The Taoiseach says he's "very concerned" that one in four homes and businesses are in arrears on gas bills.
Leo Varadkar says the government will continue to call on energy companies to cut prices, which he expects to fall later in the year.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities tell an Oireachtas committee later that over 168 thousand customers are now are behind on gas payments.
Speaking before this morning's Cabinet meeting, the Taoiseach says he's hopeful energy prices will fall.
"I'm very concerned that over 20% are in arrears on their gas bills.
"The figure for electricity bills is a lot lower, I think around 10%. That may be linked to the fact that the credits were taken off the electricity bill rather than your gas bill for good reasons - everyone has an electricity bill, most people don't have a gas bill.
"We would expect to see electricity and gas prices to go down later in the year, certainly we are calling on the companies to do that."
