Significantly more Irish people have experienced difficulties paying energy bills in recent months than the EU average according to a new piece of research published by the European Commission.
While 16 per cent of people across the EU said affordability had been an issue in recent months, the percentage climbed to 26.4 per cent among Irish consumers.
People in just four other countries found affordability more difficult, with people in Greece struggling the most with 51.9 per cent saying making energy ends meet was difficult.
The percentage of Irish people who said their mortgage repayments had increased was put at more than twice the EU average with 20.5 per cent of people here saying their monthly repayments had been negatively impacted compared with an EU average of 10.1 per cent.
‘I feel Irish Rail are just running down the time and hoping I will go away’
‘It’s been 120 days and counting and Aer Lingus still hasn’t refunded me $1,953 for my cancelled flight’
‘I ordered an iPhone off Refurbed for over €700 and have experienced an endless stream of problems’
My health insurer wanted an extra €900 to maintain my plan. Time to look for options
[ Energy crisis sends State laughing all the way to the bankOpens in new window ]
The 2023 European Commission Consumer Conditions report also looks at attitudes to travel and other concerns.
Irish people appear more willing to accept vouchers from airlines if a trip is cancelled rather than accepting cash, with almost 50 per cent of people in Ireland saying they would be willing to accept a voucher instead of a cash refund compared with an EU average of one in three.
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Irish people also displayed considerably more trust in travel packages booked with operators, with 45 per cent saying they had trust in the protections in place for travel packages booked compared with an EU average of just over 30 per cent.
The research also suggested that consumers are frequently exposed online to unfair practices, with 69 per cent of consumers saying they had come across reviews that did not appear genuine.
Privacy concerns were also to the fore with 94 per cent saying they were worried about how their data was being used when it came to targeted advertising.
The European Consumer Centres Network activity report for 2022 meanwhile said that the EU-wide organisation dealt with a total of 118,142 inquiries and consumer complaints from consumers all over Europe and assisted them in recovering just under €10 million in consumer claims.
The European Consumer Centre Ireland received 1,665 complaints from Irish consumers against businesses based in the EU and the European Economic Area, and 1,506 complaints from European consumers against businesses based in Ireland.
