Council tenants priced out of using new gas heating systems

LOCAL authority tenants who got new Government-funded gas heating systems are freezing in their homes because they cannot afford to pay a €400 Bórd Gáis security deposit.

Independent Cork city councillor Dave McCarthy branded the situation a disgrace and called on the State-owned company to waive the fee in certain cases.

He has also called on Lord Mayor Brian Bermingham and senior city officials to intervene and hold talks with the company to resolve the situation.

“I am pleading with the council to intervene in this situation and to meet with Bórd Gáis to resolve this,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“Some of these people simply can’t afford to pay the fee. They have new heating systems but can’t turn them on because of it.

“They were perished in their homes over Christmas during the cold snaps. It’s a crazy situation.”

The city’s heating upgrade programme, which began in 2004, has seen over 2,200 installations of gas central heating in the city council’s housing stock.

About 750 installations were completed last year at a total cost of €5.6 million. Funded to the tune of 80% by the Department of the Environment, the entire upgrade will cost over €14m.

But Cllr McCarthy said some tenants just can’t afford the gas company’s security deposit and have been unable to switch on their heating.

“It was just too much for some of these tenants, especially in the weeks before Christmas — to come up with €400 cash,” he said.

He highlighted the situation before Christmas when city manager Joe Gavin pledged to raise the issue with the company.

He told a council meeting this week that nothing has changed and he pleaded with city officials to intervene.

But Bórd Gáis Energy Supply defended the fee.

“This policy has been in place for all tenants in both private and local authority rented accommodation for many years,” a spokesperson said.

“The deposit can be released back into the account once the first three bills are paid on time.”

The spokesperson described the fee as a “revenue protection measure” and said it is used by most utility companies.

“The company must have policies in place to protect the company against bad debt risk,” she added.

She said pre-payment meters are available and she urged anyone with concerns to contact the company directly to discuss their case.