A WIDOW with hearing issues has told how RTE’s subtitles glitch had left her “lonely and isolated” and insisted: “We were abandoned.”
Barbara Clayton, 63, blasted Montrose chiefs for taking three months to address the problem.
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The Irish Sun shone a spotlight on the captioning crisis, reporting how deaf OAPs Theresa, 83, and Eamonn Collins, 78, are among those struggling to keep up with their favourite shows.
And RTE sign language news presenter Joanne Chester spoke out in this paper last weekend to join the push to resolve the issue.
Barbara told The Irish Sun: “It only seems to be when you [the Irish Sun] took up the issue that there is some movement. The subtitles seem to be finally coming back.
“But I have to say the quality and consistency of the subtitling is still poor.
“In particular, the images are not matching the words. It is really difficult to follow what is going on. The speed and accuracy is quite poor.”
RTE admitted it became aware in November that some Virgin users “were having difficulty viewing subtitles for live RTE programmes”. Virgin insists it is an RTE issue.
Following our coverage over the glitch, RTE now say they are “pleased to report that this issue has been resolved”.
Limerick woman Barbara emailed both Virgin and RTE in a bid to fix the glitch which she said left her “out of touch” during the winter.
She added: “RTE needs to get the finger out and improve things for the hard of hearing community.”
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RTE told Barbara in an email on November 6 that a system reboot or new box might help, which turned out to be false.
Barbara added: “There hasn’t been any proper explanation as to why this has taken so long, three months, to resolve.
“There has been no notice from RTE about the issue, an apology even on the bottom of the screen. This happened during the whole of Christmas, when people are home alone.”
Slamming broadcast bosses like Kevin Bakhurst over the glitch, Barbara continued: “I feel like they are ignoring people with hearing difficulties. I think people with hearing issues should not have to pay for a substandard service.
“I mean if I buy a packet of biscuits, and they are soggy or the wrapper isn’t sealed, they give me a full refund. What are RTE doing for me?
‘Paid my TV licence’
“I’ve paid my TV licence, my €160, again. As I have done for over 30 years living here.
“I really shouldn’t be paying that for a substandard service. I’m on a widow’s pension. Why should I be left like this, with a substandard service?”
Barbara also took aim at the lack of communication from broadcast bosses following the glitch.
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She said: “We were all left sitting looking at our blank TVs. No announcements. We were just left, abandoned really. It was a national problem, but there was no national announcement.
Barbara added: “We were left in limbo. This to me is not good enough.”
