Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

People on low incomes will be having their own blackouts this winter because they simply will not be able to afford to keep the lights on, according to a representative of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at the launch of the society's report, Warm Housing for All, this week. The price of gas and other fuel has increased by 19.6% in the past year. The moratorium on disconnections finished on 1 June 2021 and while many of us would not have noticed because of the warm weather, that is changing. People are getting cold in their homes and are worried about being able to keep the lights on. I appreciate that the Minister will not be able to tell me the exact measures in this year's budget to alleviate fuel poverty but when does he expect those measures to kick in? They cannot wait until January. Will the Government consider reinstating the moratorium on disconnections because we cannot, in the middle of an energy crisis, have a scenario where power to homes is cut off.

See this speech in context