Plea to save isolated valley’s only public phone

A PLEA to leave the only public phone kiosk in the remote Black Valley, deep in the Kerry mountains, has been made to Eircom by Councillor Michael Healy Rae.

The phone is one of 129 in Kerry which Eircom plans to disconnect along with more than 2,000 countrywide.

But Mr Healy-Rae insisted it was a mistake to take away an important piece of infrastructure from communities.

“I realise usage of public phones has gone down a lot, but I don’t see the sense in taking away infrastructure that’s in place. It wouldn’t cost that much to keep the kiosks there,” he said.

“Countries like France and America have retained their public phones.

“Should the mobile network ever collapse, people would be in bad way here if they didn’t have an alternative system.

“Thousands of tourists visit the Black Valley each year and they might need to use a public phone. As it is, the valley doesn’t have a proper phone system and has only a limited mobile reception,” he said.

Mr Healy-Rae said it didn’t make sense for Eircom to erect a sign telling people the nearest alternative was a phone on College Street, Killarney, more than 20km away.

Mr Healy-Rae said he had contacted Eircom with a view to retaining the Black Valley kiosk as an exceptional case and was confident it would remain there. Usage of pay phones has dropped by more than 80% over the past five years, making many no longer financially viable, says Eircom.