Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes: — the latest round of announcements of electricity price hikes ranging from 27 per cent to 34 per cent to take effect next month; and

— that households are dealing with annual electricity bills, some €1,000 higher than they were a year ago; condemns the constant dithering by this Government despite the urgency of the cost-of-living crisis including: — the refusal of this Government to bring forward an emergency budget before the summer recess despite calls on them to do so, with people left to face the full impact of continuing energy price increases alongside wider increases such as food and back-to-school costs without adequate support as a result;

— the opposition by Minister Eamon Ryan, acting on behalf of the Irish Government, to reform the wholesale electricity market back in October 2021 which would if implemented at the time have helped to reduce the bills of households and businesses sooner; and

— the failure of the Government to sufficiently accelerate the development of our own renewable sources of energy in and around the island which are key to ensuring energy affordability, sustainability and security over the medium-term; and calls on the Government, as part of a wider package of cost of living measures, to immediately: — cut household electricity bills and cap them at 2021 prices;

— introduce cash payments to assist low- and middle-income households with their other energy bills;

— make a double Child Benefit payment for every child in recognition that households with children tend to spend more on energy bills; and

— introduce a windfall tax so that excess profits are not made during the period of the crisis.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. I am sharing time with Deputies Ó Broin, Mac Lochlainn, Kerrane and Doherty. This motion sets out a number of proposals that we believe are essential to address the cost-of-living crisis. They are specifically focused on the price of electricity. I call for support for the motion across the House. We need an aggressive and comprehensive response to an unprecedented crisis which is having a significant impact on families and is the most pressing concern for families around the country. We set out in the motion our proposals to cut household electricity bills and cap them at 2021 prices, to introduce cash payments to assist low and middle-income households with their other energy bills, to make a double child benefit payment for every child in recognition of the fact that larger households have greater energy and electricity demands, and, importantly, to introduce a windfall tax in order that excess profits are used for the benefit of our population and people in need. The motion has a number of proposals which will be part of a suite of social welfare and taxation measures that Sinn Féin will propose in our alternative budget in advance of the Government's budget.

In my contribution, I will focus on a couple of aspects, namely, the electricity price cap and the windfall tax. They are intimately related proposals. A clear recognition that the market is broken and must be reformed underpins both proposals. This has been clear for over a year. Gas is being used as a weapon of war. Any of us who have engaged with those working in this sector have had it indicated to us that it was apparent, as far back as this time last year, or earlier, that the tap was being turned by Russia.

The electricity price cap is the right move at the right time. It provides certainty for families who are under huge pressure. It provides a reprieve for families at a time of great pressure and uncertainty. While it is not a permanent solution, it buys time to introduce the sort of systematic reforms that are needed. We have to get the balance of universal measures and targeted measures right. We need to lean towards prioritising targeted measures. As a universal measure, it has the advantage of maintaining the link with usage. It is, in effect, an electricity unit price cap as opposed to an electricity bill price cap. We saw the Government's proposal for a credit being introduced slowly earlier this year.

We have seen the various kites flown in recent weeks: it could be a €600 credit over three payments or it could be further beyond that; it would be denied to Travellers in halting sites, as it was before; it would be denied to some living in multi-unit buildings where there is only one meter; and it would be given on the double to people with holiday homes - energy credits will be a bonanza for those people. That proposal from the Government has the same weaknesses that it always had. It goes hand in hand with a windfall tax, individual and important elements to address a broken market, and the super-excess and crisis-related profits of energy companies. There are two parts to any windfall tax, which are the huge profits being made by energy generators, which the European Union refers to as a solidarity tax, and the huge windfall that arises for renewable companies because of the pegging of gas prices to electricity prices. The suggestion that Sinn Féin is at risk of writing a blank cheque to energy companies is the greatest bluff of them all, especially coming from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who are the parties that sold off our gas assets. Vermilion Energy reported a 267% increase in Corrib profits between 2020 and 2021. In the second quarter of this year, the parent company recorded €214 million in profits, up 28% year on year. That was all sold off to the private interests. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael also sold off our gas utility companies, deregulated the market and, as they did with so many things, treated energy as a commodity not as a right and a utility. This Government fought for a year against reforms of the EU energy market. Why? It was to protect the profits of the energy companies in the hope, nothing more, that they would invest those profits in new energy infrastructure, some of which was hoped would be renewables. We missed the opportunity of the Iberian exemption, despite having a real opportunity to make the exact same case. This Government has a clear track record of not doing enough. The Sinn Féin proposals contained in tonight's motion point in the right direction.

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