Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 12 Jun 2012

Vol. 768 No. 1

Unemployment Levels

Deputy John Deasy

We must examine the unemployment figures for the south east. The national employment rate is 14.8% and the corresponding figure for the south east is 19.7%. Let us call it 20%, which is 25% above the national average. To put it in perspective, the national unemployment rate in Ireland in 1989 was 18.7% and today, in the south east, it is 1% above the 1989 figure. In my constituency, Waterford, 15,000 people are unemployed. The figures are horrific and the latest Investing in Ireland report made the case that Ireland's position as location of choice for foreign direct investment has been consolidated and could yield 20,000 extra jobs over the next three years. Since the start of the year, we have seen a number of significant job announcements, including Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland in Westport, Abbott, Big Fish Games, Hewlett-Packard, PayPal in Dundalk, Eli Lilly and Apple in Cork, and Mylan and Cisco Systems in Galway. It is all good news but, in the south east, we are feeling a little left out of the loop and not just because of foreign direct investment this year. We are feeling isolated because the trend has been apparent for many years. A recent study of the national spatial strategy found as many as 82% of jobs created by overseas firms in the past six firms were centred around Dublin, Cork and Galway. The south east of the country is in a slide towards chronic long-term unemployment. Despite some infrastructural additions over the past ten years, the south east has become the regional poor man of Ireland. It is fair to say we are in a crisis situation.

I want to raise a matter I have come across over the years, the perception that Waterford city, in particular, does not attract foreign investors because of the perception of a reputation for militant unionisation. This could put off potential companies coming to the city. It has been raised with me by officials in State agencies like the IDA. I do not know if it is true but the perception exists and it is time the perception is addressed. If it is a factor in Waterford city not attracting a reasonable ratio of foreign direct investment in Ireland, it must be acknowledged. It has been raised with me too many times to ignore it any more.

This brings us to the response of the Government to the 20% unemployment rate in the south east. Following the loss of hundreds of jobs in TalkTalk in Waterford, the south-east unemployment action plan was launched in December 2011. At the time, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, said "compared to other regions the south east's industrial base has not developed strong clusters in specific sectors that can then help attract future investment. The multinational sector is proportionately smaller than in other regions". Forfás produced a report on the south east but the problem is that Forfás has produced reports like it for every region in the country, including locations I listed earlier that have received the bulk of foreign direct investment in this country over the past ten or 15 years. There would not be much difference if one took the south-east action plan and compared it to an action plan for somewhere else. There is a massive difference in the south east and the gap is widening.

What further action does the Government intend to take regarding the 20% unemployment rate in the south east? Does he agree that, as far as the regions are concerned, we have a major unemployment crisis in the south east? The figures speak for themselves.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank Deputy Deasy for raising this issue and I understand his concern. The figures show the south east with the highest rate of unemployment in the country at 19.7%. That was a feature even in the good times. It was an area with high unemployment even while there was strong performance in the rest of the country. Unemployment blackspots, which disappeared in many parts of the country, persisted in Waterford. That was the background to my decision last December, following the closure of Talk Talk, to set up a south-east action plan. It is in recognition of the structural problems Deputy Deasy recognises. There is a mixture of problems with education and physical infrastructure, many of which have been debated. Other structural problems include those spelled out by Deputy Deasy. New industry has not taken hold a strongly in Waterford as it has in other regions.

The positive point in the action plan is that it has identified strengths as well as weaknesses. The Deputy referred specifically to the activity of the IDA and the sense of neglect or a lack of attention. Since I gave a direction to the IDA to give clear priority to the region, there has been a significant step up in site visits to Waterford. In the year to date, and we are not yet halfway through the year, there have been more site visits than in the past three years. There is a significant increase in activity. I visited the region on three occasions and plan to meet the stakeholders in the south-east action plan later this month, which is roughly six months after it was launched, to review progress. Solid progress has been made on the plan but it is not spectacular. Against the background of the problems, we need to continue our focus and I am determined to do so.

