Nobody on the other end

Nobody on the other end

Anton McNulty

IT WAS supposed to be a dream move for Pat and Leslie McNeely when they swapped west Cork for Achill last November, but that dream is slowly turning into a nightmare because of the difficulties with their phone connection.
Pat and Leslie have been running a small business called Drive for Life for the past three years, through which they give presentations to transition year students across the country dedicated to influencing young people’s approach towards learning to drive safely and passing their test. The programme has been hugely successful and 17 road safety officers across the country have asked them to give presentations to schools in their counties.
The programme was first established when Pat and Leslie lived in Bantry and Pat would travel around the country in a camper van while Leslie stayed at home taking bookings over the phone and via the internet. They decided to expand the business and, because both have been coming to Achill for many years and have family on the island, they decided to relocate to Dooagh in Achill. This would allow Pat to concentrate more on the northern half of the country while their son Kieran operated out of Cork.
However, since moving into their rented home they have experienced nothing but problems with the phone service, which is affecting their business so much they are contemplating leaving the island.
“We thought Achill was the answer to our prayers. It is a beautiful place to live and the people are lovely. You have got everything you want except the phone does not work on a regular basis. We are trying to run a business but we cannot because the phone does not work all the time. Pat was on the Seoighe and O’Shea Show last November and normally when we have a bit of exposure you get a lot of enquiries. On November 22, when he was on television, I had no phone for a week and that is not good enough when you are trying to run a business.
“I can listen to people’s conversations when I pick up the phone. I have echoes, but when I try to take bookings the line goes dead and there is no dial tone. It does not make the business look very professional and if you are running a business it has to be run in a professional fashion. This is our livelihood and, although I want to work here, I cannot afford for the business we have worked hard on to slip away because of a phone connection,” said Leslie.
It takes them 37 minutes to send their brochure by e-mail because the local exchange has not been enabled for broadband and when they called the engineer he even advised them against setting up a business in Achill because of the system. They have phoned Eircom on a number of occasions but with no satisfaction and when they have contacted the local councillors and TDs  they have been told that it is a matter for Eircom and not the Department of Communications.
It has left Pat and Leslie in a frustrating predicament because the business is flat out and they need the phone to keep on top of things. They admitted that if they were aware of the problems they would encounter they would not have moved their business to Dooagh.
Last year the telephone exchanges in the upper part of the island were enabled for broadband by Eircom but they have yet to announce when they will enable the rest of the island. The communications infrastructure for that part of the island has been described as being ‘left in the dark ages’ by Terence Dever, Manager of the local development company, CFAA, with many businesses suffering from regular breakdowns similar to the McNeelys.