Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is time for the Government to wake up to the reality of where ordinary workers are at. Families are facing a cost of living crisis they have never seen before. Many of them are being forced into decisions they thought they would never have to make, like whether to put food on the table or to keep the heat going. Families that once would donate to the food banks are now standing in those queues waiting for those same parcels. The choice before the State is simple. It can, on one hand, allow citizens to fall into poverty and financial hardship or wake up to the reality, step up to the plate and fulfil its duty and act. That is what the Sinn Féin motion before the House calls on the Government to do today, to act in the interest of our people in the middle of this cost of living crisis.

Our motion is very clear and has a number of areas. First is energy. Compared to last summer with the winter we now face into, households are paying an average €1,300 more on their electricity bills. Sinn Féin says that needs to stop. We need to cut those bills for those families, workers and households. We need to bring it back to its level prior to the crisis, back to €1,000 on average. We need to do that during the period of this winter and to not only give families a reduction in their electricity bills but also something so valuable in these pressing times, certainty that the bills will not increase and that on this issue the Government has their back and can say "we are with you on this and are taking the pressure from you". It is a simple proposal. It is one the Minister's European colleagues in other jurisdictions have implemented. Romania has extended the cap on energy prices until August next year. France has nationalised its system to allow for certainty in energy. Other countries have used different models. We should be doing the same. We need a government that understands the crisis that families are in and that is not willing to dither but rather to act in the interest of people. It can be done just as others have done. Energy and electricity prices can be brought back to where they were pre-crisis and bills reduced by up to €1,300 annually and kept at that level until the end of February. It is time-limited. It is not a blank cheque or any of the sound bites the Government throws out. Instead of grappling with our suggestions that would help people, it tries to dismiss them and brushes them away. On top of that, we also need an excessive profit tax similar to that in Italy. The Minister will be familiar with that. It has increased the rate recently to ensure energy providers are not profiteering through the crisis. The Government could give a commitment to underwrite the difference in the price of electricity charged to households and the cost to the companies of delivering it. Those are two proposals that can work. But we recognise that families and workers are facing many more pressures, including that of heating homes with the price of home heating oil or gas or the increased costs of food and clothing, as well as petrol and diesel to go from A to B. They are essential costs in this day and age. That is why we need to see the Government go further. We need cost of living cash payments targeted at those who are most in need. Individual incomes for those over 18 years below €21,000 need €500 in their pockets in the next month. We need to see step-down payments for people earning up to €70,000 to help them get through these winter months. Politics is all about choices. The Minister knows that. I know that. These issues are about choices but many people sitting at home who might be tuning in to this debate cannot see the choices. All they see is the rattle of the letter box and another bill which has increased coming through it. They are afeared of the postman or postwoman walking down their lane. It is time for the Government to act. As Deputy Mac Lochlainn observed, the Financial Times has pointed out that this Government is the second worst in Europe in relation to its spend as a proportion of GDP in supporting businesses and households during this energy crisis. The Government needs to wake up to what is really happening. It needs to understand the depths of the crisis and where workers and families are at. We are putting on the table the solutions that are needed. These are the policies I would implement were I Minister for Finance and I say to the Minister that these are the policies he and the Green Party should be implementing were they worth their salt in this Government.

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