The question of a bad perception of industrial relations in Waterford has not been an issue on my book. All of the fault was on the employer side and not in any way on the workers side in respect of how the TalkTalk closure was handled. The workers behaved with great dignity and it was an encouraging sign of confidence building for potential investors. I refer to the establishment of Eistech by three former employees of TalkTalk. This is a company with potential for significant growth and it can be counted as an early success of the south-east action plan. I accept the Deputy's well made point that we need to continue to work on this agenda. Many factors contribute to build the environment - or ecosystem - for stronger growth in sectoral opportunities. The Waterford Institute of Technology has been very impressive in its technology centre with regard to telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, the food and environmental area. These are significant bases which it is hoped will help when companies are brought on site visits in an attempt to market the region successfully. The bringing together of interested parties and sectors has resulted in a sense of shared ownership of the problem and this is helpful. It was heartening to see the groups working together. I accept the Deputy's point that progress remains to be made in this area and this against a background of very difficult conditions in the domestic economy and which impact on Waterford in particular given the variety of its industrial sectors. The economic conditions probably impact to a disproportionate degree on the south east because it does not have the sectors which have proved themselves to be more resilient in these difficult circumstances. I reiterate my commitment to working with the region in order to ensure the agencies under my remit maintain their focus on the region. I will review the progress and I hope to add further initiatives which can build on the current action plan.

Deputy John Deasy

The south east was ahead of other regions over the decades with regard to the historical trend but it should not be accepted that this will remain the case. The region's unemployment rate is 25% higher than the national average and it is becoming one big blackspot. Since the action plan was launched there is a consensus of opinion that the State agencies such as IDA Ireland have been working a little harder and I note there are more site visits and itineraries. The different sectoral groups in the agencies have brushed up on Waterford, so to speak. They have visited Waterford and the region and they have acquainted themselves with the strengths and weaknesses. The view resulting from this activity is that the life sciences area such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, may provide a possible cluster of industries which could be developed more strenuously in the south east.

However, what has not happened is a commitment to pull together the local development forum consisting of the local authorities, academics and Departments, on a quarterly basis. I ask the Minister to examine why this has not happened. The Minister has visited the region on three occasions since December but I have been asked why the quarterly meeting of that forum has not happened. I suggest there have been no tangible results in a macro sense for Waterford and the region from the action plan for the south east. There has been no net effect. To be blunt, the efforts so far, even though well intentioned, have not been sufficient.

Large numbers of job losses affect communities to their very core. Such events result in emigration, there is a higher level of crime and they destabilise and undermine the positive work of Government and other groups in many areas of community life.

The Minister must look at the hard facts and acknowledge that the south east requires a different response. The feeling in my constituency is that there is no national imperative to deal with the situation in the south east. There is an imbalance in responses and this is obvious in the figures. In my opinion, the Government needs to address and correct this imbalance even if it means providing additional incentives to potential foreign investors. An unemployment rate of 20% is not just disastrous, it is dangerous and the Government needs to take this on board.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I acknowledge Deputy Deasy's point that the agencies have increased their activity in the region and I note his acknowledgement of the sectoral opportunities for development such as in the life sciences. I will pursue his query as to the reason for the lack of quarterly meetings by the forum. My impression is that there is quite an amount of bottom-up commitment in the region. I will raise those questions and see what can be done.

The enterprise agencies are treating Waterford as a special case and this needs to be reflected elsewhere across Government in order to meet the infrastructural and structural problems. I have no doubt that the Pathways to Work initiative under the remit of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, will focus on the south east because of its high levels of unemployment.

Deputy Deasy makes the point that six months on, we have not reversed the trends but it will take longer than six months to address these problems. However, in my view, with consistent attention to the challenges, we will make progress here. Nationally, improvements across many areas will be required under the action plan for jobs, such as access to finance and the encouragement of start-up companies and competitiveness, the resolution of broadband access deficiencies and other infrastructural factors. We need to continue with the agenda of work in order to undertake an economic transformation nationally. It will be a difficult period but the action plan for jobs process which is an annual programme of actions that will make a difference, is vital in tackling not just the south east's problems but also the wider problems. The Government has a policy vehicle which will bring together all Departments in a more meaningful way in order to address the employment challenge. I believe this will help in the south-east region which has been affected by many challenges other than enterprise challenges.

Sentencing Policy

Deputy Patrick O’Donovan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter which has been raised by Deputy Calleary and me. I ask the Government to consider the introduction of legislation to cover cases where the intent can be proven that a person who enters a property or a premises intended to use physical force against the occupant. I refer in particular to cases involving people living in isolated rural communities and small towns and villages and where scumbags arrive to their house, tie them to a chair with a rope or cable ties, beat them up in order to force them into giving information on the location in the house of a few pounds or the cash in a handbag, or the recently collected pension. There is a real fear in rural communities because of the number of robberies but also of the nature of the recent robberies. The time has come for the introduction of mandatory sentencing for those found guilty of committing an act of burglary and who intended to use physical force against the occupant of the house.

