Monitored alarms and mobile coverage
Deputy Moynihan says poor mobile coverage is preventing installation of monitored alarms and asks if the Government will address it. Deputy Murphy adds that Eir is leaving landline faults unresolved for weeks, making pendant alarms unusable, and the Minister says she will speak to Eir but criticises its service record.
An awful lot of people are mindful of security in their homes at the moment. Companies are putting in monitored alarms but some of them face major issues installing monitored alarms in areas with poor mobile phone coverage. Has this been brought to the attention of the Government? Installers are coming in and checking what level it is at between one and 30. It must be at 11 before they can install monitored alarms. Swathes of north Cork are without mobile phone coverage. Has the Government contacted the Commission for Communications Regulation or looked at the companies to try to resolve this issue because monitored alarms will not be installed in the homes of elderly people unless something is done about it?
Comment on this
The issue I wish to raise is slightly different but I do support the Deputy's comments.
Comment on this
I fully support the argument that mobile phone coverage affects the installation of monitored alarms. In addition, I condemn what Eir is doing with regard to faults on landlines. I and others have a family connection with this. Eir is leaving older people for six, eight or ten weeks before fixing the fault. If the landline is out of action, a pendant alarm is not workable. We are fortunate in that the Department of Rural and Community Affairs has provided substantial funding for those alerts and we have a link to this. What Eir is doing is simply outrageous. I know it is now a private company but we need to call it to order and not leave those people, some of whom are in fear of their lives, stranded. It is in everybody's interests, even those who are laughing about it, that we call on Eir to do the right thing and not leave these people frightened in their homes in rural and urban areas.
Comment on this
A total of 53,000 people have pendant alarms under the seniors alert scheme. Eir wanted to take on the broadband scheme after it had pulled out of it. How could we give Eir the broadband scheme when it is unable to run the services it provides at the moment? I will get my Department to talk to Eir but it is a bit rich of Eir to tell us all how it was going roll out broadband when it cannot keep the phones on line as it is.