Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I stand to be corrected but I believe many of the grants available through the SEAI, which are welcome, are part payments. In many cases, households simply cannot afford to put any money aside to try to retrofit their homes or make them warmer. I agree, however, that it cannot just be about spending money on and adding to the fuel allowance every year; it has to be about making the homes warmer in the first instance in order that people do not have such high bills. We must acknowledge that cost is a factor. We have the fourth highest electricity costs in Europe. The same applies to gas. Taking out the taxes and charges, suppliers in Ireland are charging a fortune, way above the EU average, for electricity and gas. We must couple this with the fact that Electric Ireland has announced it is increasing its charges from October. Carbon tax increases were introduced in May, despite our being in the midst of a global pandemic, and we are aware that the PSO levy is due to increase in October. These will increase bills and make it more difficult for people to turn on the heating.

I would like the Minister to mention the report on the impact of carbon tax on low-income households, which I have raised with the Minister previously. When will it be published?

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