Phone firms won’t stop using mast near school

TWO mobile phone companies have point-blank refused a Government request to stop using a telephone mast near schools in Dublin.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) asked Vodafone, the country’s largest mobile phone company, and 3 Ireland, the newest operator on the market, to stop using the mast on the State-owned Ardee House in Rathmines because of public fears over the effects of radiation.

But despite the concerns of local parents, the companies refused, saying they were under no obligation to do so. Both companies have located ‘base stations’ - antennae systems which send and receive information from mobile phones - on the mast.