Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This motion aims to assist people with their household bills. We need to reduce the costs and put money back in people's pockets. The last straw was the latest round of announcements on electricity prices going up from 27% to 34%. For many, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, in addition to mortgages and back-to-school costs.

I spoke last week with a large employer of 130 employees in County Kerry. He showed me his electricity bills. The difference between January 2019 and January 2020 was a 35% increase. In February it was 36% and in March it was down to 31%, but in April and May it was back up to a 78% and 70% increase, respectively. The manager told me that in his 25 years in the business this is the most uncertain time that he has ever faced going forward. He has no control over costs, and even though he has adopted every cost-saving measure throughout his building, as he is in the hospitality sector, he wants to deliver a service that reflects good things about County Kerry. He needs all the help and support that is available.

We have heard a lot about people in their own homes and the increased costs of €1,000 in their electricity bills. The refusal of the Government to bring forward an emergency budget before the summer recess left people on their own. The refusal of the Minister, acting on behalf of the Government, to reform the electricity market, has already been mentioned. It would have reduced the bills of households and businesses sooner. We need to cut household electricity bills. We must cap them at 2021 prices. We need to introduce cash payments, a double child benefit payment and a windfall tax.

The manager also gave me a list of all the different increases ranging from food prices to his rates bill. We have heard about gougers earlier. The biggest gougers in the country are in the insurance industry. In 2020 and in 2021, in the middle of Covid, his insurance bill was €65,000 and €67,000, but the insurance industry has reared its ugly head again and his insurance bill for the year is €160,000. On top of everything else, there is a real threat that it will put him out of business.

We have tried to introduce measures. The old reliables - the usual suspects - are getting away with it, but they have been joined now. We must act soon - in the budget - to reduce the costs for everyone.

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