Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to bring up this important issue this afternoon.

I am very concerned at the high cost of the standing charges on Eircom bills, and bills from other service providers, being charged to senior citizens. This needs to be addressed urgently by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. A significant number of people, particularly elderly people, have contacted me in the past couple of months about their telephone bills. Some are paying up to €60 and €70 for two months but only €5 of that is for calls. The rest is the Eircom package charge, service charges and value added tax, VAT. In one bill I received, the customer's Eircom package charge was €44.42, the service charge was €4.58, calls cost €4.73 and VAT was €12.35 bringing the total to €69.55. These are very high bills. They do not represent good value for many senior citizens who struggle to pay them but are afraid to cancel their accounts.

A landline is invaluable for most senior citizens, many of whom do not have enough confidence to use a mobile telephone or are not near a mobile telephone network.

In addition, many people still need their landlines because they are of great importance for their monitored pendant alarms. When senior citizens contact me, I encourage them to retain their landlines so that they can use these devices. For many elderly people, the pendant alarm is the only lifeline that enables them to contact emergency services. I urge Eircom and other telephone companies to bring out a specially designed package for senior citizens which is more affordable and better suited to their needs.

Many Opposition Deputies have called for the reinstatement of the telephone allowance. I do not believe this is the answer. There is no simple answer. Telephone companies have been lining their pockets for many years. They are paid big bonuses and big cheques at the end of the year. It is all about profit for them.

Some €113 million was spent on the telephone allowance in 2012, but that figure had been reduced to €48 million last year. We are not in a position to go back to paying these extravagant sums to these companies, which make huge profits. Most of the people of this country are on their networks. When the telephone allowance was withdrawn last year, the current Tánaiste told us that Eircom was providing a special TalkTime package for vulnerable customers who were having difficulties paying their bills. I find it hard to meet many people who even know about this package. I would be interested to know how many people, if any, are availing of it. Are those who are on this package making savings? I have not spoken to anyone who is on this package. The people I speak to do not know anything about it. When they make inquiries with Eircom, they are told they have to wait until their current package ends before any new agreement can be reached. I do not see any reduction in any of their bills. Many vulnerable elderly people throughout the country are facing this serious issue. I ask the Minister to intervene in this regard.

See this speech in context