The shareholders who have have stategically fallen in line for more profits. Yes, Eircom

by Coillte, and proud of it! Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:28

My experience with Eircom is a litany of disaster:
1. During a time when my Internet connection and phone line was regularly breaking down, they gave me a different phone number to ring for internet connection. They never told me that this new connection was more expensive!
2. They give me a Talktime Business Package for my phone bills. I regularly had surplus minutes carried forward to the next period. After a year or so (usually not very attentive to investigation each bill) I question as to why my bill kept going up when I constantly had surplus unused time. I was told something on the lines that if the surplus was not used the following period it was dropped from the system. This in effect meant that I was charged a premium for cutting back on the number of phone calls that I made.
3. I tried to contact them but gave up over the automatic voices on the other end of the phone. If I found an ear, they listened but did nothing.
4. The fault was finally diagnosed after I lost the rag and virtually did a "Zinedin Zidan". The line connection to my house was faulty and was repaired. The repair men had been out many times previous to this and found nothing wrong!

Your case above is disastrous. However the good news is that the system appears to work well once it is set up properly.

But you must remember that in an era where Right (religious ethics etc) and State are separated; it is only natural that Right and Business also become separated. Laws (self morality) that compelled us once under threat of eternal damnation are no longer effective. We are in a business situation that if a law is not on the State Statute Book, it becomes open season to extract as much money as possible from those of us who are not technically aware. The I.T. Telecoms industry is a license to print money; all packages right across the board only go to create uncertainty among the public so that they can be ripped off.

I think that you have done the right thing by advertising your problem. You are not alone! Infact, I think that you have now become the mouth piece of us enraged consumers and in this case, shareholders. I hope that my reply goes some way to a solution being found for you. Good on ye Girl!

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Ethics Tue Jul 11, 2006 22:19

Coilte:
Thank you. I had completely forgotten ever writing this. TBI ensures that yesterday is obliterated and all I seem to be able to do is to keep on writing on topics that directly enter my limited scope.

This is a letter I wrote recently. I even went so far as to send it to the Babcock and Brown........I have had a reply from ComReg to say that they have no awareness of an Eircom disabilities strategy.

For the attention of Mr. Justice Barr. Why is that Ireland continues to stigmatise the mentally ill and those with neurological problems. I wrote a number of letters, several years ago, about being bipolar, anxiety driven and vulnerable and having sustained a fractured skull in the a riding accident. I see an 'underclass' being formed.
This is an example of Corporate.......and all that goes with it. They are seen to be charitable (tax beneficial) but the reality is how much are they empowering their staff and people in general....

----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle M. Clarke
To: info@specialolympics.ie
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 4:59 PM
Subject: Fw: An example as to how difficult it is for a person with multiple disabilities to access supposedly userfriendly services........

I wholly endorse Eircom support of the Special Olympics. It gave me great pleasure to attend for a short period the Special Olympics in the RDS several years ago.......

However, I would like to point out the experience of a person with acquired disabilities and the inability of Eircom to respond to these needs..........

Regards

Michelle Clarke
----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle M. Clarke
To: info@cra.iol.ie
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 1:57 AM
Subject: An example as to how difficult it is for a person with multiple disabilities to access supposedly userfriendly services........

Image but without substantiation. I am weary of the over advertising by Eircom. Promises are but false promises and the fact that you have the audacity to produce a page for people with disabilities, astounds me completely.

Since February 04 I have been writing to Eircom, Com-Reg, Minister Dempsey, ODCA; Minister Broughan. the NDA, etc. confirms to me just how inefficient the system is and people are hiding behind hierarchial identities, causes, and the power of broadband and image.

Shame on you all.

People with disabilities have needs. I clearly expressed my needs and yet a file of inept correspondence sees me with a bill of euros 1800, no external line. Add to this that my bank account went into overdraft and expenses and is not yet rectified.

So the take-over is in place and Babcock and Brown will be hungry for profits.....already somebody is selling off prime locations in the city of Dublin.....this is about profit. People are highly dispensable when it comes to profit; as are pension rights.

