Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also with to put on record my rejection of the suggestion from Deputy Cowen about selling off our shares in the ESB. It is sometimes referred to as selling off the family silver. That is a phrase I really disagree with. The family silver does not make money and does not pay dividends into the Irish economy. It is a myopic suggestion from Fianna Fáil that I hope will be utterly rejected. The ESB is not the equivalent of the family silver. It contributes to the Irish economy and selling it off is out of the question.

We have been talking about this Bill for a long time and with the announcement of the €100 rebate, the Government has certainly got a lot of airtime out of it but here we are, debating it. Many of my constituents in north Kildare are absolutely terrified of the electricity and gas bills arriving through the letter box. The cost of living is absolutely rocketing. When people are already pared back to the minimum, some believe there is nothing left to give up. Some people are giving up a meal and many people find themselves in similar situations. I met a pensioner last month who had his coat on, on a really cold day because he was trying to make his fuel allowance go that bit further. I spoke to a mother last week who told me she keeps the heating off during the day because she wants to have it on when the kids come in from school because they are cold from being at school where all windows are open due to the lack of HEPA filtration in the classrooms. Heat is not a luxury; it is a basic human comfort. It is appalling that people are having to be so careful about putting on the heat. Nobody should have to see their family or their children shivering from the cold in the 21st century. We are going back to the days when pensioners travelled on buses during the daytime to try to keep warm. They cannot even do that now because we are in the middle of a pandemic and as every window on the buses is open, they are freezing there, too.

This Bill is welcome insofar as it is long overdue but it could do much more for those who really need it. Those on €81,000 salary increases and earning €420,000 a year in public service jobs are going to get the same €100 rebate that families or individuals barely hanging on are going to receive. High earners do not really need the €100. Low earners need multiples of it. To maximise the impact and to highlight the emergency we are in, this payment should really be targeted. My colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, already has stated we should have a mechanism by which those who can afford it could donate their €100 to a local charity. For example, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul is very good for helping people who are suffering from energy poverty. In addition, people with holiday homes really do not need to receive a double payment. It is also important that renters get the benefit. Deputy O'Rourke mentioned Travellers who pay their electricity costs into a local authority and we must ensure that they can avail of it. I am out of time.

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