Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The rising cost of living is crippling many people. Constituents tell me regularly that the day-to-day costs of running a home are becoming unmanageable. The cost of electricity is without doubt one of the biggest issues for householders. The rising cost of electricity is a global trend, a trend that is creating cost-of-living issues right across the world. Here in Ireland, it is impacting renters, homeowners, young people, and pensioners. It is affecting ordinary hardworking people, whose salaries or hourly rates are not rising in line with the cost of electricity. Therefore, I really welcome this emergency measure from the Government to provide a one-off relief payment of €100 towards each household’s electricity bill. This will put €210 million back where it is needed, in people’s pockets.

I was contacted by many constituents who welcomed this measure when it was announced in December. I am really pleased we are able to move on it now. It has been hard to put together but it is really welcome. I ask the Minister of State to consider establishing a hardship fund to help families and individuals who may need additional support to meet the rising cost of living.

While I welcome the payment to help with the cost of electricity, I believe we should also be focusing on long-term sustainable options to make electricity more affordable. Ireland has huge potential to deliver renewable wind energy at a massive scale. This would give us the opportunity to create new jobs in rural towns and villages along the coast, meaning we would be investing in and renewing those communities. Ireland could produce 20% of the offshore renewable energy of the entire European Union in 20 or 30 years. Think about that for a second. Wind energy could become our biggest contributor to reducing carbon emissions and creating tens of thousands of jobs outside our core cities. It would mean creating sustainable, affordable energy streams.

In Ireland, we have one of the world’s strongest wave capacities and steady winds, which give us a unique resource, but this resource is not tapped into sufficiently. That is why I really welcomed the Maritime Area Planning Bill both on Committee Stage and when it was before the Dáil last month. The Bill will help us to achieve our renewable energy targets for 2030 and bring in a much-needed planning regime for offshore wind. While I welcome the one-off cost reduction concerning electricity bills, it is really important that we continue to work on developing sustainable electricity provisions.

I have also been contacted by some constituents who have taken steps to retrofit their homes. They are concerned over the prospect of rising energy costs given that they may be spending more time working from home.

That is why they have made that sustainable switch. While it is right for the Government to do whatever is in our power to tackle the rising cost of traditional energy, it is also an opportunity for us to encourage homeowners to make the switch to long-term, more affordable and sustainable sources of energy. We can do that by incentivising people financially.

I recently got a query from a constituent who was looking to install a new solar panel system. Altogether, with fitting and parts, the cost came to €9,000 in total. They researched all the necessary materials and components, all high-quality and all sourced in Ireland with long warranties, and found the cost came to about €3,000 for materials alone. They will receive a grant of €3,000 towards the cost, but it will still leave a shortfall of €6,000 for installation and labour, which I am told takes about two days. What is causing such overhead costs? Do we need to consider increasing the retrofit grant? What can we do to support people who want to make that sustainable switch? Not many people can afford €9,000 to install solar panels.

I welcome the interim relief that this payment will give to families who are struggling to pay their electricity bills. I welcome all further long-term actions to alleviate the cost of living for the many people who are struggling with it.

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