Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Why has the Government deliberately chosen not to cap the cost of electricity or implement a windfall tax on electricity providers in this country? Never has there been a more important time to be decisive and to reduce the crippling bills that households, small businesses and farmers are facing. All energy customers are once again facing extremely significant increases in their bills from this month, with seven providers applying massive price hikes. These companies are receiving little or no support from the community, public or businesses. Why would the Government do nothing and effectively hand these companies carte blancheapproval to do what they like? That is what it has done.

When all of the price increases since the start of last year are totalled, they add up to more than €1,700 per year to people's electricity bills and over €1,700 to their gas bills. In overall terms, these cumulative increases will mean an average household will be paying €2,500 more in energy costs than was the case in 2020. Those are the basic and bare facts.

The Government's only intervention of offering a rebate for households this winter is completely insufficient. This rebate will not even cover 25% of the increased cost of household energy bills above 2020 levels. It is a pittance. It is silly. For many households, that amount will not even pay one month's supply bill. Those are the facts of the matter. In all, the money from this voucher scheme will only end up going directly to the energy companies, which is not the desired effect. In reality, it is a bailout for those companies.

Ministers have been quick to recommend that customers change providers to obtain better prices. According to the CRU, however, customers who attempt to switch will be able to make no real savings because the discounts offered as incentives have been dramatically reduced. The companies are doing what they like all the time.

Electric Ireland has approximately 1.2 million electricity customers and 145,000 gas customers. Its parent group, the ESB, reported operating profits of €679 million for last year, an increase of 10% on 2020. The dividend it paid to the State was a mere €126 million. Why does the Government not take a much larger slice of that? The massive profits made by ESB Group during the current energy crisis should be used to reduce utility bills. This is especially true when one considers that ESB Group has reported overall profits of €1.5 billion in the past year alone. That is a staggering level of funds. No one would deny a company the right to make a profit but those are staggering, eye-watering figures. As the owner of this company, how can the Government allow it to make record profits off the backs of ordinary householders and small businesses amid soaring prices for energy?

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