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

As Sinn Féin has acknowledged previously, and acknowledges in the motion, the Government cannot do everything when it comes to the cost of living and, in particular, the energy crisis that households right across this State face. However, there is a glaring anomaly in relation to rural households, the vast majority of which rely on home heating oil and nothing else to heat their homes, and the reduction and removal of excise duty.

The Minister went to great lengths to tell us about the difficulties in relation to reducing VAT. He spent from October last to April telling us that VAT could not be reduced. Eventually, we heard it could be reduced. That has not happened for home heating oil, which has to be reduced. The same applies to the many rural households that rely on turf. Many people, of whom I am one, do not necessarily enjoy going to the bog. We go reluctantly. Many members of the generation before us are much happier to go to the bog and actually enjoy it. A previous speaker stated there is a kind of mystic belief for people when it comes to bogs. It is so much more than that for our older generation. I am thinking of my nanny who is 90 years of age. She would go to the bog tomorrow before she would go anywhere in the world. The bog means so much to that older generation. Turf cutting is being phased out and turf is not going to last forever. New homes are being built without chimneys. Young people do not have the same interest in going to the bog. It is going to phase out naturally. That should be allowed to happen.

It is not unreasonable for people in rural communities and for those of us on the Opposition benches to ask for alternatives to be put in place before the Government takes away the only source of fuel that rural households have. That is a reasonable ask from Opposition parties. All of us, including people in rural communities, want to play our part when it comes to climate action. Everyone wants to do their bit. However, for rural communities it is more difficult to play that part because the alternatives are not there. We do not have the same options when it comes to public transport. In many cases, it simply does not exist. We have not had the same options as regards changing home heating. People have to have money in their pocket if they want to take up the grants the Government has made available. That, in the first instance, is an immediate problem.

There are various views in the House on the carbon tax increase. Again, the difficulty for those of us who live in rural communities is that there are no alternatives. The carbon tax is almost irrelevant for people who have a lot of money. They can buy an electric car and upgrade their house without having to think twice about it. From Sunday, the Government is piling a carbon tax increase on people who do not have that disposable income. They cannot afford the alternatives. They will be the people who will make the difficult decision not to turn on the heating. They will contribute to the 3,000 people who die in Ireland every year due to fuel poverty. It is a great stain on our State in this day and age that this is happening.

With respect, I wish Members on the Government benches would stop talking about the cost-of-living package in the budget last October, which was months ago. They keep referring to the social welfare increases that are now totally irrelevant. There were no social welfare increases for two years. People who are on those higher social welfare rates have incomes of approximately €50 a month below the minimum essential standard of living, MESL, which would protect them from poverty. None of our social welfare rates do that. There has also been a consistent over-reliance on the fuel allowance. There is no link to the fuel allowance and people who are at risk of or are living in fuel poverty. People get the fuel allowance if they get a certain number of payments. That is it. There is no link between the fuel allowance and fuel poverty. It does not exist.

Government Deputies also spoke about allocating to households that are at risk of fuel poverty. How can the Government do that when it does not know who is in fuel poverty? We do not have the data. The Government did not meet the commitment outlined in the strategy in 2016 to look at those houses that are in fuel poverty. That is the first step. As a Deputy said earlier, we have not said what needs to be done in relation to action for rural communities. The first thing we have to do is identify households that are experiencing fuel poverty or are at risk of it. We have to prioritise them for retrofitting.

We heard that energy upgrades would be deployed rapidly and at scale. Where are they being deployed rapidly and at scale? The warmer homes scheme has a waiting list of two years to get a home retrofitted. That is only if someone receives the fuel allowance, which is allocated to a small number of the population.

On turf, the Government has to consider what it is asking people to give up. People rear their turf and when they put it in the range it heats every radiator in the house and the water. People can cook breakfast, dinner and tea on the range. The Government has to consider what it is asking people to give up.

This motion has been brought forward in good faith by those of us who come from rural communities and know the impact this fiasco over the past two weeks has had. It has caused worry and stress, particularly to our older generation who deserve far better. I ask the Government to reconsider its position on the motion.

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