Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It has been merely a number of weeks since we previously debated a motion on energy prices. This shows how important this issue is. In these few weeks we have witnessed yet more price hikes from suppliers but we have seen absolutely no action from the Government to address the crisis. There have been more than 35 price hike announcements from Irish suppliers this year. They are having a crippling effect on families. A dual customer of Flogas, for example, will pay €1,385 more this year than last. This is an unprecedented increase in costs. The Government seems to be blind to this reality. Where are workers and families supposed to get this extra money? The sky-high cost of living driven by out-of-control rents, and we will hear more on this today, along with childcare costs and other costs have put people to the pin of their collar and beyond. Thousands of families will soon have to turn off their heating or put on extra layers of clothing to keep the heating off in the depths of winter as they simply will not have the money to meet these bills.

Not only is the Government failing to act but it is contributing to the crisis. According to figures from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, 16.2% of an electricity bill is made up of Government charges in VAT and the public service obligation, PSO, levy while 17.4% of gas bills are made up of Government charges comprising carbon tax and VAT. This is before excise and other duties. In agreeing to exacerbate this issue by increasing the carbon tax, pushing up gas and home heating oil prices even further, the Government is both tone deaf and belligerent. Sinn Féin has consistently highlighted the unfairness of the carbon tax on heating people's homes when they have no alternative. This is certainly the case for many families and it is most certainly the case for haulage companies and others dependent on fuel. It is a punitive measure.

One argument the Government makes in defence of the punitive carbon tax is that some of it, a fraction of it, will be recycled to assist those who need it most but this argument simply does not hold up. The climate action plan states €9.5 billion from carbon tax will be ring-fenced for retrofitting, social welfare payments and agri-environmental projects. However, in reality there is a serious question mark over this funding and the actions to be funded by it. If the carbon tax is successful, receipts should be falling by the end of the decade and this is not taken into account. Second, and this is where the more serious issue arises, the EU Commission's Fit for 55 climate package proposes to take 70% to 80% of all carbon tax receipts into a central EU fund with Ireland as a net contributor. This leaves a black hole in the Government's finances and completely undermines the retrofitting targets and the promised social protection increases. As it stands, carbon tax will increase each year, all while Europe is positioning itself to siphon away the vast majority of it to redistribute it across Europe. This is a charge the Government has never addressed. Regardless, no level of carbon tax redistribution will address the immediate crisis. We need urgent and immediate action from the Government.

In recent weeks, my party leader, Deputy McDonald, asked the Taoiseach whether he would cut VAT on electricity over the winter months to provide households with some breathing space on utility bills. The Taoiseach had no answers on that day and has taken no action since. The Minister for Finance was similarly intransigent with my colleague, Deputy Doherty, when he raised the same issue last night. The figures we have received from the Department of Finance show the State collected €228 million in VAT on domestic electricity bills in 2020. How on earth can the Government stand over this, given the financial pressure workers and families are facing this year? The European Commission has said EU countries can reduce VAT and energy taxes, issue fuel vouchers, defer utility bills and ban grid disconnections to help families get through the winter months. While other EU countries have taken such action, the Irish Government has left Irish households to fend for themselves. It is a dereliction of duty and something that needs to change.

To get us out of this energy crisis the Government states we need a massive move away from fossil fuels towards renewables. For this we need a new grid. Today, EirGrid launched its Shaping Our Electricity Future plan, another glossy plan that states commitments to deliver essential grid capacity. It includes an outline of the key developments needed for networks, engagement, operations and market perspective to support a secure transition to at least 70% renewable electricity by 2030, in its words. I want to speak about engagement, particularly as it relates to the North-South interconnector. It is easy to write it on a page or say it is important but I do not believe EirGrid knows the meaning of it, unless "engagement" means predetermining outcome and driving through regardless; patronising local communities when they put forward reasonable and fair arguments; picking the information that suits its argument and ignoring other perspectives; or throwing taxpayers' money at sponsorship deals in a hopeless attempt to win over the people. In the most recent example, my local newspaper is reporting is a charge made by local communities in County Monaghan that EirGrid secretly intruded on the land of private landowners. There was no request made for access and no notice given. This is all at a time when a Government review of the project itself is under way. No one is holding out hope for the review because the terms of reference are so constrained. Quelle surprise. This company needs to learn lessons and engage with the community.

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