Traffic authorities have reprimanded Eircom over leaving roads in a tardy condition after laying new phone lines.

Dublin's Office of the Director of Traffic said that Eircom had left parts of the city centre in an "unsightly" state and has told the company to start cleaning up properly after itself.

Eircom has been instructed to cut down on the number of new phone lines it installs until it has cleared a backlog of substandard roadworks, said Mr Tim O'Sullivan, executive manager of the office.

It also owes road work administration fees believed to be in the order of tens of thousands of euro.

The council stressed there was no safety issue; its concern was that the roads were unsightly rather than dangerous.

"The standard of workmanship isn't always as high as we might wish for.

"For example, road markings aren't always re-painted afterwards," said Mr O'Sullivan. "Eircom has agreed that it will put more resources into clearing the backlog rather than laying new phone lines."

Substandard Eircom roadworks have been of concern for a number of years, said Mr O'Sullivan.

At a meeting with the council yesterday, Eircom agreed to prioritise its clean-up operation.

Roadworks have been the bane of motorists in Dublin since the privatisation of the phone market prompted a flurry of cable laying.

Four years ago, there was an outcry when it emerged that 11 telecoms companies were digging up roads in the capital.

Eircom said the meeting was a "house-keeping" exercise and that services to customers would not suffer.