‘We need to establish why Eir are not fit to look after the area’

Elderly people living alone and businesses in parts of south Donegal were among those most affected by being  without a landline for over a week due to delays in carrying out repairs.

At the October meeting of the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal, Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) expressed grave concern about how long it had taken to get hold of someone to even sanction the repair.

“We need to establish why Eir are not fit to look after the area,” he said.

“We had a serious issue in Pettigo with five poles gone, some broken, others at an angle of 35 degrees.

“There were two old ladies in Pettigo who don’t use mobile phones who had no landline as a result, and couldn’t talk to anyone.

“You had businesses not knowing if they could open.

“There were serious problems in parts of Bundoran and Ballintra too, places where there was no mobile phone coverage. 

“I got a lot of calls over it.

“If we want to look after the area properly these companies have to step up to the plate. I don’t want to be criticising them and telling them their jobs but they need to provide a service.

“I would ask them to come into the chamber and explain what is happening with regards to telecommunications. I don’t know how many companies there are out there.”

Cllr Manus Boyle (FG) reported similar issues, saying: “We were going round in circles trying to get this fixed. They kept saying they’re  sourcing it out to someone else. Eventually it  got sorted.

“We need one point of contact that you can talk to rather than taking 10 to 12 days to sort things out.”

Director of Services for Donegal County Council Garry Martin acknowledged that there was an issue, and that mobile phone coverage in some areas also remained a concern.

“Coverage seems to be getting weaker throughout the county,” he said. “We have contacted providers to see if we can get boosters.

“If there are specific areas, let us know and we will follow it up.”

Director of Housing and Corporate Services for Donegal MD Mr Pauric Sheerin said he would contact Eir on behalf of the members, conveying their concerns about the maintenance of the phone network infrastructure.