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

To what degree has an assessment been made of alternative ways to introduce this legislation or regulation in the quickest way possible? What does quarter 1 of next year mean? Is it the case that we will be dealing with this legislation for the first three months of next year? When will people see this impact on their bills? That is the real question people have. They want to see it before Christmas. This has been on the agenda for months at this stage and the Government has failed to act on it. The toolbox from the European Commission has been there for two months at this stage telling the Government it can act.

In addition, as the Minister of State has said, this needs to be part of a broader suite of measures. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has indicated that targeted measures including the provision of a discretionary fund for utility debt should be considered and implemented. Is that something the Government will look at?

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