In the first quarter of 2023, the number of domestic gas consumers in arrears rose from 20% to 23%.

However, throughout the same time period, the proportion of household electrical consumers in arrears decreased from 11% to 9%.

This data comes from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action will review the information today.

At the end of March, there were 160,399 residential gas customers who were behind on their payments, while there were 199,790 domestic electricity customers who were.