Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: recognises that:

— it is not possible for the Government to fully insulate all households from every price increase but, nonetheless, believes that the measures announced by the Government to date, including those announced on 13th April, are inadequate and that more can and should be done to support workers and families at this time;

— prices have been rising at a record-breaking pace and the Consumer Price Index increase between February and March this year is the highest monthly increase witnessed since the Central Statistics Office began publishing the series in 1997, annual inflation is the highest it's been in over twenty years and the prices of many essentials are expected to continue rising in the months ahead;

— these price increases have a greater impact on rural, low-income and older households according to the Central Bank;

— many households, particularly in rural Ireland, depend on home heating oil to heat their homes and the price of this energy source has increased the most;

— two-thirds of households in the West and North West rely on home heating oil to heat their homes, which has doubled in price in the last year alone; and

— some four per cent of households depend on peat as the main energy source to heat their homes, rising to nine per cent of rural households and to one in five households in the Midlands;

acknowledges the need for ambitious climate action that is fair and socially just;

condemns:

— the failure by the Government to take any action whatsoever to tackle the rising cost of home heating oil and the recent proposals announced to ban the sale of turf, at a time when alternative heating options are either unaffordable or unavailable and while in the midst of an energy crisis people are going cold in their homes;

— the determination of the Government to make home heating even more expensive for householders by increasing the carbon tax again on 1st May; and

— that there has been no energy poverty strategy since 2019; and

calls on the Government to:

— scrap plans to ban the sale of turf from September 2022;

— cancel the carbon tax increase due to commence on 1st May; and

— temporarily remove excise duty on home heating oil.

In the teeth of one of the greatest energy crises many of us have seen in our lifetimes, when households are choosing between heating and eating, when energy providers, one after the other, are increasing their prices and when inflation is at record levels - at a 20-year high with more increases on the way - only in this Government could a Minister and a Department be looking in the background at taking away what is for some the only source of heating for their homes. It is pulling the rug from under people without providing alternatives. The greatest frustration in all of this is that once again the Government has been doing things back to front, taking away what is there and leaving people with nothing. This is what the latest proposal seeks to do.

In recent days, I have heard the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, hitting out at misinformation and disinformation on his proposals on the sale of turf. We had a reply to a parliamentary question on 5 April which stated categorically that a regulatory provision will be made to prohibit the placing on the market for sale or distribution of sod peat. The reply went on to state that persons with turbary rights will not be permitted to place turf on the market for sale or distribution to others. There was no mention of a draft. There was no mention of any consultation. It was a factual statement that this was happening from 1 September, a matter of months away. This was clearly the Minister's intention. The Tánaiste was quick to say the ban was paused. The Minister was quick to say the ban was not paused and the plan would proceed. The Minister then went on to say, and it was almost as if he were trying to be funny, that he would not be putting grannies in prison for cutting turf. I was not sure what that was about.

The latest is a proposed exemption for communities with populations of 500. It is another completely unworkable suggestion. If the Government and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, want to speak about misinformation and disinformation they should look at themselves first and foremost. It is the Government and the Minister in particular that have caused all of this. They have caused worry and stress, particularly among older people in rural communities who do not know whether they are coming or going with regard to turf. Many who buy turf do so by the bag because they cannot afford to buy any more. Others who cut turf previously and had turbary rights are physically no longer able to save turf and, therefore, they buy it. I am not sure how it would be possible to look at exemptions for certain populations. Would it even be overseen or policed? It is absolutely unworkable.

I notice a change in language in the amendment to the motion tabled by the Government. It has changed it to refer to a regulation to prohibit the sale of sod peat in larger agglomerations. I do not even know what that means. Turf is not sold on a wide scale. It is not a big enterprise. It is not happening. Who are these proposals aimed at? We need absolute clarity this evening. This is why the debate is so important for people in rural communities who do not know what is happening. I do not think "agglomerations" will help the situation. It now looks like the Minister is framing proposals to deal with a situation that does not exist in the first instance. People selling turf are doing so on a small scale for people who need it. They are the only ones using turf today. They are using it because they have no alternative and they rely on it.

The cost of home heating oil is an issue we have raised repeatedly. The Government has done nothing on reducing the cost of home heating oil. This is something that has not been, and is not being, addressed. In fact, the Government will increase the cost on Sunday when it will increase the carbon tax. Much has been made of the idea that the Government is offsetting the cost of the carbon tax. It is simply giving with one hand and taking with the other but this will not help people. We have heard a lot in recent weeks about fuel poverty. We do not know the number of people and households living in fuel poverty. How do we address it? According to ALONE, the organisation for older people, we know that approximately 3,000 people die in Ireland every year due to fuel poverty. They die because they are cold in their homes. That is absolutely incredible in 2022. We know there has been no energy poverty strategy since 2019. We know there was a commitment to establish an energy poverty advisory group. This was recommended in 2016. It has not come to pass.

See this speech in context