Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has said that inflation-linked price hikes which mobile and internet companies are imposing on households need to be banned.

A growing number of service providers are including terms in their mobile, broadband and TV contracts which allow them to apply mid-contract price hikes which are linked to inflation.

Households are set to be hit with these mid-contract price hikes from Monday.

The Donegal TD will be introducing legislation to ban the practice in the coming weeks.

Teachta Doherty said:

“Telecom and internet providers are hitting households with unfair and punitive inflation-linked price increases in the middle of their contracts.

“Households are set to be hit with these coordinated price hikes from Monday, seeing prices rise by as much as 8 percent.

“I raised this with the government earlier in the year, but they have failed to act and are completely out of touch with the pressures workers and families are facing.

“Where the government has failed, Sinn Féin will act.

“Sinn Féin will ban this unfair and punishing practice.

“Last month I wrote to the Commission for Communications Regulation outlining my grave concerns regarding this pricing practice and have called on them to ban it without delay.

“In its response, the regulator shared my concerns but made clear that banning this practice could only be achieved through legislation.

“When people sign up to a phone, broadband or TV contract, they should be certain about what they are going to pay.

“This practice not only hits households with punishing price rises, but it also means that they have no certainty about the money that they will pay for these services.

“Telecom and broadband operators should not be allowed to punish consumers with harmful mid-contract price hikes linked to inflation.

“It should be banned.

“The government has done nothing to stop this outrageous practice and are sitting on their hands as consumers continue to be fleeced.

“In the coming weeks I will introduce legislation to ban this harmful practice which harms consumers and hits households with unfair and punishing price hikes.”