Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Storey for that. A phone line would stop us having to write to Ms Lennon as often as we do. I am not sure that is an efficient use of our time, or indeed hers, so that would be great, and I thank Deputy Matthews for bringing it up.

Ms Lennon mentioned that Eir is a private company, and it is, but in the eyes of the people, rightly or wrongly, it is still our flag carrier for telecommunications - telephone, broadband and so on. It is a bit like Aer Lingus. People will always look at Eir and Aer Lingus and say, "Those are our companies." That is a responsibility and it adds to Eir's job but the idea is out there among people, so there are extra demands. That is just a fact.

We have spoken a lot about the reputational damage but it cannot be overstated. The Ceann Comhairle broke protocol a couple of weeks ago to refer to Eir from the Chair. That has never happened before. Our Ceann Comhairle is fantastic. I think people on all sides of the House would agree he is straight down the middle, so these are issues. I have been a Teachta Dála only since February but I have been working in politics for nine years. There has always been a reputational issue with Eir. It has exploded this year but it always was the sick child, so to speak, across not just telecommunications but any kind of company we deal with regularly.

I will move on to the staff who were lost earlier this year because it is quite head-scratching. To lose a large percentage of one's staff in a place such as Dublin, where even during the pandemic there may have been the odd chance of picking up another job, is different from losing staff in places such as Sligo or other large regional towns, where jobs are not as plentiful, even in good times. Did Eir do any research as to why those 80 people left? Were there any exit interviews?

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