Mr. Colin Fee:

Many of the affinity schemes, depending on who organised it, would run from different times. They all would have ended at various times over the course of this year. People on affinity schemes have seen perhaps a three times increase in their bill.

The TBESS only runs from September until February, at the moment. On the effect of it, to keep the maths simple, let us say a bill was €10,000. If a person on a scheme comes off it and the bill rises to, say, €30,000, there is a €20,000 increase when, let us say, September this year is compared with September last year. There is a €20,000 increase. The TBESS is 40% of that €20,000, which is €8,000. Therefore, we still have €12,000 of an increase, which is unsustainable. The scheme is welcome. It is grand and it is better than nothing.