Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the CRU for its presentation. There is a lot of talk about empowering and protecting consumers and customers. It appears that there are lots of measures to help people to pay for energy but there are very few measures to reduce the cost. A constituent of mine sent me a copy of a bill yesterday for over €400. He is in receipt of disability benefit and has already cut back as much as he possibly can. How does the CRU hope to empower him to reduce his bills when he does not even know the CRU exists?

On security of supply, is the CRU liaising with the HSE with regard to vulnerable customers? Ireland has the highest rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, in the OECD. It is really important to ensure there are no huge variations in temperature for COPD patients because such variations can cause their airways to close. We also have the highest rate of hospitalisation of COPD patients. I am also concerned about people who rely on hoists and dialysis machines. Has the CRU increased its level of interaction with the HSE around identifying vulnerable customers? As already discussed, lots of those customers do not know that they are technically in the vulnerable customer category.

On standing charges, Ms Trant mentioned that the CRU does not have the legislation and it is not under its remit. Have the witnesses discussed this with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to try to get it under their remit and see if legislation is needed, what legislation is already in place and if we could get on with that? People would expect the CRU to be across standing charges and that such charges would have to be negotiated with it. That is the crux of the problem. This is the climate committee. The only reason it exists is because we are in a climate crisis. Suppliers are increasing standing charges in order to offset energy reduction because the increasing price will be a reduction in the amount of energy people consume. It is vital that the Minister addresses that. It shows the problem we have in facing the climate crisis under our current economic model. It is only for profit. We should never have sold the shares we sold in ESB. It should not be for profit anymore. We cannot just keep consuming. That is me making a statement after asking the witnesses a question. What do they tell that OAP on disability? How will they empower him?