What fascinates me is that people of all categories and descriptions are your profit base so my question is Why not treat them with Respect and Dignity. Have you ever thought about people in distress as I was last Christmas and the effect of having no phone line........I tend to relate best to the Samaritans in times of need.

A good, efficient, ethical worker is better than a number of the opposite characteristics.

What is it they say about these Corporate Entities - yes asset strippers!!!!!!!

Michelle Clarke

Please Resolve this matter. It is causing considerable damage to my health and sanity.

Amnesty 2001 - Mental Illness the Neglected Quarter
'Amnesty is a worldwide voluntary activist movement working with human rights. It is independent of any government, political persuasion or religious creed......Amnesty's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other International Human Rights Standards'

'One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental health disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide. Treatments are available, but nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional. Stigma discrimination and neglect prevent care and treatment from reaching people with M. Disorder....Where there is neglect, there is little or no understanding. Where there is no understanding = NEGLECT

by con Thu Aug 17, 2006 11:56

why did you run up a bill of 1800 if you cant afford it

by no excuse Thu Aug 17, 2006 13:51

sounds like your trying to sneak out of paying your bill with the change in ownership of the company
Just because you have a disability does not entitle you to rack up a ginormous bill and expect the government to fork out and pay it, sure they should pay some of it but you also must accept some responsibility for racking up a clearly excessive bill

the issue does not sound like it is with eircom--they merely provided services which by the sound of it you lapped up

by Seb Brio Thu Aug 17, 2006 19:00

I think this issue is more complicated than Michelle not wanting to pay a bill. Michelle may correct me if I'm wrong but I think she was double billed, for a line not used as well as the working one. She may also have not been credited with Free Line renta. Those in receipt of certain State payments are eligible for this. I reckon she has been caught up in a nightmare of redtape.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Ethics - Please Sat Aug 19, 2006 21:59

Con

Have you ever been 'bothered and bewildered'? Well that's how I have been since I sustained acquired brain injury from a horse riding accident. Add to this Bipolar and medications and the inability of public services to provide a Personal Assistant, and other services to allow me use whatever abilities amidst an array of disabilities and you have a life of near turnoil.

Seb thankfully gleaned part of the point I was trying to make.

First let me say, that problems I have encountered with intellectual disabilities and the public services that merit no action, are not a figment of my imagination. For years I have been writing to Eircom, to Justice Equality and Law Reform to Trinity, to Ahead.......to no avail. But a spontaneous visit to the NDA office to recent publications reassured me that I was not 'Alone'.

Someone with initiative in NDA (who don't generally respond to me either) have come up with a most appropriate publication.

It is about assisting public entities to understand comprehension/intellectual difficulties that certain people encounter. Yes, more research. Wording is percise but the graphic pictures really get the point across for 'we the slow learners' .........including those with acquired difficulties

Now back to Eircom. How easy can I make this? I did not run up a bill 1800 euros willy nilly.

Acquired brain injury is reliant on the web to enhance weaknessess in the connection of neurons......comprehension, sequence, speed, short term memory.

In February 2004 I received through the post notification of a broadband deal and I applied for same.

Then my phone bills moved from say 50 euros to over 300 euros consistent over a number of months

I complained. By bank account went into overdraft etc and my Visa card stopped was stopped. ABI means I have no numeracy and nobody to assist me. Mobility is also a problem.

My call charges did not go up significantly. The broadband charge was implemented but a 1892 number contained all the high charges.

I contacted Eircom; ComReg and Noel Dempsey. They must have agreed to the error because Eircom deducted two amounts.

Key point. Nobody notified me of this and the 1892 charges kept showing up.

So the bill ran and ran until I was cut off for the whole of the Christmas period 2005. I am phone phobic (head injury) and did try to stress how important the phone and particularly the internet was to me particularly as I was on my own for most of the Christmas period.

