Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
171. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department can calculate the cost of providing an amnesty or write off to the 320,000 people in arrears on their energy bills. [23166/26]
View answerThe Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) regularly publishes market monitoring data, including the estimated annual bills for households; the number of households in payment arrears on their energy bills; the number of disconnections; and the number of customers switching energy supplier. Arrears data is generally published by the CRU on a monthly basis. As arrears data operates with a two-month time lag due to the way suppliers report these figures to the CRU and the need to validate the data, the latest published arrears figures are for December 2025.
The data shows that that the average value of arrears in December 2025 stood at €466.03 for domestic electricity customers, and €192.25 for domestic gas customers. The National Energy Affordability Taskforce Interim Report was published in November 2025. The Report found that as of June 2025, the level of debt for domestic customers was €140 million in electricity and €37 million for gas.
The CRU is currently reviewing its market monitoring framework through which this data is collected and reported upon. The review aims to provide more granular information to gain a better understanding of the numbers of customers who may be in more distress and in need of support with their debt.
The Deputy may wish to engage directly with the CRU in relation to the matters raised. The CRU provides a dedicated email address, oireachtas@cru.ie, for Oireachtas members which enables them to raise questions on general energy regulatory matters.
