Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for coming in today. I ask him for his views on prepay meters. He is leaving much to the CRU. Many people on these prepay meters are actually paying a higher tariff for their electricity. They are also paying a higher standing charge. That seems extremely unfair because the provider is actually guaranteed payment whereas if someone had an ordinary meter, the provider is not guaranteed payment until it is actually paid. Has the Minister asked the CRU the justification for them having the right to charge a higher rate? One would think people with a prepay meter should actually get it at a discounted rate.

The Minister mentioned the extra money allocated to reduce public transport fares for students and commuters. That is great, but the policy is only as good as it works out in practice and there seems to be a big gap between the policy and the practice particularly in north Kildare. My home town has Maynooth University. I am inundated with students who are delighted with the reduced transport charge but they cannot get the buses. The buses are full or they are not turning up. Sometimes they are standing up and in the case of an accident they would be like human missiles. The buses are full. The policy is great, but more work needs to be done on delivery so that it works in practice. How does the transport plan work with the living with Covid a plan? Many drivers are not able to turn up to work because they have Covid. That is causing the cancellation of many bus services.