I wrote letters, articles and eventually just before the sale to Babcock and Brown was confirmed I wrote to buyers in Australia about people with disabilities and the negligent (in my case) approach to people with limited needs and potential if those that worked for Eircom were open to learning about people.......and interaction with a mindset of adding to the work of the Neurologists etc and those with ABI. Do we realise that for every one person in a car accident, there may be three with head injuries......The internet provides a route to the future of these people?

I have been seeking from Social Services support via a PA. If this had been provided I would not have encountered my Eircom problems, lost my credit card rating and credit card facility, lost my daily practice for nearly a month on the computer to assist me with my brain injury difficulties.

Govt. pledge this is the year for disabilities. The state body National Disabilities Authority, Clyde Road, Dublin 4, have come up with this easy style report on how these public authorities ought to deal with learning difficulties but I ask why can someone not solve my problem. Where do people like me find the so-called 'Assessment of Needs' proposed by Mary Harney.

As I read it. I paid the Broadband, I am willing to pay the min. charges for my account but I don't understand why I must pay for the error of Eircom that saw me charged twice for my web service!!!!!

Con. Ask me any question you want. I have ended up with all kinds of problems that affect Bank dealings, credit card dealings, phone bills......

'Is there something rotton in the state of Denmark' my gut intutive sense says yes..........and thanks to Indymedia I manage to read articles that flip both sides of the coin.

Michelle Clarke.

Gandhi 'You have to be the change you want to see in the world'

also

'I live as if I am going to die tomorrow but I learn as if I am going to learn for the rest of my life'.................

by con Tue Aug 22, 2006 20:00

Michelle
take your head out of the clouds.We are all responsible for ourselves. pay up and shut up moaning get on with your life.
You seem very alert for someone with a brain injury. By any chance could someone else be running up the bill .
You should check the numbers and see who answers and then decide if someone could be using your number.
con

by Michelle Clarke Thu Aug 24, 2006 01:06

Con......

First I don't have numeracy.

BBC have come to the fore about just this ignorance and prevention, if possible, of dementia, assistance to those who have survived brain trauma etc.

You represent part of that ignorance 'about the brain'.....the ignorance that ensures that Ireland is so far behind other countries in Europe regarding mental health and ABI.

We are the 2nd lowest benefactors to neurology.......yet between the crime in the city and the number of car accidents we ought to be embracing the immense complications with neurological problems.

10 years ago .... people with the injuries I sustained just died. Even today.......how many 'bangs to the head' do we hear about ....... so many deaths too. Many causes by family taunts, by Gardai alleged attacks in stations. Think of Brian Rossiter, age 14, for example.

Have you ever been to the the excellent run units in Beaumont, National Rehabilitation Hospital. Staff are needed. Expertise is needed.

Clouds - yes........but maybe you ought to check out Professor Fitzpatrick's new book - I think he is from Trinity and see the quagmire of the brain or else choose the BBC site on memory.

At least somebody grasped the issue. I have been charged fort Broadband and dial up.......It is not trying to escape paying the bill. This is about being treated as a non person bt a formerly owned State Company that has provided major profits for an elitist group of people.

Con......What a pity, you pick on the person as distince from those contrived corporates.........Is Ireland a Police State!!! What about corruption!!!!

Michelle

by con Sat Aug 26, 2006 19:59

michelle
you talk of brain injury actually you sound obsessed.
I recommend you involve your family if you have any ?
You need help ,stop thinking about yourself and help others less fortunate.I dont know what age you are maybe if you found a boyfriend it would keep your mind occupied.
Con

by mary Tue Aug 29, 2006 00:10

Michelle
My heart goes out to you. I hope you get things sorted out.Have you a family to turn to or at least good friends.Mind yourself and your health I hope things work out for you pet. Keep in touch .
Love Mary.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Ethics Tue Aug 29, 2006 21:49

Mary, this is possibly the last time I will vent my experienies of trying to cope as a person with mental health problems and acquired brain injury on Indymedia. Far from self obsessed, I thought that given an ability to write, that I could at least report on those affected by 'neurological and mental health issues'. Both these are so underfunded and neglected and once your 'mind' is affected, communication is way behind that of others.

