Eir Customer Service

Eir Customer Service

Eir Treating Rural Customers Like Second Class Citizens

Formally Trading as Eircom, Eir is treating rural customers as second class citizens. When one travels along the rural roads of County Meath, it is easy to see why Eir Customers feel that they are being treated as second class citizens by Eir, many Eircom telegraph poles can be seen leaning towards the ground, with some defying gravity, this poor infrastructural maintenance by Eircom and now Eir would not be tolerated or indeed allowed along the leafy suburbs of Dublin, yet Eir appear to think that it is acceptable to fire-manage their infrastructure in rural county Meath, indeed, most of rural Ireland can be seen to suffer from the same Eircom now Eir neglect, and what can be described as reckless endangerment of the public.

Eir Customer Review

In rural Meath one woman tells her story about her treatment as a customer of Eircom and now Eir:

I live in rural Meath, about 15 minutes from Kells and so not as isolated as most of rural Ireland and that is why I fear to think how Eir customers are being treated in more remote areas. I had Eir connect a landline and Internet services 3 years ago, the entire infrastructure was new, new cable taken directly from the Eircom pole that services the local area, all of the cables inside my home were brand new and provided by Eircom, wall sockets, computer and all the trappings were brand new with regular security updates on my computer hardware and software.

Eir Service

Shortly after the euphoria of having been connected to the internet and being able to run my business on-line and from home, I began to notice that my internet was more often off-line than on-line. I contacted Eircom Customer Service where I was subjected to the usual wait, and finally when I got an Eir Customer Service Representative on the line who described himself as technical support, he asked me to, “Switch it Off and Switch It On”. Soon the Eir Customer Service technical support representative agreed with me that there was something more “Structurally Wrong” with the Eir Service that I was receiving, the Eir representative told me that he had placed my technical problem into a waiting list and that an “Engineer” would call to look at the problem within 10 working days. I explained to the Eir Representative that I was dependent on the internet to run my business and this was my only means of income. The Representative said that he would place my concerns on the file and hopefully speed up the process.

Eir Customer Support

After 7 days without internet services and trying to run my business by mobile phone, mainly contacting customers and apologising for not answering their e-mail queries, an Eir Engineer arrived at my house. He explained that he was from KN, which is a company that is sub-contracted originally by Eircom and now by Eir to carry out certain engineering works. The engineer from KN said that he would have to check the line back to the sub-station and then he would report back to me, in the evening the KN engineer reported that he had not found any fault and would have to continue checking the line in the morning. The following morning, I was driving to Kells and I did see the KN engineer at the top of a telegraph pole, however, I would be told on another occasion that that pole has no relationship to my service. On the second evening the KN engineer checked my Eir connection in my house and said that all was well, he had in fact found a pin hole along the main cable on the road and this was most likely letting in moisture to the delicate cables inside. To be honest, this story sounded far-fetched as the cable from the sub-station to my house is several Km long and the KN engineer had no Hoist to get him up to the line, only a ladder to get him up the pole. So how he identified a pin hole along the several Km of line and then got up to repair it remains a mystery.

Eir Service resumes

The next day all appeared well, however, after waiting almost 10 tens to get back to business, I possibly overlooked how slow my Eir Broadband Service actually was and indeed when it completely went off-line for long periods I walked away and made a cup of tea or took a walk outside. Eventually I had to admit that my Eir Broadband Service was simply not working, and all of this time I am paying through the nose to be treated like a second class citizen. I again phoned Eir on my mobile as my landline was also out of order, again I was told by a different Customer Support Representitive to “Switch it off and Switch it on”, which was like a mantra from a Little Britain Episode. Eventually the Eir Customer Service representative on the other end of the phone accepted that there were serious issues with my Eir Service as he could see from his computer that I was not getting anything like the 4G Broadband power that I was paying for. Again I was told that I was listed for an engineer to visit my home and that would happen within the next 10 days, I again explained the urgency of my situation as my business was internet dependent, again I was told that a note would be placed on my file and hopefully speed things up.

