Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Nov 1999

Vol. 511 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Telecommunications Services.

Mr. Yates

I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important matter.

This House, the public and the reputation of Ireland stand seriously indicted as a result of what happened with our telecommunications services last Friday. I cannot emphasise enough how unprecedented the systems failure was and how inadequate Eircom handled this matter. Not only did we not receive a proper apology, but we did not receive a proper explanation on why the backup systems did not operate when the computer software failed or why there is no emergency procedure to allow a group of licensed telecommunications operators to work together.

The Minister for Public Enterprise, who is quick to be available for photo opportunities with shining new buses and for announcements about call centres, could not be found when this debacle occurred. It was left to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to issue a stern rebuke to Eircom. This issue relates to public policy. Just because we do not own shares in Eircom does not mean we can wash our hands of political responsibility and accountability.

What infrastructural investment is required to ensure this cock-up does not happen again? The central spine of industrial policy is not to get engineering or food manufacturing jobs but to get information technology. The Minister has paraded around the world discussing e-commerce. E-commerce, faxes, telephones, e-mails and the Internet cannot function if we have systems failure. If there is any question about the reliability of our telecommunications infrastructure, Ireland's reputation for the location of call centres will be put in jeopardy. IDA Ireland was the first to express its deep alarm at the consequences of this failure from an international perspective.

I ask the Minister to include a provision in the new legislation relating to the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation to deal with customer complaints and compensation. Eircom has not spoken about its obligations to people whose reservation systems collapsed at peak hours of business on Friday afternoon, the busiest day of the week. Their losses are verifiable and they must be compensated.

A procedure must be put in place so that Esat, Ocean, Eircell and all licensed operators can work together to provide adequate backup so that this problem does not arise again. A public information system should be established so that people know there is a systems failure and a proper system of compensation must be put in place. Lessons about computerised technology and fibre optic cable must be learned from this debacle. We cannot afford this type of systems failure if we want our Celtic tiger economy to move forward.

This was a black Friday for Eircom. It has still not accounted properly for what happened, apologised adequately to the public or made any attempt to compensate those who recorded losses. I look forward to the Minister's reply because we must ensure this debacle, shambles and disgrace does not happen again.

Mr. O'Shea

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leat féin agus leis an Ceann Comhairle as ucht seans a thabhairt dom labhairt faoin ábhar tábhachtach seo.

The collapse of a major part of the Eircom telephone system in Dublin last Friday at the same time as the Eircom mobile network was one of the most serious technical failures this country has experienced for many years. Large parts of the city were effectively cut off from the outside world. Over 80,000 land lines, serving key business areas of the city, went down, leaving homes and offices not just without voice telephony but also without fax and e-mail communications. Most worrying of all was that 999 emergency calls were also unavailable for large parts of the afternoon.

If a land line is out of order, people will normally revert to a mobile telephone until it is repaired. However, the fact that people had no land line or mobile facilities was a worrying experience and a serious cause of concern for commercial enterprises which were unable to conduct their business in the crucial period before the weekend. The consequences for business were particularly severe. No one can accurately put a figure on the losses, but they could run into millions of pounds.

Many multinationals operating in Ireland use Friday afternoon to send sales figures and transaction details to their parent companies. Much of the business of banks and the International Financial Services Centre is conducted by telephone and e-mail. Customers abroad who tried to contact telesales offices based in Ireland could not get through. IDA Ireland, an organisation not given to exaggeration or rhetoric, stated that under no circumstances should there be a major collapse.

This is a serious matter in terms of reliability for companies and it happened without warning. Eircom has a lot of questions to answer. This matter should also be raised with the Government. We do not know what damage has been done to Ireland's standing abroad. Companies which may have been considering coming to Ireland were put off by the inexplicable collapse of our telecommunications system in the capital city.

People also faced inconvenience and worry. Parents were unable to contact their children and people were unable to telephone doctors or order taxis. The collapse has made people worry about the possible consequences of the Y2K bug on our telecommunications systems. People are concerned that we might face a total communications blackout on 1 January. Assurances that this cannot happen will not assuage many people's worry. The same people who tell us it cannot happen also told us the collapse on Friday could not happen.

One of the most worrying aspects of Friday's event was that the 999 emergency calls were not available. We were lucky there were no major crimes or accidents during the collapse. What would have happened if there had been a major emergency and people could not contact the gardaí, the fire brigade and the ambulance service?

