By Damien Maher
Old age pensioners are literally counting their cents as the cost of living soars and a number of people Topic spoke to in the past week have expressed fear and anxiety about the rising prices in everyday essentials.
From phone bills to energy prices, the cost of living has escalated seriously over the past number of months. Some energy bills shown to this newspaper have doubled in February compared to the previous month and, depending on people’s circumstances, there is a real need for assistance in order to avert a crisis.
Pensioners were unwilling to speak on the record, but one energy bill seen by this newspaper shows how the cost of electricity went from €64 to €223.
There is a sense of anger that the human touch one experienced in the past is now gone, with no-one calling regularly to read a metre anymore and no real chance of getting anyone when you phone up to query a bill.