Eir Technical Support

12 days after my complaint to Eir and Eircom’s acknowledgement of my poor service provision an Engineer from KN arrived at my door, this time to tell me that because of the distance that I was from the sub-station I could never have received the promised broadband that I was paying for, he said he had reduced my 4G and this should improve the service.

Eir Broadband Provision

The above process has now been completed on 7 occasions and my Broadband service from Eir continues to be very poor with many mornings and afternoons of business lost as I have no internet connection at all or it is so slow that it takes up to 15 minutes simply to open Google. When a neighbour reported that a telegraph pole was leaning dangerously towards the main road, an Eir engineer arrived and the pole remains several months later posing a serious threat to public Health and Safety.

Eir Urban Broadband provision

I had occasion to stay in a 4 Star Hotel in O’Connell Street in Dublin in May 2016 and happened to have a conversation with a member of staff on the front desk about Broadband, I asked how they managed when their Broadband went down or there was a technical issue, I was told very clearly that if their Broadband went down or there was a technical issue, which was very rare, Eir would have an engineer or engineers on site within hours, they had never waited more than hours for an engineer from Eircom or now Eir. The front of house staff member told me that they were never without Broadband for any length of time beyond a couple of hours and she had worked there for the past 15 years.

Eir Final Solution

Finally, I called Eir and asked them if I would have an improved service if I moved to another Broadband provider and they said I could change provider if I so wished, however, such a provider would still be using Eir infrastructure and I would have exactly the same service as with Eir no matter what promises were made to me by another Broadband Service Provider.

Customer Review

The above Customer Review of Eir Broadband services has been authenticated by means of copies of communications between Eir and the customer and it is clear from this personal testimony that Eircom AKA Eir are indeed treating Rural Customers as second class citizens and excusing that treatment with a trail of misleading information and the usual excuses about the difficulty of providing Broadband in rural settings, excuses that are not tolerated by the Governments of other developed European Countries. It is time for Eir to be held to account for promises and charging for services that they cannot realistically deliver with their present policy of infrastructural neglect and fire-management maintenance.

Foot Note: KN Network Services have been awarded the contract in 2013 to provide a fully managed service to eircom for the NGA broadband rollout.

Keywords: Eir Broadband, Eir Customer Service, Eir Telecommunications, Eir Broadband Review, Eir technical support

Gareth Hutch Shot Dead

Gareth Hutch Shot Dead

The 35-year-old victim of today’s gangland murder has been named locally as Gareth Hutch, a nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch.

Gareth Hutch was previously cleared of attempted robbery charges related to an incident when criminal Gareth Molloy (27) was shot dead by a member of the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) during a raid by a gang on a security van delivering cash to a supermarket in Lucan in May 2009.

The raiders were holding a sawn-off shotgun at a cash van worker’s head and demanding cash when gardai struck.

That busted cash-in-transit gang who have close links to the Hutch mob included convicted killer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Hutch (31) who was later given five years in jail for co-ordinating the botched cash van raid.

Another accused, Keith Murtagh (32) of Lower Sheriff Street, was jailed for eight years in July 2010. He was injured during the shootout with gardai in Lucan.

Murtagh has since been released and has survived two assassination attempts with the cartel including on Saturday morning in the Cherry Orchard area of Ballyfermot and last month in Sheriff Street when innocent victim Martin O’ Rourke (24) was shot in a case of mistaken identity.

Today Gareth Hutch was gunned down as he sat in a car outside the Avondale House Flats on North Cumberland Street in Dublin’s north inner city this morning.

The latest victim had been living at the Avondale House flats and the address was previously searched by gardaí as part of the investigation into the Regency Hotel shooting.

The victim was recently issued with a Garda Information Message warning him that his life was under threat.

Gardaí are investigating if a second man, also a relative of the Hutch family, was also injured in the attack.

