Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

While I do not know the exact number - I am not sure whether the Government knows either and if it does not, it should - there are tens of thousands of people on district heating and communal heating systems in multi-unit apartment complexes. They pay three, four and five times the rate of other providers. They have no right to switch to another provider. They are not regulated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Even people who have not turned on the heat received bills for approximately €400 a month for July and August. I have a set of bills in front of me. They go from 0.8 cent per kilowatt hour to 21 cent, 31 cent, 49 cent and 59 cent per kilowatt hour since January. Even if people do not turn on their heat, they can pay €2, €3 and up to €6 a day in non-usage charges. What will the Government do to get this regulated to control the prices and allow these people to have the possibility of switching?

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