These are not just burglars or criminals, these people are some sort of sub-human beings. In some cases, they would tie an elderly person to a chair with cable-ties, and beat them up to get information on where there is money in the house. They should not be eligible for early release. They should serve the full sentence, which should be mandatory and reflect the scale of the crime they have perpetrated - not only on elderly or vulnerable persons living alone who may be intellectually or physically disabled, but also on the wider community which they have left in fear.

Now is the time to address this matter in order to reflect public anger. Such people in isolated rural areas are being targeted in a vicious fashion by some sort of sub-humans who need to be treated as such by the State.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I wish to thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me and Deputy O'Donovan to raise this issue. While I have the utmost respect for the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, it is disappointing that the Minister for Justice and Equality is not present. Deputy Shatter was able to leave the Seanad 30 minutes ago to make a good news announcement but he cannot be here to listen to this matter.

Deputy O'Donovan is correct in saying that there is currently huge fear in rural communities over burglaries. The Minister of State will be aware of this also. In the Sligo-Leitrim region last year burglaries increased by 30%, in Laois-Offaly by 32% and in Meath by 40%. I acknowledge that the Garda is operating Operation Fiacla to target gangs. However, there is frustration in communities because when such people are picked up, they are not afraid of the law. There is no set policy on sentencing, despite the terror such people cause.

I wish to extend our good wishes to the victims and families of those involved in the incidents in Tuam and Limerick last week. Such incidents are happening all over the country but they do not get media publicity in the way those two did. It is, however, very unusual for that kind of incident to occur during the summer. Such incidents are normally associated with the long winter nights but they are now happening in broad daylight. Gangs do not seem to have any fear of the law or of the consequences of being caught.

The issue of mandatory sentencing needs to be examined. Deputy O'Donovan is right to say that a strict sentencing procedure is required, with no remission. The kind of incidents that occurred in Galway and Limerick last week, are also happening all over the country. People of any age but particularly the elderly who have served their communities and the State, do not deserve to live in fear. They most certainly do not deserve that kind of violence to be perpetrated upon them. The full force of the law should be applied to those who perpetrate it. They also need to know that when caught they will face a minimum sentence and will not receive any remission.

In addition, gangs should be investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau given the kind of financial assets that seem to be available to them. If we hit them at every level, we might be able to give some sort of peace and security to older people in this country.

Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Dinny McGinley)

I thank Deputies Calleary and O'Donovan for bringing these important matters to the attention of the House. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who regrets that he is unable to be present due to other business.

The Minister was appalled to hear of the recent incidents of aggravated burglary, where elderly people were terrorised in their own homes. I am sure that the House will support the Minister's wish that the unfortunate people affected by these despicable crimes will be able to recover quickly. As a number of Garda investigations are underway and some arrests have already been made, the Deputies will appreciate that it is not appropriate to comment on any of the particular cases. The Minister is, of course, concerned about the incidence of burglary in recent times but he welcomes the fact that gardaí are responding effectively.

As the Deputies will be aware, the Garda Commissioner has introduced a wide range of measures aimed at tackling gangs involved in burglaries. These measures are encompassed in Operation Fiacla, which is particularly focused on identifying and targeting mobile gangs involved in burglaries around the country, and bringing them before the courts. Operation Fiacla is intelligence-driven and specific burglary initiatives have been implemented in each Garda region in support of this national operation.

Prevention is also a key issue in tackling burglary and the national crime prevention unit and crime prevention officers at divisional level provide advice, information and support to individuals, organisations and businesses to help reduce the incidence of burglary. The Garda Síochána is proactive in supporting communities and a few weeks ago the Garda Commissioner launched the national Garda Supporting Safer Communities Campaign. This important campaign highlights a range of key issues, including burglary prevention in particular. A further campaign will take place in September. In addition, the "Crime Call" television programme, which is broadcast once a month to an average of 400,000 viewers, is often used to highlight burglary prevention.

