Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

When older people are freezing in their homes this winter, will the Taoiseach knock on the door and tell them that it is all right because the European Central Bank says the spike is only temporary? He should get real. There is a need for action. He has said that this is a Europe-wide crisis and it is. Is the Taoiseach aware of the fact that, under massive pressure from their populations, the Governments of Spain, Greece and, I think, Italy have implemented far-ranging measures to alleviate the pressures on households? The Taoiseach went through what he has done but only mentioned one real concrete measure, that is, the €5 on the fuel allowance. I will tell him a few things he could do. He could bring in a top maximum unit rate for gas and electricity. He could increase the fuel allowance by €15 a week. He could make that allowance more available. He could scrap the carbon tax or at least stop the hikes for this year. He could refund people the money raised by the State through taxes on electricity and gas bills. Last but not least, he could take the energy industry into public ownership. He could allow the ESB to operate on a not-for-profit basis and organise it on the basis of people's needs rather than profits. There is a number of things the Taoiseach could do. What is he going to do and when?

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