Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tairgim:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— workers and families face a cost-of-living crisis;

— inflation and rising prices disproportionately impact the living standards of lower-income households, with low- and middle-income households spending a higher proportion of their income on food, electricity and home heating than higher-income households;

— in the 12 months to January:

— the price of gas has increased by 28 per cent;

— the price of home heating has increased by 50 per cent;

— the price of petrol has increased by 30 per cent; and

— the price of diesel has increased by 32 per cent;

— increases in the cost of fuel are a cause of financial hardship for many households;

— the planned increase in carbon tax on fuels used to heat homes on 1st May, 2022 and transport fuels on 12th October, 2022 will increase fuel prices even further; and

— the Government has failed to establish an expert advisory group on energy poverty to review the existing data on energy poverty levels, examine research both domestically and internationally on the causes, impacts and remedies to address energy poverty, and propose an appropriate energy poverty measurement and tracking methodology to inform public policy; and

calls on the Government to scrap the planned increase in carbon tax on fuels used to heat homes on 1st May, 2022 and transport fuels on 12th October, 2022.

The Irish people are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. It is an issue we have raised time and time again. In past year, prices have risen by 5% with workers and families facing a drop in living standards as they are forced to cut back on spending. Many people are facing very difficult choices. Two weeks ago, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul released a survey which found that two out of five people had to cut back on essential heating and electricity use. By the time many families pay the bills, there is very little left to provide for the essentials. The Irish people needed the Government to act. They needed the Government to have their backs. They needed the Government to protect them from the sharp edge of the cost-of-living crisis, but that did not happen. The Government announced a package that barely scratched the surface, including an energy credit that provided the same level of support to a millionaire as it did to a worker on the minimum wage.

We in Sinn Féin repeat our calls on the Government to act now and implement the proposals we brought forward. As we know, inflation and rising prices have largely been responsible for the spike in energy prices. Households are seeing this in their domestic energy bills. The price of electricity went up by 22%, petrol by 30%, diesel by 32%, gas by 28% and home heating oil by a staggering 50%. These energy prices are reducing living standards. It should be noted that the Government will make matters worse by rising these prices further. Every price rise has a VAT charge attached to it. Therefore, this year's VAT receipts will be higher than expected. Despite these energy price hikes, the Government is determined to plough ahead with carbon tax hikes in May and October, in spite of the reality that hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed families face. This is a Government that is out of touch and out of time, and does not get it. We are asking the Government, at this late stage, to take a common-sense approach, be aware of the financial difficulties people face and scrap the planned carbon tax hikes.

The carbon tax is known to be regressive, hurting low-income, lone parent and rural households hardest. Carbon tax is not progressive but a flat consumption tax. Without alternatives it will not change behaviour but only make people poorer.

The Government has made the carbon tax its silver bullet in response to the climate breakdown. It is time to face some facts. Inflation does not impact everyone equally. Low and middle-income households spend more of their income on energy than the top 10%. Those in the bottom 10% spend three times more of their income on energy than those in the top 10%. In the same way, not everyone bears the same responsibility for carbon emissions. A recent study by Nature Sustainabilityjournal found that half of the world's carbon footprint is caused by the top 1%. In Ireland, it found that the carbon footprint of the top 10% is eight times greater than that of the bottom 10% and almost twice that of middle-income households. The wealthiest in our society bear the greatest responsibility for climate breakdown but the Government plans to hike the carbon tax, which hits low-income households the hardest. We could not make this up. It does not make sense and it is not a just transition. The Government's climate action policy fails to reflect this. More than this, the unveiled retrofit plans will transfer wealth upstream to the wealthiest in our society. Increasing the carbon tax will make the cost of energy and the cost of heating one's home more expensive. That is the fact of it. At a time when so many families are already stretched at the margins of their pay packets with the rising cost of living, this should not be happening. With the cost of home heating oil already gone up by 50% and still rising, this should not be happening. At a time when there is further risk of energy increases as a result of increased tension in eastern Europe, where is the sense in pushing these prices up further?

This motion calls on the Government to recognise the financial difficulties that households are facing, particularly with regard to energy prices. We are calling on the Government to take a common-sense position, not to make matters worse or push up the price of oil and gas, which it is planning to do in less than three months. This is the time when the Government can finally say that it understands the concerns, pleas, anguish and anxiety of people out there who have faced skyrocketing energy bills and that it is not going to make things worse for them. This House needs to stand up and say it will not make it harder for people to heat their homes this year as they face these price increases. Now is the time to support this motion.

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