Burglary is a criminal offence which carries serious penalties. The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 provides for sentences of up to 14 years imprisonment for burglary and, in regard to aggravated burglary, up to life imprisonment. In addition, section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 provides, subject to certain criteria, that if a person who has been sentenced to a term of at least five years for a specified offence, including aggravated burglary, commits another specified offence within seven years of the first conviction, the court must impose a sentence of at least three-quarters of the maximum sentence - unless it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case. Where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment, the court must specify a sentence of at least ten years. The Deputies will appreciate that the maximum sentences provided for in the legislation cannot in any way be considered inconsequential, and reflect the seriousness of such offences.

In so far as the question of mandatory sentencing generally is concerned, the Deputies will be aware that there is currently a mandatory life sentence for murder and there are certain offences which are subject to a presumptive minimum mandatory sentences regime. The previous Attorney General asked the Law Reform Commission to examine the issue of mandatory sentencing. The LRC published a consultation paper on this issue last January. As is the normal practice, the LRC has invited submissions from interested parties before it prepares its final report. The Minister will examine and consider the LRC's recommendations as soon as the final report is available.

The Government will do everything it can to support the Garda Síochána in its work and provide resources as public finances permit. The Minister is confident that gardaí will continue to provide a robust response to those who engage in crimes aimed at vulnerable people, and will bring them to justice.

Deputy Patrick O’Donovan

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not believe in a yellow card system whereby mandatory sentencing would only kick in after the first crime, particularly when it is of an aggravated nature such as assaulting an old person in their own home. The mandatory system needs to kick in from the start. Part of the reason we are in the current position, is that State-sponsored do-gooders and civil libertarians have diluted the role of the criminal justice system. They have done so to the point where ordinary people feel the criminal justice system is just that - justice for the criminal. Victims are thus left in isolated rural areas, waiting for the next time some criminal walks in their gate. We saw a high profile case in County Mayo where a person at his wits end, was driven to doing something he will probably regret for the rest of his life, but the man had no alternative.

There should be no remission for these type of people who need to be exorcised from society. There should be no early release for them and no yellow card system. There should be mandatory sentences. Such people should not repay their debt to society by having gym membership, menus and satellite TVs in prison. They need to repay their debt to society in the strongest possible terms. The criminal justice system should revert to a situation where it provides justice for victims, not criminals.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The robust response he spoke about has been undermined, particular in rural areas, by a number of cuts the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has made. There has been a severe cut in the community alert scheme and we do not have the resources to launch new community alert schemes or expand existing ones. Second, as a result of the substantial cuts to the senior alert scheme, which provides enormous security to older people in their homes by providing them with a pendant which alerts someone when an incident arises in the house, this scheme cannot be expanded. Perhaps the Minister for Justice and Equality will meet with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to discuss the possibility of spending unspent money in the rural development fund and, perhaps, within the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, on those two schemes which support community initiatives to protect older people in their homes.

My final comment is specifically a justice issue. The €79 million in the Garda Siochána budget this year is impacting on overtime and on the availability of patrol cars. Patrol cars are being withdrawn from rural areas, which is also undermining the robust response of which the Minister of State speaks in terms of the Garda Síochána's ability to deal with this issue. I ask that the Ministers, Deputy Shatter and Deputy Hogan and, perhaps, the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, meet to consider whether there are funds available within the community section of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and within the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, that could allow for some expansion of the community and senior alert schemes, particularly at a time when the figures in respect of burglaries are increasing.

Deputy Dinny McGinley

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, I again thank the Deputies for raising these important matters and for this useful exchange of views.

I reiterate the Minister's revulsion at the recent burglary attacks on the homes of elderly people. The Minister is very conscious of the deep distress which such crimes cause, in particular to more vulnerable members of our communities. The sentences which exist in law reflect the seriousness with which these offences are regarded. I have already mentioned some aspects of the targeted operational response being pursued by the Garda to address burglaries. It should also be mentioned that underlying much of the Garda approach to crime prevention is a firm commitment to the principles of community policing which forms part of the ethos of the force. At local level, Garda district and divisional offices configure policing responses in a manner appropriate to local circumstances and the needs of local communities.

