It may be four weeks since Storm Éowyn graced Galway with a turbulent visit, the trail of destruction left in her wake continues. With parts of the county having experienced nearly three weeks without power, the lights are now on in Galway but broadband has yet to return for thousands of households across Co Galway.
Broadband connectivity and the continued lack of service for vulnerable residents in Galway, many of which rely on panic buttons to live safely at home, were robustly discussed at Galway County Council’s February Plenary Meeting on Monday, February 24.
“I have rebranded them ‘thin-eir’ because that is what they have become,” said Cllr Ollie Turner, explaining that his mother had received a monthly bill from eir, despite having no landline, no mobile phone or no broadband since the storm.
“When asked how she could have gotten a bill for a service that was not working, she was told that it was her fault because she did not log it properly.”
Three weeks until reconnected
Galway City Council CEO, Liam Conneally, said that the broadband disruptions were ‘an ongoing issue’, but that the local authority had received an update from eir regarding the estimated return of service.
“Connectivity is an ongoing issue. Eir gave us a programme which said that it would be three weeks before everyone in the county’s broadband will be restored.”
This timeframe was later questioned by Cllr Alan Harney (FG ) who said, “Eir are telling me that they don’t know where the faults are unless the faults have been logged individually. So, I’m not sure how they could think that they will be done in three weeks, especially given the number of businesses and older people who have been affected by the lack of broadband.
“I have also been made aware that eir have utilised a lot of contractors who will not go onto a site without express permission from the homeowner. As a result, I have heard from customers who missed their chance to get their broadband fixed because they were not home.
Calls for eir to come to council
Throughout the plenary meeting, councillors called for eir executives to be invited to meet with elected officials and council executives regarding what was labelled as an ‘absolute disgrace’. “Eir should be brought in here to discuss this issue,” said Cllr Peter Keaveney (FG ). “There are telecom wires wrapped around trees and bushes across the county.” “Eir are nothing short of an absolute disgrace,” stated Cllr Noel Thomas (II ).
“While no business would have enough staff on hand to deal with a storm like that, eir and the State’s response if Dublin was affected like this would be very different. We need State intervention, I can’t see them (eir ) completing the work they need to do in three weeks.”
“ESB at least brought crews in from abroad to help them, but eir are a different matter,” said Connemara South councillor, Padraig Mac An Iomaire (FG ). “One eir employee who I was talking to told me that there was no help coming and that there were 844 jobs to be completed by 12 lads.”
“There are key learnings to be taken from this storm,” said Cllr Mary Hoade (FF ), “Many older people are living alone who are without broadband since the storm, and as a result cannot use their panic buttons. They are not in the position to use those alarms should they need to and as a result the whole issue around communications regarding this storm has highlighted that there needs to be greater service infrastructure.”
Echoing these concerns Cllr Karey McHugh-Farag (Ind ) said, “There are a large number of people with a personal contact alarm who are very concerned without this lack of connectivity and update from eir. Too many people have been left without access to aid or their loved ones should they need help at the moment.
“It highlights the fact that eir still have a lot of work to do.”
Eir’s response
In a statement issued to the Galway Advertiser in response to the topic, eir has said that complex repairs and the volume of destruction in the county after the storm has delayed reconnection. Additionally, eir contradicted claims regarding external support.
“Eir continues to make significant progress in restoring services following the impact of Storm Eowyn, in which Galway was one of the most impacted regions in the country. eir has mobilised additional resources, including crews from outside the State, to help accelerate repairs. The vast majority of customers in Galway have now had their services restored, with over 80 per cent of reported faults being cleared within 10 working days. In the past 10 days alone, eir has successfully restored service to nearly 1,200 homes and businesses in the county.
“Some customers may experience longer outages due to the complexity of repairs, including fallen roadside trees that need to be removed in order to repair our lines and poles. Repair efforts have been hampered by the fact that local authorities have been unable to support this work, requiring us to hire in specialist contractors, which has added significantly to repair timelines in certain cases.
“To minimise disruption for customers, eir has proactively distributed mobile broadband devices to over 1,000 customers nationwide, providing temporary connectivity while restoration works continue. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work through these complex challenges. eir customers with specific queries about their bills or services should contact eir at 1901. Additionally, customers are urged to report service faults directly to their service provider to help address issues promptly.”
