318,735 Irish Homes Face Electricity Arrears Amid Rising Energy Prices
Hundreds of thousands of Irish families are struggling with energy bills, with 318,735 homes in electricity arrears by March. Suppliers plan up to an 11 percent price hike from July due to global conflicts. Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan criticized the government's response to the rising energy debt, which is at its second-highest level since 2022.
Hundreds of thousands of families are experiencing difficulties paying energy bills, even prior to anticipated price increases stemming from the Gulf conflict. Energy suppliers have announced plans to raise charges by up to 11 percent starting in July, following months of fluctuating global oil and gas prices influenced by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
New data from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) reveals that 318,735 homes, representing one in seven across the State, were in arrears on their electricity bills at the end of March. This figure marks an 11 percent increase, or 32,000 more homes, compared to the end of March 2025, according to the regulator's latest report on arrears.
The number of households struggling with gas bills reached 183,468, or more than one in four. This represents an approximate 5 percent increase over the preceding 12 months, as reported by the CRU. The average electricity bill in arrears increased by 4 percent to €511.09, while gas bill arrears rose by 11 percent to €229.56.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan described the average €511 electricity bill arrears as «a worrying new high.» She questioned the government's urgency, stating, «All that households have gotten is the axing of the energy credits and the establishment of a Government taskforce to come up with proposals. Where is the urgency?» Boylan added that energy debt in March reached its second-highest level since the onset of the Ukraine War in 2022. The volatile global energy prices, exacerbated by the Gulf crisis, coincided with low European gas stocks following a cold winter, further compounding the problem. Oil prices saw an increase on Thursday after a second day of US military strikes on Iran in the latest escalation of the intermittent conflict.