Additional charges imposed by Eir for paper bills have been criticised by Galway TD Seán Canney as penalising the most vulnerable people.
Deputy Canney said that Eir have confirmed to him that a €5.99 charge per month, or €71.88 a year, charge will apply for sending out paper bills from next January.
“The customers worst affected will be older people on fixed income who rely on the telephone as a means of communicating and reassurance,” Seán Canney said.
“They are now being penalised for not doing their business online, but the majority of these customers are not computer literate.”
Deputy Canney added that Eir are also applying an additional 3% price increase on fixed line charges, along with increasing rates in line with the Consumer Price Index.
“This is adding insult to injury in times a severe cost of living increase for people on fixed income and theses increases are bordering on contempt for their loyal customers”.
