An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Jennifer Whitmore (SD), Wicklow

Tommy is an elderly gentleman in my constituency. He is in arrears on his electricity bills like 328,000 other people. He is currently really scared because despite being on the vulnerable customer register, and making lump sum payments to try to pay off the bill and get on top of it, he is still receiving letters from his supplier, Electric Ireland, telling him things like his account is now at a critical stage and it will consider his supply for disconnection. This is just not fair. When I rang Electric Ireland on his behalf, I was told to tell him it was fine and it would not disconnect him. He does not know that. The purpose of the letter is to scare him, and it is working. There is a problem with how these entities are engaging with vulnerable people.
On a broader point, there are so many people like Tommy who are not able to get their heads above water, and there needs to be a targeted energy support. These people will never recover from the bills we have seen over the past couple of years.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29