Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this motion. It comes on the back of Sinn Féin's motion last night, in which we proposed a number of solutions. They included a reduction in household electricity prices, capping them at 2021 levels, and cost-of-living cash payments targeted at low- and middle-income households to support them with their rising energy bills. We in Sinn Féin are also calling for a double child benefit payment in recognition of the higher energy bills associated with larger families. The Government must also introduce a windfall tax in order that excess profits are not made during this crisis. It is immoral that companies should make excess profit from the suffering of the people of Ukraine and the misery of households struggling to heat their homes. It is time for the price-gouging to stop for good. Not only has this Government refused to act; it has actively worked against the interests of ordinary workers and small business owners and their families.

Unfortunately, that is nothing new. Last October the Government opposed proposals at EU level to decouple electricity prices from the gas market, which would have helped bring down the costs. The price of gas is dictating the price of all electricity, which is pushing bills to an extortionate level, even for renewable electricity. While we can produce electricity from wind and solar power at a relatively low price, the current system means that that energy is sold at the same rate as gas-generated electricity. As recently as June of this year, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, expressed his opposition to fixing this flawed system.

It is clear that the Government is prioritising the profits of energy companies ahead of the interests of citizens and their ability to afford to heat their homes during the winter. I now have small business owners in south Kildare telling me that their businesses will not survive this winter if something is not done soon. Some of these businesses have been on the go for over 100 years. They have survived recession, war and Covid, only to be killed off by an indifferent or, worse, malevolent Government. It is a Government that prioritises the properties and profits of energy companies over schools that are struggling to pay bills. It is a Government that prioritises data centres over the electricity need of the ordinary worker and family. Data centres now use as much electricity as all homes in rural Ireland combined. Last month, a new data centre in Ennis was approved. That centre will use the equivalent power of 200,000 homes. This is putting huge pressure on the grid.

Winter is coming and it is time to pull the plug. It is time to pull the plug on the Government now because it is an absolute shambles.

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