Eircom

I have a great affection for this country. How gracious indeed. No one can say that I'm not a generous Englishman abroad...and this despite the frequent reminders of past English tyranny. Yes I do love this green jewel; this merry land of laughter. The people here are friendly, relaxed, and have a great sense of camaraderie. They play sports, drink beer and experience puberty and old age; just the same as their English friends. Remarkable.

He sniffs absentmindedly and reaches for the sherry.

However. I have a growing feeling that Ireland’s economic prosperity is leading to an atmospheric change amongst those generous men and women of Eire (this whilst the storms from Galway rage outside). Increasingly I get the impression that the results of embracing the current economic program has inevitably led to a situation where every fucker is out to screw the other. It’s no wonder this happens when several prominent Irish politicians including the Taoisheach have been accused of profiting from their political careers. I know this is nothing new, certainly there are many corrupt English MP's to choose from, but I suppose I had hoped that Ireland which is politically at least, a relatively new country might retain it’s memory of English self-interest and corruption and make changes for the amelioration of it’s people, not the corrupt and greedy.

This brings me onto my rant about Eircom. Broadband in Ireland is a joke. Most of us living in Dublin have a handful of ISPs to choose from; all of whom are trying to cash in on the market before it is regulated properly. Service is: poor, costly, and connection is limited - often you are paying for the equivalent of dial-up. This, in the capital city! The rest of Ireland is in a worse state. Why? The answer is Eircom. Previously a state owned company, it has been able to monopolise the telecoms market, reaping huge profits from overcharged customers who are paying for an inferior product. Comreg are meant to police the telecoms industry but merely act as a tool for legitimising Eircom’s abuse of its customers.

So whilst we continue to use mediocre internet connections at rip off prices, a bunch of wealthy Irish businessman sit in the Eircom boardroom and diddle swans. The greedy fuckers.

Coming soon. Michael O'Leary- greedy tosser