Interestingly, I will now devote my time to those academics in the US and UK who are more educated and professional than their Irish counterparts, who are still infected by the fear of mental ilness. That illness that saw people locked into institutions for life or those who took their own lives. In fact, it is not even 100 years since Brigid Cleary was burnt to death for being with 'the fairies'.......act contrived by husband and neighbours.

Again, the self-possessed who only has the now, nothing backwards or any vision forward only a gut reaction to keep writing to persude people to slow down, listen and become true inventors of change.

Michelle
Gandhi
You have to be the change you want to see in the world.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice Tue Sep 12, 2006 21:10

Babcock and Brown are in the hot seat and Eircom has shed a group of well remunerated employees. However, Pat Kenny show a.m. proved interesting listening.

This time Eircom provide a service of locating at request numbers worldwide.....But do people know what happens when a number is not available? Worth looking into, I would think.

I still face a bill that I have been 3 years trying to sort out.

Corporatism and lack of regulation. It is up to the individual to watch out..........Corporate Governance - Transparency Ireland .... Why can such practices be allowed.......

Michelle

by Jack Russell - Social Justice Sat Sep 16, 2006 20:01

Te select few really managed to cash in. Interesting to see how Babcok and Brown will proceed. Will they asset strip?

Aer Lingus and Privatisation

What lessons have Govt. learnt?

One, decision is to place a minimum amount of Euros 10,000 on those willling to purchase shares.

Is this equitable?

Perhaps, Arab Airlines might be a serious contender.

Rumour has it that they bought out a former subsidary.

Has anybody a view here?

Quotation:

Capitalism
'Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedess of things for the greatest good of everyone
John Maynard Keynes 1883-1946.
British economist, influential pioneer of macroeconomics. He favoured govt. spending as a cure for rising unemployment.

by evin T. Walsh - Social Justice and Ethics Sun Sep 17, 2006 20:44

Could the major player be say Kuwait Airlines?

by seedot Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:17

Who did Dermot Mannion used to work for?

Who does Dermot mannion work for now.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice Wed Sep 20, 2006 23:54

Very interesting.

Today, was a surprise for the Unions!!! Shannon had the crucible of power that made others sit down and discuss the privatisation....

Don't know the outcome yet.

Again I wonder about possible investors.....What about Kuwait Airlines?

by Michelle Clarke - Social inclusion and Justice Fri Jan 05, 2007 23:11

Con

2007 and welcome ........

Con, you replied to my 'frustrations with Eircom and broadband service' on several occasions.

You felt I was 'self obsessed' and your comments showed little compassion or genuine understanding.

Thankfully Coilte and Mary gave the hope to persist with the matter.

I wrote to Babcock and Brown when they assumed control of Eircom --- no response, it goes without saying. I wrote to Noel Dempsey Minister for Communications, and many others, including Indymedia.

Yesterday, I asked someone to phone Eircom on my behalf. My bill is now over 2,000 euros, and inspite of requests a long time ago, broadband service was still supplied i.e charged for but no modem was ever provided.

I notified Eircom to cancel charge at time I joined up successfully with NTL.......they failed to adhere to my request.

Now I can report the importance of persistance when you feel something is not quite equitable.

With 2007 here and the query still in obeyance I asked a close friend if they would by phone try to sort out the matter. He spoke to a woman in Credit Control yesterday who acknowledged that I had been overcharged since 2004 and that they had received correspondence fro me.

My partner mentioned the disabilities that I have but it appears that there is no protocol as such defined in Eircom.........This being an election year would suggest that this matter be serious considered....