Eircom has not been sufficiently forthcoming in its account of why this collapse happened. It appears the problem arose when Eircom was carrying out maintenance in the Priory Park exchange. A software problem developed which caused the facility to collapse. Calls were rerouted to another exchange at Fitzwilliam Square but it also collapsed because of the pressure. This, in turn, put pressure on the facility at Crown Alley. It had a domino effect. We were probably lucky it did not extend further. It is unacceptable that we should have to face a telecommunications collapse like this. It is ironic that we should have experienced such a blackout when we were assured that privatisation would lead to even greater efficiency and better service for the consumer.

A number of questions arise which Eircom should answer. Why was the maintenance work being done at a time of such high usage? Why was it done in the middle of Friday afternoon and not during the night when demand would be less and the consequences of a shut-down less severe? Why were no adequate backup systems in place? What steps are being taken by Eircom to undo the potential damage to our image abroad? What steps are being taken to ensure that emergency 999 calls are always available? What steps are being taken to ensure that such a communications disaster does not happen again? I hope that if she has not already done so, the Minister will call in the chief executive of Eircom and demand answers to these questions.

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke)

I thank Deputy Yates and Deputy O'Shea for raising this matter. It is a matter of grave concern to the Government and to me that a significant part of the Dublin telecommunications network, particularly the 999/112 emergency service suffered a major interruption last Friday. I count the disruption to the emergency services as the most serious part of what happened. In any society, recourse to emergency numbers is absolutely standard and that emergency numbers were not available for a period in such a huge area is extremely worrying. I take Deputy O'Shea's point regarding the possible consequences, had a major accident occurred during the disruption.

The provision of telecommunications services has a major impact on economic development. We have been in touch with Eircom and we have received a preliminary outline from the company as to what happened. The breakdown of the fixed telecommunications network occurred because of a software fault in two major Dublin telephone exchanges, Priory Park and Merrion. The non-availability of these two exchanges had, apparently, a knock-on effect on a number of other city centre exchanges, most notably that in Crown Alley. The disruption to fixed line operations lasted from 2.15 p.m. until 5 p.m. – just a little short of three hours.

There was a separate incident in which the Eircel mobile telephone exchange in Dame Street became flooded. I understand there was disruption to the Eircel mobile services of varying degrees from 4 p.m. until 11.15 p.m. – more than seven hours. There was also a temporary interruption to services yesterday afternoon at the Blanchardstown exchange for about 40 minutes. I understand and believe that Eircom is treating these issues very seriously and is currently engaged in a full review of its network resilience and backup, with the help of its suppliers. The objective of the review is to ensure that the company can take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that such widespread disruption does not happen again. I have written to the chairman of Eircom seeking details of the steps which the company is taking to prevent a recurrence and he has agreed to come in and see me, I think, tomor row. I will consider what further steps are necessary when I have spoken to the chairman.

I have written to the Director of Telecommunications Regulation seeking her views on whether there are measures which she considers necessary to avoid a similar occurrence. The director has responded indicating that she shares my and the Government's view as to the seriousness of the events of last Friday and in her own capacity she has sought a report from Eircom which she hopes to get in the coming days.

I have been told that last Friday's difficulties have nothing to do with the Y2K issue. I have been told by the company that all critical systems have been fully assessed and tested and where necessary replaced by Y2K compliant equipment. In addition, the 999/112 emergency service has been the subject of extensive Y2K testing and extensive contingency planning. When I have got the report from the chairman I will consider what issues arise and how they can be best addressed.

Deputy Yates raised the issue of compensation for losses. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on this as it is a matter between Eircom and the company's subscribers. I regard the way Eircom has responded as totally inadequate. I would have expected the company to place full-page advertisements in newspapers on Sunday and Monday, given an explanation of what had happened and expressed deep regret. To allow such an incident to occur and not to give a full explanation to shareholders and the wider public is totally inadequate. When I meet the chairman and get his report and when the DTR receives her report we will stipulate that there must not be a recurrence of what happened last Friday. Apart from the very important economic implications, the fact that ordinary people could not ring 999 for a considerable period constitutes a serious crisis. I hope to hear a very full and public explanation from Eircom and an assurance that such an situation will not recur.