Landlines restored in Drummin weeks after Storm Isha

LOCALS in the West Mayo village of Drummin have had their landlines restored after being left without any phone connection for several weeks.

Eir has restored several landline connections in the area, which has little to no mobile phone coverage and limited broadband connectivity.

This comes after local people and a public representative accused the company of ‘disgraceful’ behaviour towards their customers.

Ann Hastings and Mary Hastings, who both highlighted their cases to The Mayo News, have both had their landlines restored, as have several other households.

As of last Monday, a total of 14 faults remained to be fixed in the area following Storm Isha, which hit the west coast over one month ago.

It is understood that eight households in the Drummin area, including elderly people, were left without landlines as a result of the storm.

The home of Mary Hastings had been without since Christmas Eve.

In a statement issued to The Mayo News on Monday evening, Eir apologised to those affected by the disconnections and said it was working to restore every affected landline.

Work on the affected homes began in the Drummin area last Wednesday.

Local Fiann Fáil councillor Brendan Mulroy welcomed the restoration of their landlines but doubled down on calls for Eir to appear before a meeting of Mayo County Council.

Eir – formerly known as Eircom – last appeared before the local authority in early 2021, where local representatives posed questions about its customer service.

“I have no doubt this would not have been resolved if it was not s front page story on the front page of The Mayo News,” Cllr Mulroy said.

“[It is] time for Eir to step up and not leave elderly people isolated.”

In a statement to The Mayo News, Eir said: “In the last week alone, eir has fixed a further 197 faults, including Drummin, bringing to more than 1,500 the number of individual faults we have repaired since Storm Isha last month. 

“Eir crews continue to work every day to repair faults in the North West, and have drafted additional crews into the region to help with this programme. Storm Isha was the most damaging storm experienced in the region in the last decade, and we apologise to customers affected and appreciate their patience as we deal with this unprecedented situation. Consumers experiencing a fault on their line should continue to notify their service provider in the first instance.”