Mobile contracts may end without penalty with providers seeking to raise prices under proposed laws

Under the laws proposed by the culture minister, a provider will be required to give a customer 30 days’ notice before the price hike takes place

Culture minister Patrick O’Donovan will on Wednesday seek Cabinet approval to draft new laws to give individuals a legal right to end contracts.

Consumers will be able to break mobile and broadband contracts without financial penalty if providers seek to hike prices, under new laws proposed by the Government.

Culture minister Patrick O’Donovan will on Wednesday seek Cabinet approval to draft new laws to give individuals a legal right to end contracts with telecoms and broadband providers if they propose increasing either their monthly or annual charge.

Currently, telecoms and broadband providers can include in-contract price increase clauses that permit them to hike costs in the middle of a contract period.

Under the laws proposed by Mr O’Donovan, a provider will be required to give a customer 30 days’ notice before the price hike takes place.

During this period, customers can end the contract without penalty. If a provider provides more than 30 days’ notice, the time to end the contract is during the period set out by the provider.

Immigration system

It comes as justice minister Jim O’Callaghan is expected to see Cabinet approval for a number of changes to the immigration system, including requiring asylum seekers to pay between 10% and 40% of their weekly income for their State accommodation.

The model would see a person earning up to €150 per week required to contribute €15, while a person earning €340 would contribute €83. Anyone earning €600 or more would be required to pay €238.

It is expected there will be changes to the residency time before citizenship can be granted for a refugee from three to five years, alongside introducing additional restrictions on family reunifications.

Mr O’Callaghan has also floated possible changes to student visas, particularly for English language schools, but this is not due to be approved on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, housing minister James Browne will seek Cabinet approval to publish updated defective concrete block legislation.

This will allow homeowners impacted by defective concrete block to seek increases to their remediation grants  where they had incurred costs before March 29, 2024.

It will also increase the number of weeks an owner has to complete remediation, from 65 to 130 weeks, as well as allow them to seek a technical review of their application. This review will be carried out by the Housing Agency.