The outcome is: They owe me euros 1,450 and the Lady who spoke to my friend on the phone was very apologetic and said - nothing was passed on to her in relation to this matter. She asked my friend Kevin to give her apologies to me. This Lady had the manners and etiquette to remain on the phone for an hour and ten minutes. During the conversation on the phone, she finally looked up the correspondence I had written since 2004. The woman was upset that my correspondence was shelved and not investigated. Her words were 'off the record' people are not doing their job here. People are not showing respect and are not giving time to people with disabilities.

Now I owe 450 euros and this morning I was legally told that Eircom may owe me in the region of euros5,000 plus for the endless days weeks and months of distress and worry.

You see Con, never pre-judge too quickly. There is an old saying 'Never look down on anyone, unless you are helping them up' Jesse Jackson, US activist.

I feel good today. I feel more positive now about myself that I have proven many people wrong and that honestly includes some members of my family. I must have taken my persistance from my Grandfather, a famous Irish Judge, during the War of Independence. You see Con, I was not obsessed but maybe for the new year starting, you could change your obsession of ridicule of people.

Michelle

by Jack Russell - Social Justice and Ethics Sun Feb 18, 2007 20:30

Noticed a good comment in one of the newspapers yesterday.

Eircom, formerly Telecom Eireann, was privatised and shareholders fell in between two groups - those who lost money in the purchase of shares and those who struck with it to the end buy out by Australian company Babcock and Brown and who made lots of money......

What has changed regarding Ireland and privatisations!!! There is a trend....Aer Lingus lies iin abeyance......

Now with Babcock and Brown at the helm, people are expecting results and outcomes but they are finding out issues that were not quite so transparent.

There are problems with bundling and broadband supply.....

Meantime, consumers are mightly unhappy because the Competition carrot has failed to produce lower prices, better service, bundling supplies for other operators.

This is serious and yet nobody grasps. International companies will not continue to come to Ireland even if corporation tax is low, if broadband supply is not an absolute given. We need to awaken ourselves to real competition.

Whoever wrote the point that Eircom is back to a Monopoly mindset. is right. Constantly the barrage of complaints are in the papers, on the radio, even on Questions and Answers.

It is said that firms like Babcock and Brown are asset strippers. If this is so I would ask a member of their Disabilities Sales Marketing team to wake up and interact before the start selling off the property asset base to compensate for pure mismanagement.

Last time, I got someone to phone about my now over 2,000 euro broadband issue, the person in Limerick, or was it Drogheda, agreed that I owed nothing but yet nothing has been confirmed in writing.

Has anyone out there something to add to this?

Michelle Clarke
Quotation
'You have to be the change you want to see in the world'

by Kevin T. Walsh - Social Justice and Ethics Tue Feb 20, 2007 19:58

Michelle

Tried to get email addresses for members of Eircom Board but no luck.

A list of names exists. You need this raised at board level. Since February 2004 and outstanding amount is far too long too wait for Marketing to react......This is not good policy. It would affect my decision to buy shares in Eircom......

Kevin T. Walsh

by From Irish Examiner Fri Feb 23, 2007 09:27

23 February 2007

Babcock profits climb by 78% [like your phone / mobile / broadband bill]

AUSTRALIAN investment and advisory firm Babcock & Brown beat forecasts with a 78% rise in second-half profit but flagged slower earnings growth in 2007, sending its shares down 5%.

Eircom owner Babcock, which buys infrastructure and real estate assets and bundles them into funds to earn management fees, saw its funds under management more than double to A$44 billion (€26.7 billion) during the year.

It also expanded its debt facilities by A$1bn (€600 million) earlier this month, signalling a healthy investment pipeline.

Phil Green, Babcock & Brown chief executive, said the company was targeting earnings per share growth of at least 20% in 2007, but that was well short of the 58% recorded in 2006.

Babcock, which manages an investment fund that took control of Eircom last year, earned A$243.8m (€146.5m) in second-half net profit, compared with A$137m (€82m) a year ago.

Analysts said a lower corporate tax rate of 4.4% helped boost profit, a factor which might not be sustained in the current year.

Babcock increased staff by 59% to 1,019, and Green said staff growth in 2007 would outpace the earnings per share growth rate.

