The huge increase in inflation seen after Covid pushed many families – if not to the pin of their collars, then at the very least to search for bargains and better deals.
You would think then that price comparison and switching websites like Bonkers.ie would have immediately benefited from this new-found zeal not to waste money.
However, as its group chief executive and founder Dave Kerr notes, while the European Central Bank sought to battle inflation through higher interest rates, the turbulence created in the mortgage and energy price sectors didn’t necessarily work to Bonkers’ benefit.
“What happened when Putin invaded Ukraine was that the cost of energy went up many, many multiples,” he says. “That meant firstly we lost four electricity and gas providers – either they withdrew or went bust – and, secondly, electricity and gas markets for consumers essentially shut down.”
This, combined with a dramatic increase in mortgage interest rates, meant “there was nowhere to turn for customers looking to reduce their bills”.
Other than for savers, there was little real choice at the time.
“The end of 2022 and the start of 2023 was a challenging time for the country – and indeed for ourselves,” he says.
Bonkers bounced back the following year as energy providers began to feel confident enough to offer discounts again for customers and when mortgage rates began to edge back down.
This is evident when looking at the most recently filed accounts for the business. They show that Bonkers Money Ltd recorded a pretax loss of €169,200 in 2023. In 2024 it returned to profit, with a positive swing of almost €2 million to a €1.79 million surplus.
The business, founded by Kerr in 2010, has grown in prominence over the years – and he says it now offers 17 different product categories.
The company says it assists tens of thousands of people in Ireland each year in switching providers, and has expanded from initially comparing household bills to now offering mortgage switching along with car and home insurance.
Kerr, a software engineer by training, wrote the original code for Bonkers himself after the 2008 financial crash. He describes the 2010 version of the business as “essentially a listings and comparison site” – but one that has now morphed into an “action” business that enables people to purchase products directly.
It is not the only site of its kind operating in Ireland. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities approves Bonkers alongside the likes of Switcher.ie, PowertoSwitch.ie and EnergySwitch.ie. But Kerr believes its advantage over competitors lies in its roots as a technology company – one that can innovate on its own terms. He takes particular pride in the fact that while he wrote the original code for the start-up 16 years ago, it continues to rely on its own coding and software.
Bonkers has started offering people the opportunity to upload their household bills to the website and have them quickly analysed for the best options available, he says.
“Our site automatically scans the bill and inputs the key information required for switching, such as the customer’s current supplier, MPRN or GPRN, supply region and energy usage before showing which alternative suppliers and plans are available, along with the potential savings.
“All of this work, from the site redesign to the bill-upload technology, was designed, built and delivered in-house by our own team,” he says.
The biggest branding challenge for Bonkers is the notion, Kerr says, that it remains purely a comparison site. “People think of us and say, ‘Oh that’s where I can see the best price,’ when in fact we allow people to buy the product directly. We are an action site. We like to say that we offer the best way to turn your bills into savings.”
There has been a new opening in the price comparison business with the arrival of electric cars and smart metering. He says more people are now looking to charge their cars at night – and seek out a night tariff that reduces that cost to the home.
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As for consumer appetite for switching, he says Irish people have definitely become more “savvy” in their approach to changing providers. But there is still a “large expectation that loyalty is rewarded – and that is rarely the case”.
With interest rates recently hitting a three-year low, Kerr is cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue throughout 2026.
He says there seems to be solid interest in the sale of PTSB – and a transaction would be beneficial in terms of increased competition to AIB and Bank of Ireland. The loss of KBC and Ulster Bank “continues to be felt”, he says.
On electricity and gas prices, he is less sure of where things may be headed. Bonkers, like the rest of the world, was caught out by the turmoil inflicted by the conflict in Ukraine.
Given the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s trade and foreign policies, it is difficult to assess where wholesale oil and gas prices might be next week – let alone at the end of the year.
“One thing we are seeing now is short-term discount offers of six months coming into the market,” says Kerr. “The challenge with the big discount is that it ends after 12 months and you go on to the big rates – a concept a lot of Irish customers still struggle with.”
The other unknown also relates to the state of the domestic market. The loss of energy providers and banks over the past few years has been a blow to consumers, but Kerr is upbeat that may be about to change.
He notes the emergence of Yuno Energy in 2023 and suggests another arrival could be imminent. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a new entrant to the energy market this year – it seems ready to attract a new supplier,” he says.