Phone and internet outages in Mayo ‘at crisis point’ as 92-year-old left without telephone for six weeks

A 92-year-old man who relies on a pendant alarm and a diabetes monitor was left without phone or broadband connectivity for six weeks following Storm Éowyn.

Eir, which provides broadband and phone services for thousands of people in Mayo, has received scathing criticism after numerous customers were left without connectivity for weeks following the storm.

Local Mayo politicians, who say the amount of Eir customers still without phone and broadband is ‘at crisis point’, have called for the provider to be nationalised.

Elected members of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District have branded Eir’s treatment of their customers since Storm Éowyn – which struck on January 24 – ‘disgraceful’ and ‘pathetic’.

Diabetes monitor

Martin Lyons, a native of Meelick, near Swinford, who lives in Claremorris, said his relatives were left without phone and broadband coverage for several weeks following the storm.

Mr Lyons said several Eir customers in the Meelick area paid to install Starlink broadband in their homes after waiting several weeks for their service to be restored.

His uncle, a 92-year-old diabetic, only had his broadband restored over the weekend after Eir began repair works in the area. His landline phone had been restored by Monday evening (yesterday).

The man, who lives alone, uses a diabetes monitor which feeds readings through wi-fi or cellular for Mr Lyons to see. His pendant alarm, which is connected to My Lyons parents’ home, also could not function following the storm.

“The cellular coverage is so bad there was many days when I was getting no feedback at all on his readings,” Mr Lyons told The Mayo News.

“That was the number one issue. Number two was he had no connectivity for his broadband, which his carer relies on,” he added.

Mr Lyons explained that his parents and uncle had landlines due to the ‘very poor’ mobile phone signal in the area. His parents, who are Sky customers but depend on Eir for their connectivity, had no phone, television or broadband service for several weeks. They were given a €35 reduction on their bill from Sky because of the disruption.

“They have family abroad and it’s their only way of keeping in contact with them,” he told The Mayo News.

Connected health

Mr Lyons obtained broadband for his uncle from another company before Eir restored his previous service. He and other residents were left without electricity for 15 days following Storm Éowyn.

Mr Lyons said it was ‘a disgrace’ that people were still being issued with bills despite not having their service restored.

“The way it is going and there are more and more connected health and connectivity devices, these services need to be seen as a vital service, similar to the electric,” said Mr Lyons.

“In days gone by, you lost your phone and granted, unless there was an emergency, one could say it wasn’t an essential service. But I think for any elderly person, even a basic phone line is an essential service. It’s your ability to ring 999 in an emergency. Nowadays, it also provides the conduit back to essential health services, like people with diabetes or other chronic or acute diseases.

“It’s not right that people, especially elderly people or people who may not be able to afford paying out for services that are not being provided, and then being told that: ‘It was an act of God, there is nothing we can do about a refund’. You are either paying for a service of you are not,” he continued.

“You pay for the service when you get it and you shouldn’t have to pay for it if you are not getting it, and it should be that clear. The Government should take action on things like that because then it would actually put a lot more pressure on these service providers to ensure that the service is being provided.”

‘Crisis point’

THE monthly meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District Council heard that the number of Eir customers still without services is at ‘crisis point’.

Speaking at the council’s monthly meeting, local representatives suggested that Eir should, if necessary, bring in workers from outside the country to assist them – as the ESB did in the weeks after the storm.

“Something has to be done about this because it is at crisis point,” said Kiltimagh-based councillor, Adrian Forkan (Fianna Fáil).

First known as ‘P&T’, Eir was founded as a state-run utility before changing its name to Eircom. The company was privatised in 1999 and later changed its name to Eir. It has changed owners several times since being sold by the State.

“It’s disgraceful how Eir is treating its customers,” said Ballinrobe-based councillor Michael Burke.

“They are still taking the money out of their bank accounts for their bills and some of those people have no phone and probably won’t have a phone or broadband or anything like it for maybe another two or three weeks,” the Fine Gael councillor added.

“I haven’t seen one of those vans that work for Eir working after 5 o’clock in the evening.

“The staff on the ground is excellent, and they are doing their best, but they are so light on staff, it’s unbelievable what’s going on and the neglect of…people that’s very vulnerable to not having a phone, not being able to be contacted by their carer or anyone, relation or neighbour. Somebody is going to lose their lives over this, and it’s going to be at the mercy and the fault of Eir.”

Critical infrastructure

Eir has received sharp criticism from public representatives in Mayo in recent years. In 2021, a company representative was questioned at a meeting of Mayo County Council.

Cllr Burke described the company’s delivery as ‘pathetic’ despite it promising ‘the sun, moon and stars’. He informed The Mayo News over the weekend that several customers in Cong only had their services restored in recent days.

Cllr Burke’s comments about Eir were echoed by other elected representatives, who called for urgent action to repair phone and broadband lines.

Cllr Gerry Murray (Sinn Féin) was contacted by parents of elderly people who were told their phone would not be restored for at least three more weeks.

The Charlestown-based councillor proposed that Eir be nationalised by the State. This was formally backed by the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District.

Cllr Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach of the municipal district, described the selling of Eir as ‘a retrograde step’ and said the Government should take back ownership of critical infrastructure.

The Fianna Fáil councillor also called for the Commission for Communications Regulation to be abolished. “The time for regulators has well and truly passed,” said Cllr Ryan.

“If you are an elected member of government, it’s your job to govern, and you don’t need offices or agencies working on your behalf. You are elected to do that. I think it’s time now that government took back the power from some of these faceless offices and faceless agencies and organisations.”

‘Significant progress’

Responding to a request for comment from The Mayo News, an Eir spokesperson said the company had made ‘significant progress’ in restoring services in Mayo following Storm Éowyn.

“Mayo remains one of the hardest-hit counties, with over 1,000 faults repaired in the past month. Some repairs are delayed due to complex challenges, such as fallen roadside trees that require specialist removal. In certain cases, the lack of local authority support for these works has necessitated the hiring of specialist contractors, significantly extending repair timelines. Remaining storm-related faults require an individual site visit, assessment, and customised repair, which Eir is actively coordinating. To accelerate restoration efforts, Eir deployed additional crews, including teams from outside the State.”

The company said it appreciated its customers’ patience and that it remained ‘fully committed to restoring services as quickly as possible’. Eir is prioritising the reconnection of vulnerable and elderly customers. Their dedicated Age Friendly Care line can be contacted on 1800 252 252.

“If a customer has reported a fault and subsequently received a bill, we encourage them to call 1901 for an adjustment covering the period of non-service.”