Results 10,521-10,540 of 26,032 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Can I say something? I have two more points. The first is that I got the impression that you believe staff are an issue, is that right? Ultimately the buck stops with-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Second, I have two quick questions. First, I rang this morning and I checked on times. One was below ten minutes but the other was 29 minutes. There are still many late calls-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: You accept that. Second, what is Eir doing to remedy that? When will it be done and how is it doing it? Moving to broadband, the gap intervention areas are, as you are well familiar, areas where Eir provided fibre broadband and then discontinued. We had representatives of National Broadband Ireland, NBI, before us this time last week. They are agreeable to working with Eir to see if it...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Why did Eir not have contingency plans in place, with Covid coming? The company must have known it was going to be difficult.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: I will let my colleagues follow up on that. Will Ms Lennon deal with the broadband and the intervention areas? Will Eir interact with National Broadband Ireland?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: If NBI were to approach Eir and ask to come to an arrangement to link into its network 100 yd up the road, would Eir say no?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: I regard that as unacceptable but I will let my colleagues follow up on it. I call Senator Dooley.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: How many of the staff have tech skills?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: People in Sligo have been in contact with a public representative, namely, me as Chairman of this committee, and they have stated that the ADTRAN call centre has been in Sligo for many years, as has Avantcard in Carrick-on-Shannon. Eir was offered training facilities in the local IDA and the Sligo Chamber of Commerce but it was not taken up. I ask Ms Lennon to come back to this at a later point.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: That is neither the point nor the question. All the customers whom Eir has discommoded, including the pensioners------
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: In many cases, the difficulties have still not been sorted. I told Ms Lennon about a restauranteur who has been waiting nine months but whose business's line is still not up and running. Deputy O'Rourke's question is fair. What will Eir do by way of a financial gesture of goodwill for these people?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Why not?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: That is not the question. Coming up to Christmas, will Eir not provide a financial goodwill gesture to people whose businesses have been discommoded? Many continued to be charged when their lines were not working. Surely Eir can make some kind of financial gesture in that regard.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: I ask Ms Lennon to reflect strongly on this matter.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: That was not the question asked by Deputy Lowry. Obviously, NBI is not going to get this for free. Eir is dealing with NBI in terms of Eir's phone network in any case so why would it not come to a commercial deal to allow NBI to tap into Eir's fibre broadband to deal with these gap areas?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Is Ms Lennon willing to give the commitment to Deputy Lowry and the committee that Eir will look at this issue with NBI?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: Fine.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: There are areas that have been left without coverage.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: The facts are that there are areas without broadband coverage in gap areas. That is the issue.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Broadband Connectivity and Telecommunications Issues: Eir (25 Nov 2020)
Kieran O'Donnell: We will come back to Ms Lennon, specifically, on Deputy Crowe's question. Senator Buttimer has seven minutes.