Buoyant equity markets across the globe have helped investment banks and other companies leveraged to stock markets but there are concerns about how long the good times would last.

“Am I confident that we can continue to achieve 20% growth of the higher base we have as I was a year ago? I am probably not quite as confident,” Green said. He said a significant market correction was more likely in early 2008 or late 2007, than in the next six months.

Babcock shares fell as much as 5.3% to A$26.74 but later recovered but was still down 2% at A$27.68.

For the full year, Babcock reported a net profit of A$406.8m (€244.5m) for the fiscal year ended December, from A$251.6m (€151.2m) a year earlier.

Babcock had flagged a 45% rise in full-year profit at the time of its half-year earnings in August.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Inclusion and understanding Wed Feb 28, 2007 18:54

Only today did I locate this answer (it is the human factor of the person with ABI who forgets yesterday....).

As I thought, your summary of Babcock and Brown, who took over Eircom, are shrewd financial operators.

I still stand with no clarification from Eircom apart from the odd promise of a day following email.

My bill is rising and the chaos has now resulted in my house insurance being unpaid for a year........I will say no more because somewhere in the numerous postings going back to 2004, there is a narrative.......that is no doubt similar to others.

Shame on Management at Eircom.

Quote
Procrastination is the thief of time Unknown....................

Who will pay? The customer no doubt.....

by Michelle Clarke - Social Inclusion and Justice Thu Mar 29, 2007 20:38

Broadband again in the news.......Urban okay but remote areas that is another question.

Ireland is supposed to be moving towards the 'Knowledge Economy' - surely we have heard enough about this from Minister for Communications......

2004 this problemsstarted. Now we are in 2007 and still I write and get people to phone to resolve the matter of a bill to Eircom.

Is it Limerick, Cork, Dublin, India, conference call scenario that resolves complaints.......Whoever it is, Babcock and Brown sure have inherited a 'bureacratic nightmare' in relation the ability of people in Eircom, Com Reg, Politicians, Media, that involves cutomers who are dissatisfied and out of pocket from an inept service. ComReg the regulator is without teeth....also.

6 p.m. news and at last there is a face.....a Mr. John Dunne, Chief Executive, in defence of Broadband service.

Yes, with all the talk of a Knowledge economy, Ireland ranks towards the bottom of the European list of countries and rightly today a member of the European Commission reprimanded Ireland for portraying the concept that we are a Knowledge Economy.

Urban coverages is one point but remote areas and no coverage in broadband puts Ireland down the league. No good as the Celtic Tiger goes pussy cat......

Babcok and Brown have inherited a 'catch up situation' with no real investment.

Is this good enough!

Tip: Value the Customer. Mr. Duffy's comment about the no competition factor is not good enough........

Please resolved my account.

To Eircom. Broadband service has been cancelled in favour of NTL yet I am still charged. The rest of the detail is contained within the articles and in the myriad of departments that accept my emails and this includes ComReg since 2004..............................

Eircom - if you feel the need to be competitive, try getting consumer friendly with your customer base.......

Michelle Clarke

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Ethics Tue Apr 10, 2007 20:28

Just have a look at the detailed websites.

Ask the question where are the people that communicate the message and provide a service to the public? to their so called customer base!

Then ask about Communications and its importance to people with Disabilities, those who look to the website that covers disabilities. Who is paid vast sums for these websites that are grossly inaccurate in what they purport to do (based on my experience).

I recently in my neuro-psychiatric limited world listened to the National Consumer Council member speaking about the new consumer complaint service starting shortly. This one is to have TEETH!!!

I welcome a new service for the rights of the consumer......because I can pledge I have been caused much hardship since I first sought broadband offered by Eircom in 2004.......the cost has been high emotionally, mentally and I have resorted to asking someone to phone services on my behalf.....because as I have stated all along I am phone phobic probably due to the sight, hearing, memory impairments I sustained in the riding accident all those years ago.

Surely I am not the only person experiencing such problems from the broadband service provided by Eircom, ComReg.......even Government fail.

