Phone lines still down in parts of Tyrone after Storm Eowyn

Internet and phone services in certain Derry City and Strabane District rural areas are still not available due to Storm Éowyn, councillors have said.

At this month’s Full Council Meeting, Derg Sinn Féin councillor Caroline Devine said that, while she appreciated that Storm Éowyn and its aftermath were ‘exceptional circumstances’, it was unacceptable that services in rural areas had not been repaired over a month later.

Councillor Devine said: “We have older people who are isolated, we don’t have mobile signal in those areas, people working from home and students who can’t access educational services.”

Cllr. Devine also raised concerns that attempts to get information from a service provider have not been successful.

“Communication has been exceptionally poor and I’m really disappointed and concerned with the response we’ve got.”

DUP Alderman Julie Middleton said the issue affected ‘our most isolated and vulnerable rural residents’, while UUP Alderman Derek Hussey said he had witnessed several downed lines on rural roads.

“You see lines down and they’re not being fixed,” he concluded. “These are on roads which are accessible, but they’re cutting off so many people.

“For many older people that vital line of communication isn’t there and hasn’t been there for quite some time, so it has to be addressed as an urgent matter.”