Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom ceist a ardú leis an Tánaiste faoi na costais atá ag cur isteach go mór ar theaghlaigh. Tá an geimhreadh ag bualadh linn agus tá imní ar theaghlaigh ar fud an Stáit faoi chostais fhuinnimh. Tá eagla orthu go bhfuil praghsanna ag dul in airde agus in airde agus nach mbeidh go leor fágtha acu chun billí a íoc agus na soilse a choinneáil ar siúl. Tá polasaí ag an Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, nach mbeidh cead ag na comhlachtaí fuinnimh tithe a dhícheangal le linn an gheimhridh, ach ní bhaineann an polasaí seo leis na 340,000 daoine atá ag úsáid méadar réamhíoctha. Thug an Taoiseach a fhocal, gealltanas, ag an deireadh seachtaine nach mbeadh custaiméirí a úsáideann méadair réamhíoctha á dícheangal. An bhfuil an Rialtas chun polasaí a thabhairt isteach a dhéanfaidh beart de réir bhriathar an Taoisigh?

At the weekend, the Taoiseach gave a commitment that nobody would be disconnected from their electricity supply this winter. That commitment would be welcomed by many people who are very concerned and worried. Yesterday, when he was pressed by our party leader and other Members of the Opposition about how this work in detail and in practice, he was not able to provide any answers. Workers and families are under severe pressure in the face of a cost-of-living and energy crisis. Electricity suppliers are constantly announcing price hikes. Some price hikes came into effect this week. The Government's continuing refusal to cap electricity prices at pre-crisis levels has left people wide open to further hikes. Ultimately, households that cannot pay their bills are in danger of disconnection. In the first half of this year, 712 households were disconnected. That was before the impact of the huge increases in bills and the impact of winter. The weather has started to turn. It is getting colder. Winter is nearly here and workers and families need certainty.

The plan to introduce a ban on disconnections for bill-pay customers from December until February is not good enough. It leaves people waiting far too long for protection and the timespan is too short. There are 125,000 households currently in arrears and this figure, unfortunately, is only going in one direction. What is needed is an immediate ban on disconnections now and to run that ban right through to the end of March. That is crucial because this will not apply to workers and families with a prepay meter. We need to give effect to the Taoiseach's commitment. There are approximately 346,000 households that use prepay electricity meters in this State. The CRU has warned that there could be difficulties in providing additional credits to pay-as-you-go customers. Many of those on prepay meters are already rationing their electricity for fear of being cut off. There is growing concern that these households are effectively disconnecting. Households that pay as they go for their energy are at greater risk now than in the coming months as they are unable to spread the cost across the year like direct debit customers.

The Taoiseach gave a very firm commitment on behalf of the Government at the weekend. As I said, that commitment was welcomed by people who are struggling and will find it difficult to keep the lights on this winter. It was a commitment that was welcomed in particular by the 340,000 people who are on prepay meters, who unfortunately have no guarantee that they will not be disconnected this winter. How is the Government going to live up to that promise? How is it going to ensure that those customers who are vulnerable, those who are paying higher tariffs through prepay meters, and those who are inflicted with a penalty if they want to go onto bill pay have the same certainty every bill-pay customer will have this winter?

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