Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Centrica made profits of £948 million, which is more than €1 billion, last year. Centrica is the parent company of Bord Gáis Energy, which in turn made profits of €70 million between 2020 and 2021. This is the company that wants to hike people's gas bills by 39% and electricity bills by 27% from next month. Is the war on Ukraine to blame for energy price rises? Yes, but let us be clear; capitalist interests closer to home are very much part of the equation. Their profiteering is being covered up by the Government but will be exposed by the socialists.

Speaking of profiteering, the ESB made profits of €679 million last year; a State-owned company making massive profits off the backs of the people in a cost-of-living crisis. What is the Government going to do about this? The ESB should be mandated by Government to operate now on a break-even basis. I am not arguing for the ESB to make a loss, merely to break even. This would not only prevent price hikes; it could even result in price cuts. Of course, such a move would undersell every for-profit operator in the market. Quite possibly, they would leave the market and the country as well. I would shed no tears to see them go and I would offer all their workers good, well-paid union jobs in the ESB. The Government is prioritising the free market and high prices over the welfare of the people it was elected to represent. The Government is favouring the profiteers over the people. If it wants to deny that then it should change the policy.

In conclusion, the energy price hikes on the cost-of-living crisis impact every home and working-class home, none more so than the households of low-paid workers. The Government increased the national minimum wage by 2.9% at the start the year. Inflation now runs at 5.6%. SIPTU economist, Mr. Michael Taft, calculated that 5.6% inflation translates to 8.5% for the lowest paid. In other words, the Government has, in effect, cut the pay of the lowest-paid workers in this country by more than 5.5%, which is headed now towards 10% as inflation continues to rise. Government Ministers have for years sneered at the socialist demand for a national minimum wage of €15 per hour. The Government said €15 is totally unrealistic. In light of all the relevant information now, I respectfully suggest that anything less than €15 would truly be unrealistic and that this country's national minimum wage rate now needs to change very quickly.

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