Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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This is why I do stand up for a universal payment. I also stand up for targeted supports, and this is why the social welfare provisions I mentioned are critical. I do not believe, however, that they on their own would provide a sufficient response. The scale of the price increases has put people right across society in real difficulty. Often people may be outside the social welfare system and in various circumstances, and I think it is appropriate they get a payment during these difficult times. Once we start to do that, then, do we agree to undertake provisions through electricity bills? I ask this because it would not be possible to do it through gas payments, because only 42% of households have gas connections, or any other mechanism. It was appropriate to take this approach.

The cost to start differentiating, the time delay and the bureaucratic complications involved in trying to change the entire database system, or to try to manipulate it to categorise payments based on income or on whether it is a first or second home, would not have delivered the credit in time. I spoke to energy supply companies in the past week, and they told me the measure in April came at just the right time, when bills were really starting to hit home. The payment next month, on 1 November, will come just at the right time. If we start to complicate this process and, in a sense, let the perfect become the enemy of the good, that would be a mistake. It is appropriate that we are helping out the vast majority of households, as most other European countries are doing.