John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I commend my colleague, Deputy Stanley, on not just talking about the challenges we face when it comes to our over-reliance on fossil fuels and the need for renewable alternatives but on bringing forward concrete, workable solutions.

This Government and previous Governments have failed to grapple with the scourge of fuel poverty. In 2007, a policy paper examining fuel poverty published by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland argued that levels of fuel poverty here were unacceptably high. More than a decade later, they remain unacceptably high and, without doubt, much higher than they were in 2007. Despite this, there has been no Government action to tackle fuel poverty during that period.

The failure of Governments has left us in the position that 400,000 households are experiencing fuel poverty. Lone parents are unable to afford to turn on their heating and older people wear their coats indoors and go to bed early just to stay warm. We have all been contacted by people who sit in public libraries and other public buildings to avail of their heating systems and try to stay warm. This is the reality of fuel poverty and ending it needs to be a Government priority.

The Bill offers a solution in part to these households and some of the most vulnerable citizens struggling to pay their fuel bills. Instead of continuing the vicious circle of rising fuel costs, leading to increased pressure on households to manage their bills and debt and disconnections, we can step up and assist these households to help themselves and find a long-term solution to supplying their own energy supply. At the same time, it will put money back in their pockets when additional energy is sold to the grid. It would also go some way towards helping us meet our target to cut carbon emissions by 2020. It is unbelievable that we will miss our 2020 target by a staggering 95% and that this will result in annual fines to the State of up to €600 million.

Those fines should be put into not only investing in renewable energy but also tackling the serious issue of fuel poverty in the State. This Bill will achieve all of that. It will play a crucial role in ending fuel poverty, something the Government has consistently failed to do.

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