North city residents left without web access for more than a week

Approximately 150 residents in Knocknaheeny have been without internet access, telephone lines and TV for more than a week as a result of a cable being cut during construction works.

Sinn Féin councillor for the area, Michelle Gould, said that nobody in the area was informed of what was happening and when the service would be restored.

She told The Echo: “I was contacted by residents who were without their internet access and phone lines along with no television.

“These people were unable to work from home, some vulnerable people had no landline and others who use PrePay were unable to top up their heating etc at home.

“This occurred last Thursday and it is now almost a week later and service has not been restored. People were ringing their service providers such as Vodafone, Sky etc but were left with no answers which was extremely frustrating.” 

Ms Gould contacted the council and the local regeneration team, and met with the contractor, the agent for Siro and TLI and was told that a cable was cut, it affected myriad other cables and Siro were on site to provide a temporary fix which should be completed by Saturday morning at the latest.

Siro are to arrange a planned outage to provide a permanent solution, she said, adding that she has asked that all residents be notified in advance of this.

“Communication is vital. These residents were left in complete limbo. People have been without a vital service and I believe the contractor should reimburse anyone who has been at a financial loss as a result of the outage,” she added.

The Echo contacted Siro for comment.