The gardaí continue to engage in a range of local partnership programmes such as neighbourhood watch and community alert, which provide an important support, particularly to the elderly and other vulnerable people. In regard to concerns about the closure of Garda stations, the Garda Commissioner reviewed all aspects of An Garda Síochána's policing model and all divisional offices were asked to assess the level of activity in each Garda station in their area. It must be stressed that the key objective of station closures is a more efficient and effective deployment of resources rather than a securing of modest cash savings. In this context, the Commissioner concluded that Garda resources could be more effectively used if particular stations did not have to be staffed and maintained. Despite constraints in public finances, substantial Garda resources remain in place. These must be seen in the context of the programme of real reform which is being delivered in An Garda Síochána in the context of the Croke Park agreement.

The Government has confidence in the Garda Commissioner and members of the force to continue to deliver on this reform so as to provide effective front line policing.

Energy Regulation

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's office affording me the opportunity to raise this issue. I also welcome the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House to discuss this matter.

I do not normally raise matters concerning constituents on the floor of the House. However, a telephone call which I received last night from a distressed person distressed me so much I felt I had to raise this matter not alone on behalf of the person concerned but on behalf of all persons in Ireland who may be experiencing such financial constraints they cannot pay their bills.

My understanding was that the Minister had reached agreement with service providers that no essential service, be it electricity or gas, would be cut off from a household so long as a payment plan was in place. The person concerned is a working woman and single parent. Her electricity was cut off yesterday by Airtricity and she spent last night in a relative's house. She feels completely humiliated, dehumanised and shamed. That this company believed it had the power to disconnect electricity from her home, which she needs to keep her household going, is shameful. Perhaps the Minister will say if all service providers were party to the agreement reached with him. If not, is it his intention to bring all service providers around the table again to ensure this does not happen again?

I have a few specific questions for the Minister. Have other similar cases come across his desk or been received in his Department? I fear this is not an isolated incident. Also, is the Minister aware that Northern Ireland Electricity has since 1966 operated a zero disconnection policy for domestic customers, except where fraud is identified? Where domestic customers get into serious arrears a meter is installed in the home and a proportion of the money put into it goes towards paying off the arrears. This policy follows direction from the North's utility regulator, which viewed electricity supply as a health and safety issue. Does the Minister believe, as I do, that electricity supply is a health and safety issue? Does the energy regulator have an opinion on competing service providers who offer inducements to customers to switch providers and who then utilise small print to punish them when they find themselves unable to pay? Does the Minister or the energy regulator have an opinion as to the payment options offered to customers, which often restrict the capacity of some customers to pay, which is the situation in the case I have raised today?

I understand that the Minister cannot respond to each individual case raised by a constituent with a Member of this House. I raise this issue not on behalf of the person concerned but on behalf of all people throughout the country who may find themselves in a situation where they are unable to pay a utility bill. I heard today on "Liveline" of a woman who borrowed money from a moneylender and whose life is now fundamentally falling apart because of the pressure being put on her by that moneylender. People make unfortunate decisions when pressure is put on them. Does the Minister share my concern in regard to utility providers cutting off essential services to households and what in his opinion can be done about this in the short and long term?

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Pat Rabbitte)

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this issue.

The Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, is a statutorily independent body established under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and has responsibility for overseeing the regulation of Ireland's electricity and gas sectors. The regulator promotes competition in the electricity and natural gas markets so that customers can ultimately benefit from competitive pressures on prices. The CER also protects the interests of final customers, in particular the disadvantaged and the elderly, by ensuring that standards of services are set and codes of practice are in place to protect customers. In this regard, the CER was of the same mind in respect of my initiative that a protocol be concluded with regard to disconnections. I can confirm to Deputy Ó Ríordáin that while at the outset not all service providers wanted a disconnection protocol, the protocol put in place applies to all suppliers.

I am also well aware that, as stated by the Deputy, some consumers are having trouble meeting their electricity and gas bills owing to challenges facing the economy and the fact that gas and electricity prices are increasing as a result of a significant rise in the price of gas worldwide. As previously stated, I asked the regulator to work with all electricity and gas supply companies to implement initiatives to ensure that disconnection for non-payment of accounts will not take place where customers are experiencing genuine financial hardship and have either entered into a payment plan agreement or have agreed to the installation of a pay-as-you-go meter, as appropriate. I did not know that there is a zero disconnections policy in Northern Ireland. However, following what Deputy Ó Ríordáin has stated I will check it. I understood it applied in Northern Ireland so long as one is party to a payment plan or one has installed a meter.

