Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Government does not have the guts to stand up publicly and argue with us or oppose what we asking for here, which is an emergency review of the minimum wage. In our view, there is a need to increase it to, as an absolute minimum, €15 per hour. The Government is going to accept our motion but with absolutely no intention of acting on it. The public out there should know that this is the cynical way in which politics operates in here and the way this Government behaves. The Government is spineless. Behind the scenes it works to maintain thestatus quoand effectively ignore the really desperate situation that working people are facing at the moment as a result of the Government's own failures.

The only defence the Government has offered is that inflation is not its fault. It is a global phenomenon and there is a not a lot it can do. It can take some measures but it is not really its fault. However, we need to seriously challenge that narrative. This Government, along with European and other governments, has championed the privatisation and deregulation of energy markets over the past 20 years and is showing no intention of rolling back on that; in fact, quite the opposite. When People Before Profit tabled a motion in October warning about the escalating energy crisis and asking for price controls, the Government reiterated its commitment to so-called competitive markets in energy. When Deputy Fleming said what he said the other day, it was not some maverick comment about shopping around; it was Government policy.

It has been Government policy, and that of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, for 20 years. Since the removal of the not-for-profit mandate of the ESB and the privatisation of Bord Gáis, energy prices have gone through the roof and we are paying the bitter price for that now. That is the truth. That is part of an international phenomena, but the Government championed it and it is still committed to it. That is set out in black and white in the speeches of Ministers including, as recently as this week, in the speech of the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, where he again referred to the competitive market. I am amazed that nobody in the media is questioning this. There is no debate about the link between the deregulation and privatisation of energy supply and the ability of energy companies to ratchet up the cost of energy to stratospheric levels that are literally impoverishing people. Between 1,500 and 2,500 vulnerable people will die unnecessarily this winter because they cannot afford to heat their homes. Excess winter mortality is worse in this country than in most other countries in Europe.

People need to know that prior to the deregulation and privatisation of energy supply in this country, energy costs were lower in Ireland by a significant margin than they were in the rest of Europe. Today, they are higher. They are, on average, between 15% and 20% higher than in the rest of Europe. That is the fault of Government. Let it be clear, that is the fault of Government. Why are energy prices higher in Ireland? It is because the Government allows the energy companies to profiteer and price gouge. We will continue to shout from the rooftops until it penetrates into the debate that the companies that are impoverishing people with these massive increases in energy prices are making massive profits. On a global scale, it is staggering. Last year, Shell and BP made €40 billion in profits, of which Shell's share was €19.3 billion. The previous year, their profits amounted to €4.8 billion. It is incredible. Their profits have quadrupled in one year. The same is happening in Ireland. Energia's profits were up 46% last year and 45% the previous year. The ESB made €616 million profit in 2020, and it is set to be more than €700 million for 2021. What is being taken out of the pockets of working people, pensioners and the vulnerable is going into the pockets of other groups of people who get paid dividends. The rich are making money out of the misery of the poor.

This is going on in the housing sector as well. Last year, rents rose by, on average, 10%. The previous year, they increased by 7%. In total, rents have risen by about 68% over the past decade. Similarly, there have been increases in the rental income of landlords, which increased by 16% in the past two years. They are creaming it at the expense of working people and the Government is facilitating it.

Against that background, we say it is time for workers to fight back. They cannot take this lying down. It is vital the minimum wage is increased to €15 per hour, which, by the way, would still not allow a person to meet the cost of rent in Dublin. The existing minimum wage level is shocking. Do Members opposite get it? In my area, rents are, on average, €2,200 per month. A person would need a €26,000 after-tax income per annum just to pay the rent and he or she would be paying 100% of it. A person on the minimum wage would not have that income. That person would be paying about 120% of his or her income to pay the average rent in my area. Across Dublin, the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment is €1,500 per month. In my area, the cost for a one-bedroom apartment is €1,900 per month. It is beyond shocking.

The Government will not do anything about that on the basis that landlords have the right to make profits. The Government could do something about it, as other countries have done. Rent controls set rents. The Government could set a charge of a specific amount per square metre of rental property. That is done in other countries. It is the only way this issue can be dealt with. A rent freeze at current levels will not suffice. We need to set rents. That is done in other countries and there is no reason it cannot be done here.

There is simply no justification for vulture funds, landlords or anybody else setting rents at the current levels. They are guaranteed and, as we speak, they are escalating the homelessness crisis again. There was a brief respite from homelessness because the Government had to introduce an eviction ban, which previously it said could not be done. The ban was introduced for a brief period during Covid and homelessness decreased. The Government has since lifted the eviction ban and homelessness is on the increase again. I am dealing with three families who are working and in homeless accommodation. They were recently told by the local authority that they have to leave their accommodation because their income has risen above the income threshold. That is the reward they get for working. They are being told to leave the homeless accommodation when they have no chance of getting any other accommodation in the area. People being evicted into homelessness is reaching obscene levels.

We have given up on this Government. In this motion, we are calling on workers to get out and fight. The landlords and the big business people are exploiting the misery and suffering of people. It is time for workers to stand up and make pay claims. Like the Dunnes Stores workers, they need to insist on at least a 10% increase and that, at an absolute minimum, nobody should have to work for less than €15 per hour. On top of that, we want price controls on energy and rent controls to bring rents to affordable levels. This Government has no interest in addressing the root causes of this inflationary spiral because it is in reality collaborating with the corporate interests that are benefiting from the suffering people are having inflicted on them.

I commend the motion to the House.

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