The gunmen are reported to have fled the scene on foot after their getaway vehicle failed to start. They got into another vehicle nearby.

This is the eighth murder linked to the Hutch - Kinahan feud.

Witnesses described two gunmen leaving the scene, and that "three to six shots" were fired.

The scene is sealed off and a technical examination of the area is expected to take place.

Gardaí are appealing for anyone who was in the area of North Cumberland Street or may have information, to contact the Gardaí at Mountjoy Garda Station on 01 666 8600, the Garda Confidential Line 1 800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Johnathan Dowdall, Sinn Fein, Arrested

Sinn Fein Councillor Arrested

Sinn Fein Councillor Jonathan Dowdall was arrested as he tried to board a flight to Dubai earlier this week by officers investigating the murder of David Byrne. His home on Navan Road Dublin had been raided as Gardai searched for any evidence to link Dowdall with the attack on The Regency Hotel that left David Byrne dead.

Mary Lou McDonald, Gerry Adams TD, Johnathan Dowdall

Dowdall is closely linked to senior members of Sinn Fein and his arrest will bring embarrassment to the already embattled Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams TD.

It is understood that Dowdall, who had just been served a Garda Information Message (GIM) that his life was under threat, had been under surveillance for months.

Johnathan Dowdall's House and BMW on The Navan Road Dublin

He is being quizzed about a weapons warehouse in north county Dublin where it is understood the guns used in the Regency Hotel attack were stored.

He is also being questioned about driving Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch around the country before the weapons were seized in Slane, in Co. Meath, last March.

The Irish Observer has learned that Dowdall quickly came to the attention of Gardai following The Regency murder as he was known to have the logistical network needed to support the Regency attack.

Johnathan Dowdall Arrested, Sinn Fein, Regency Hotel Attack, Hutch Gang

Patrick Hutch Charged David Byrne Murder

Patrick Hutch Charged David Byrne Murder

A 24-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in February.

Patrick Hutch, from Champions Avenue in Dublin 1, was remanded in custody to appear again in court next week.

David Byrne, 33, from Raleigh Square in Crumlin, was shot dead at the Regency Hotel on 6 February as part of an ongoing feud between two criminal gangs, which has resulted in the deaths of six men.

Patrick Hutch is the brother of the first victim of the feud, Gary Hutch, who was shot dead in Spain last September.

Armed gardaí escorted Patrick Hutch from Ballymun Garda Station, where he has been questioned for the past five days, to the Courts of Criminal Justice for a special sitting of the Dublin District Court this evening.

Detective Sergeant Michael Mulligan gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.

He told the court he arrested Patrick Hutch at 5.40pm and when he was charged with the murder of David Byrne, he made no reply.

There was no application for bail.

Judge Hugh O'Donnell granted him free legal aid and remanded Mr Hutch in custody to appear again in Clover Hill District Court on 25 May.

Weapons Find Larne, Dissident Republicans, The IRA

Weapons Find Larne

Ex-Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan has said the munitions found buried at Capanagh Wood near Larne are a “very rare” find and he could not recall seeing more than one or two of the anti-personnel mines in his entire police career.

“They are designed that when they go off they fire ball bearings at extremely high speed and they’ll kill anyone within a radius of 100m, so these are horrific weapons and if you are deploying those in an urban environment, the risk not only to police officers but to the public is terrible,” he commented.

“It’s really bad to see that type of weapon here. It’s designed to take out large swathes of troops so it’s a really deadly weapon.”

Also stashed in the barrels buried in the ground was an Armour-piercing rocket; several pipe bombs, quantities of explosives, ammunition and associated component parts to construct a substantial number of explosive devices.

Police believe dissident republicans are behind the weapons stash and are investigating a link to a previous find of munitions at Carnfunnock Country Park in March.

The recovery of weapons is no doubt a setback for the dissidents but the former senior officer believes there could be more hides with ready to deploy devices.