Do people not grasp the importance of broadband and the computer to people who sustain brain injury.......it is the vital tool that enables us transpart part of a day with others effectively; to nurture pre-accident memories by surfing the net, and maybe just maybe finding some hidden talent in the remaining part of the brain that works....it could be writing, it could be art. You might not remember but someone can prompt you to look the file up on the computer........

Where is the corporate and ethical responsibility being extended to people. Remember older people will experience, while not near the extent of a person with brain injury, sufficient memory deficits, to benefit from tips, skills and memory techniques learnt by people with ABI.......

Shareholders ought to take note next time considering buying shares in companies that have customers needs as core to their existence and future.

Last letter. Michelle Clarke - disappointed in window dressing efforts of some of the corporates.........(Letter August 16th 2006 best outlines the problem).

One other point. The Samaritans......their services are free and I know because I have needed them via internet................These support groups are like me a customer to Eircom.......

by Watcher Tue Apr 10, 2007 20:54

Con is obviously one of the new capitalists that was conned into buying shares when Eircom was privatised and having seen his money handed over to the likes of O'Brien and O'Reilly he vents his bitterness on those who speak up about the extortionate charges being levied by the privatised Eircom. They are fleecing ordinary people.

Con's demonstartion of bad manners and name calling are the hallmark of our new Lager lout greed merchants. Charlie McCreevey's off springs.

by Michelle Clarke - Social Justice and Inclusion Wed May 16, 2007 18:09

Watcher
Just found your comment about Con and lager louts changed over to shareholders......objective profit!!!

Still my Eircom situation is in abeyance but I believe a letter has been sent by post to me.

Kevin gave me the latest Business and Finance publication of the Top 1000 companies in Ireland i.e. State of Ireland Inc. www.businessandfinance.ie.

To my surprise, the article Cops of the Market - Fearghal O'Connor;

The article outlines the Regulatory Bodies charged with freeing up Ireland's key sectors or do they tie them up with Red Tape.

Eircom to Babcock and Brown - Ministers of Communications, Regulatory Bodies, a person with multiple disabilities including acquired brain injury (the need of broadband and the necessity of not using phone due to memory incursions).

I have been writing since 2004 ........ To anyone interested in thbe future of Corporate State - sureley the foregoing articles provide the research that backs up the article.

Profit v. people: How shortsighted these geniuses are!!!

Michelle Clrke

I would also recommend strong the article by Constantin Gurdgiev = An Economy in decay.

'it may reveal serious cracks in the economy'

Quotations - Memory
It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards
Lewis Carroll, Mathematician. Writer of Alice in Wonderland

by Jack Russell - Social Justice and Ethics Fri May 18, 2007 12:28

Integration between companies and the numerous bodies who represent people with disabilities.

What about the National Disabilities Ireland the statutory body established by the Government.........Booklets exist and policies are outlined.

Yet one body cannot connect to another but they can consistently write up policies and procedures.....

When does some one form connections.

Well done to Business and Finance article on regulation

by Michelle Clarke - Social Inclusion and Ethics Wed May 30, 2007 18:16

Private Equity Group and Babcock and Brown

Eircom to shed staff over a three year period.

This is part of the Restructuring Package......

This no doubt includes the sale of the Eircom significant landbank of prime property.

I still await at least an apology (as a person with Acquired Brain Injury etc) for the consternation wreaked in my personal life since 2004 and their broadband service. The impact of charges caused my bank account to be closed and mayhem for me.

Quotation from The Little Book of Rebels
Corporatism - John Ralson Saul (b. 1947) Canadian Novelist, essayist and commentator
'Our civilisation is locked in the grip of an ideology - corporatism. An ideology that denies and undermines the legitimacy of individuals as the citizen in a democracy.

