Mr. Dermot Nolan:

There was a perception among the companies, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and MABS that people would let a large debt build up and then jump supplier without paying the previous debt.

In Britain there is a stricter system, called debt blocking, whereby if one has a debt above a particular level one cannot switch. We had a lot of dialogue about 18 months ago with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and MABS, the companies and some of the consumer organisations. We thought that debt blocking, which is in place in the UK, was a little too harsh on consumers but we thought debt flagging was reasonable. Therefore, for a certain limit, €250 for residential customers and a greater amount for business, if a customer wishes to switch and has a debt above that level in the company to which they are switching a flag appears and the company has the right not to take them if it so wishes. Even where debt flags appear some companies take them and they arose in about 1% of cases in the past year. We thought it was a reasonably proportionate measure that ensured that people were not jumping, which the Society of St. Vincent de Paul assured us was a problem, leaving huge debts. Ultimately, if that debt has to be written off it will affect overall energy costs.