In November 2010, the regulator introduced a number of initiatives on disconnections policy. These included updating the guidelines for the disconnections code of practice and reducing the cost and allocation of costs of disconnection and reconnection for domestic customers. Now, instead of the customer bearing the entire cost, these costs are shared equally by the supplier. This is an interim measure effective until December 2012.

The regulator is also working with the energy supply industry on interim prepayment solutions and has consulted on the challenges of so-called "debt-hopping" with industry and other interest groups. These groups included the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In October 2011, the regulator introduced debt flagging into the change of suppliers processes. This debt flagging will encourage customers and suppliers to address arrears in an upfront manner and hence prevent the accumulation of further debt and possible disconnection in the future.

The regulator has also proactively facilitated a pay-as-you-go metering system, also known as a prepayment meter, in both the natural gas and electricity industry to allow customers to manage their bills more effectively. The pay-as-you-go metering system is being rolled out by all suppliers throughout the country. In addition to providing a useful budgeting tool to customers, suppliers are required to offer customers facing disconnection the option of a pay-as-you-go meter, where it is suitable, instead of proceeding to disconnect the customer. In these circumstances the customer's outstanding debt is placed on the meter and repaid over time.

In late 2011, the regulator carried out an audit of the guidelines of the code of practice on disconnections to see whether suppliers were in compliance. The audit showed that all suppliers had implemented the guidelines. In the case of all examined domestic customer disconnections, the suppliers had exceed the regulator's requirements in terms of the timing of communication with customers and the numbers of attempts made to engage with customer prior to disconnection.

The regulator will continue to monitor the retail electricity and gas markets, looking specifically at the issues of customer debt and disconnections over the coming months, and from now on will report quarterly on these matters in its electricity and gas retail market reports.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I appreciate the Minister's extensive reply. The case to which I referred is one I hope will not be repeated throughout the country. I am glad the regulator conducted an audit of all service providers late last year and that quarterly reviews take place. It is important to reiterate to anybody in the country under payment pressure that these criteria are in place; this agreement has been reached; it happened because of a Government initiative; some of the companies not involved initially have come on board; and customers have armoury when dealing as individuals with service providers. Companies competing in this market make the switch from one service provider to another seem seamless, profitable and beneficial to customers experiencing serious financial strain. Customers may switch from a more traditional service provider to a new company on the market but before they know it, it appears to be the worst decision they ever made because the new service provider has found a glitch in the terms and conditions, which may have been glossed over by the customer, whereby the company can come down heavy with regard to payment. There is also an issue with regard to the payment plans which companies permit customers to enter.

I congratulate the Minister on his initial initiative. We would not be having this discussion unless the initial initiative had been initiated. I urge the Minister and the Department to be rigorous in this regard. The phone call I received last night was very distressing. I can only assume it is happening throughout the country. I do not trust the companies involved. The fear factor with regard to people having their services disconnected helps the companies to pressurise those in various communities to pay money they may not necessarily have. I make the point that the last thing we need is people accessing money - which they cannot pay back - from moneylenders or loan sharks in their communities who give simple answers. The problems are compounded.

Service providers have a huge responsibility. This is a health and safety issue. If people are legitimately trying to get their house in order, their bills regulated and their situation on a more sound financial footing they should be assisted. They should not be dealing with unscrupulous service companies trying to browbeat them into paying money they do not have.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

I agree with Deputy Ó Ríordáin that this is a distressing case. We were fortunate to have had a milder winter than was the experience in the previous two years. However, the fact of the matter remains that gas prices globally have been on a constantly upward trend. The weakening euro also makes it more expensive because of imports. The weakening euro is probably helpful for many of our exporters selling goods on our neighbouring island but one area where it is certainly not helpful is in terms of the import costs associated with oil and gas.

There has been an increase of approximately 6.7% in the rate of disconnections which, against the background I just painted, is unsurprising. The regulator's assessment is that 30% of these domestic premises are vacant. Nonetheless it is a concern. I sincerely hope that between now and December the uptake of pay-as-you-go meters will continue to rise because it is very important that the protocol is observed on both sides. The no disconnections protocol assumes one is in a payment plan or has installed a pay-as-you-go meter and I recommend this be done. Factors such as the weather seem to motivate people. If we have a very cold winter people realise they ought to have taken these steps, but if it is a relatively mild period there are fewer installations. We also see this with regard to retrofit. I acknowledge the work of organisations such as MABS and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and I urge them to spread the word about the no disconnections protocol and encourage as many people as possible to sign up.