Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

When the moratorium on gas and electricity disconnections was announced for the winter, pay-as-you-go customers were excluded. There are 340,000 such electricity meters in the State and 117,000 such gas customers. If we exclude a certain crossover and perhaps some holiday homes, we are safe to say the households excluded from the moratorium probably comprise more than 500,000 people. This issue was highlighted in the Dáil and there was a subsequent furore, debate and controversy. Some concessions were forced as a result of this. The financial penalties for switching from pay-as-you-go to bill pay were removed. Some energy companies that previously had no hardship funds introduced hardship funds. However, there is still no moratorium despite the fact that the official start date of the moratorium, 1 December, is just two weeks away. What guarantee will the Tánaiste give to pay-as-you-go customers that they will not and cannot be disconnected this winter?

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