Government “out of touch” says Boylan as 320,000 people in energy debt

Just under 320,000 households were in energy debt as of December, according to new figures released by the CRU.

The figure, which is well above the previous record of 307,862 is the highest figure ever recorded by the CRU.

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan has criticsed the fact that the government still refuses to introduce energy credits or supports while figures “continue to get worse with every report.”

Boylan, the Sinn Féin MEP for Dublin has said the government are “out-of-touch” with the harsh reality facing many people when it comes to paying their energy bills.

The figures show that not only has the number of people in arrears for both gas and electricity increased, but also the amount of time, and money that people are in their arrears for.

“The government keeps saying energy credits help too many people who are better off. The truth is, they’ve had five years to design a system that targets those who really need support and they’ve done nothing,” Boylan said.

The Sinn Féin MEP added that a recent meeting with various charity groups underlined how serious this issue was for people.

“We heard from organisations recently about the real anxiety facing families around the cost of energy, with households living in fear of the next bill dropping through the letterbox.

“It used to be that these concerns were at their worst at certain times of the year, but we’re now seeing massive numbers of people in energy poverty year round.

Boylan stated “what’s worse is that these figures don’t show us thousands more households who are just barely scraping by to avoid arrears, some by facing that terrible decision between turning on their heat, or putting food on the table.”

“People are suffering, and both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to step up and do something to ease the pressure on these workers and families.”