The particular imbalance of this ideology leads to a worship of self interest and a denial of the public good. The practical effects on the individual are passivity and conformism in the areas that matter, and non conformism in the areas that don't'

Awareness........and people.....let us never lose sight!!!!

by Jack Russell - Social Justice and Ethics Sat Jun 16, 2007 20:44

I once again viewed the Eircom site i.e. by web and to my absolute surprise I note the Disabilities page and obligations

but also the section for the vulnerable people....

I pass this on......in the hope that other's gain the service from Eircom.

Jack Russell - Assistance dog to person with disabilities......

Quotation chosen for this last input

Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) US essayist, poet and naturalist
'Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves'

Eircom take example your competitors 02 - the Ability Awards .... seek the talents.

My outlet is the net and email to recovery from brain injury and depression - think about the opportunities that exist !!!!!

by The Dove - Mergers and Acquisitions. Ireland's assets Thu Jul 02, 2009 16:43

Today's Independent has a most enlightening article under the heading eThursday.

The heading reads 'We need to connect Ireland with High Speed fibre and we need to do it fast'.

Add to this that Eircom is yet again up for sale and was suspended from the stock exchange for two days last week... to let the 'dawn raid' advance. Recollection brought me back to articles submitted on Indymedia in 2006. Clearly it is apparent that people have a view about how this company was privatised and managed.

Now that it is for sale and it looks as if the major player will be a Singaporean company, it is time for the people in Ireland to focus on what we want and how to ensure that we elevate ourselves from a manufacturing platform base to the knowledge economy, which is perfectly within the sights of the Island of Ireland.

The Article written by John Kennedy ought to inspire us. Excuse my ignorance but I had never heard of the Magnet CEO Mark Kellet let alone comprehending the concept of deploying fibre networks across Ireland and it being a national imperative. So often, it is the obvious that we fail to see. The secret of course, is to look to our mistakes as portals of discovery......

I suggest reading the article but will just give a brief synopsis so that people who are looking at Eircom realise what we may be losing or gaining. We need to remember that shares rise and fall. We also know that money to purchase shares should be bookies money for this reason. Eircom is for sale. The share price is fluid...we can make money or lose money, as is evidenced over the past decade, when it was de-nationalised.

Broadband....is where the future lies. We need to speed it up, and ensure that it can be used in every nook and cranny of the Island of Ireland. This equates to what the Libraries and Books meant to Ireland in the last century...it opened up the avenue of education to all people. Broadband now ensures that people have the option to engage in the peoples press, they have a say at every level of the society they are part of.

Ireland and its connection to the 21st century.

Mr. Kennedy introduces a Euro30 m project known as 'Project Kelvin' that is capable of connecting Irish towns with some 24,000 km of 'transatlantic high-speed fibre'. Apparently Magnet currently supplies 50Mbps broadband from its fibre assets, and has unbundles as many as 40 local exchanges around Ireland. They are looking to supply some 650,000 homes and businesses........This is surely of great significance in the sale of Eircom.....Can anyway out there see a linkage and therefore the massive potential.

The article goes on to say that last week Communications Minister Eamon Ryan TD outlined his framework document - 'Next Generation Broadband; Gateway to a knowledge Ireland.....this is about link up

The issue with Eircom needs further consideration because the assets that it is comprised of are as a direct result of the Big R and the Banks and NAMA vulnerable to being sold at a reduced value. Supply and Demand governs Economics but we must also realise that there are component factors like interest rates, property asset values, market component potential or down grade that need to be examined also.

Mergers and Acquisitions are interesting combinations. Surely there is scope for our Knowledge Economy and if the former nationalised Eircom is to be taken over, we the people regard it to be at a market price that is equitable.

This company is well connected from Ireland to the US to Canada, Mr. Kellett's company has the largest fibre network in Ireland. We need to know about this company, its potential, the link to speedy broadband and most importantly what are the effects of what is already done.

The Independent provide a web address as follows: www.digital21.ie

Let us become that Knowledge Economy, we ought to hold our head up high when we meet the European Investment Bankers, the OECD heads and of course the IMF people. Ireland is an Island surrounded by water and has a close neighbour the US.