Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Oireachtas has shown from research that we have had more price volatility in the past 11 months than in the previous 12 years. This has had a serious impact on households. The rebate does not go far enough and I support the amendment which seeks to protect those in the rental market. The €100 rebate will not go far enough for a lower paid people. We need to bear in mind that those in the rental sector are constantly trying to cope with spiralling rental prices and other cost of living pressures. We need immediate action, and a €100 rebate will not address that.

Many measures are needed, and a mini budget must deliver for the most vulnerable in particular. Age Action Ireland has highlighted its concerns about elderly people and the serious impact rising costs are having on that cohort. Many countries in the European Union have introduced a range of measures to try to protect the most vulnerable and counteract the rise in electricity prices and so on, and the negative impact it is having on so many families around Europe.

For example, Austria plans to spend €1.7 billion on easing the impact on families of surging energy prices. The measures announced last week include suspending an eco-tax introduced six years ago. That adds about €33 a year to bills. The Austrian Government is also pledging to hand €300 back to those out of work. Austrian electricity prices have increased by 12.4% on last year.

Earlier this month Belgium decided to cut value added tax on electricity as part of a package to shield consumers from rising energy prices. It is also giving all households €100 relief on electricity bills and extending its social price rates. Britain's price cap will rise by 54% from 1 April, its regulator, OfGEM, announced on Thursday in its six-monthly review of prices. To limit the impact, the British Government launched a package of measures, including a £200 discount on electricity bills for all households to be repaid over five years and a £150 rebate on council tax bills for about 80% of households in England.

In December, Bulgaria's Parliament voted to freeze power and heating prices for households until the end of March in a move seen as allowing time for the new coalition Government to come up with a plan to shield households from surging energy costs.

The Irish Government needs to come up with a package that will deliver and will protect the most vulnerable in our society, including those in rented accommodation, elderly people and particularly businesses which have been very badly treated and are trying to get on their feet after Covid restrictions put them on the back foot.

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