Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

These are the facts. Many people will spend huge amounts of money on fuel because their houses are not energy efficient. Those are the facts, regardless of whether the Minister of State wants to dispute them.

Another deciding factor is the deregulation of the energy market in Ireland. The ESB is an incredible company. It was a public utility but, in 2014, the Government, which is possessed by privatisation, deregulated the market. We now have a situation where prices have increased and the consequences of that can be seen. Coupled with that are carbon taxes, which have compounded the issues relating to energy efficiency. That is leading to serious difficulties.

If the price increase comes, which it will, most people will ask what policies the Government will introduce to try to mitigate that in terms of fuel poverty. Given that people die from hypothermia or fuel poverty, surely that is a very serious matter for the Government. If the Government in situcannot address that, then that is a shame on it.

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