“The sheer scale of it which indicates they have a substantial supply of weapons. Quite clearly there are still some people who are determined to continue on this campaign,” Mr McQuillan continued.

“I doubt it’s a one off, I’m sure they’ve got other hides elsewhere. I can’t believe that is all the stock, I can’t believe they just got two Claymores in, they probably have other devices in stock.

“The key issue is the intelligence, for the police and security services is to keep watching and keep on top of everything and keep doing everything they can to arrest those responsible and bring them before the courts.”

Speaking outside Stormont Castle, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness welcomed the arms seizure and called on the public to do their part to face down the threat from dissidents.

“I want to pay tribute both the Garda Síochána and the PSNI for the way in which over recent times they have thwarted the activities of those whose design is to plunge our society, our community, this island back to the past,” he said.

“That isn’t going to happen and I think that anytime whenever arms of the nature that have been recovered in the forest in Antrim over recent days, I am very pleased and delighted.

“I do think that given that the police have said the public were responsible for reporting this to the police, it does place a huge responsibility on the people who don’t want their children or their grandchildren to be plunged into the past to cooperate with police on both sides of the borders to ensure that those who are still dedicated to the destruction of the peace process don’t succeed.”

The senior Sinn Féin (MI6 Agent) politician added that following the crisis at Stormont last year when a murder was linked to the supposedly-defunct Provisional IRA, it was important that politicians stand together against violence.

“We have to stand together as politicians in support of our community, the police services north and south to ensure that these people are not successful,” he concluded.

Weapons Find Larne, Dissident Republicans, The IRA

Michael Barr Funeral

Michael Barr Funeral Strabane

Fourteen people have been arrested at the Co Tyrone funeral of a dissident republican man who was shot dead in a Dublin city pub last month.

The men were arrested by the PSNI under the terrorism act and are being questioned about suspected membership of an illegal organisation, the IRA.

The funeral of Michael Barr, a 36-year-old father of five and a native of Strabane, has heard his death was “deliberate and evil.” He was shot dead in the Sunset House Bar on April 25th last.

There was a heavy security presence as more than 500 mourners attended Mr Barr’s funeral in Strabane in Co Tyrone. A known dissident republican, his death is believed to be linked to the Hutch/Kinihan crime feud.

His funeral cortege was accompanied by full republican military trappings as it was brought to St Mary’s Church in Melmount. A tri-colour as well as black gloves and a black beret rested on top of his coffin.

Members of Sigerson’s GAA Club from Strabane, a club which the late Mr Barr had played with, formed a guard of honour into the church. Another guard of honour was formed by another republican group wearing white shirts and black ties. Gardaí and the PSNI on both sides of the border at Lifford and Strabane stopped motorists and asked for identification while a PSNI helicopter circled overhead.

Among the leading mourners were Mr Barr’s mother and father, Martina and Colly as well as his partner Jade and the couple’s five children Tiarnan, Killian, Caitlín and his grandmother Theresa.

Parish priest Fr Michael Doherty sent a message of support to communities in Dublin living in fear of gangland crime. He said the community of Strabane was behind those facing the continuing violence on the streets of the capital.

Addressing mourners inside the church, Fr Doherty said he had known Mr Barr when he was a pupil at St Coleman’s High School where he excelled at both Gaelic football and hurling.

He said Strabane had known many people who had died before their time through accidents and suicide. But he said it had been a long time since someone from the community had died in such circumstances as Mr Barr and described his death as “deliberate and evil.”

He said himself and the wider community in Melmount wanted to show their support for the communities in Dublin which were now living in fear of organised crime.

He said he wanted to echo the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin’s call for the chain of hate and evil to be broken.

Among the gifts brought up to the altar during the offertory was a Gaelic football and a Sigersons GAA jersey.

After the funeral mass, Mr Barr’s remains were carried the short distance across the road to Melmount Cemetery for burial.

Members of those wearing military regalia saluted the coffin as Mr Barr’s remains were laid to rest.