Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Households up and down the country are facing massive electricity bills this winter. October's bill will land shortly and households are already worried sick at the thought of it. We already know that people are struggling to pay their bills following never-ending hikes over the past 18 months. The facts speak for themselves. There were 715 domestic electricity disconnections in the first half of this year and that was before many of those hikes kicked in. We also know that 125,000 households are in arrears, and that figure is only going to get worse.

The Government's refusal to reduce and cap electricity prices at pre-crisis levels is a big mistake. It will leave hard-pressed families and households wide open to further increases and the possibility of disconnection. As families face into a long winter they worry that they will not be able to afford to keep the lights on. I must tell the Minister that what is being put in place to prevent disconnections is not good enough. The plan to introduce a ban on disconnections from December to February falls far short of what is needed. People cannot wait until December. They need protection from disconnections right now. What is needed is an immediate ban on disconnections now and to run that ban right through to the end of March for every household in the State.

We turn to the 346,000 households that use prepay electricity meters. Despite the Taoiseach's commitment that nobody will be disconnected this winter, we have still not seen any real plan from the Government to protect these households. We know that once the €20 emergency credit runs out, prepay customers are disconnected by default. The Taoiseach said yesterday that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, is looking at waiving the fees for vulnerable customers to change to bill pay but that is only for medically vulnerable customers and not for those in financial hardship. The fees to switch to bill pay should be waived for all customers.

Households that cannot afford to pay need more than being told to seek help from social welfare or the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS. They need a specific solution as we come into the winter period and there are such solutions that can be brought about if the Government will is there to make it happen. As the Minister knows, many suppliers can extend an additional credit, sometimes called a friendly credit, at weekends and public holidays to prevent disconnections. This already exists. To protect prepay customers, this friendly credit should be extended to a 24-7 basis for the duration of the ban on disconnections. This is an unprecedented crisis for households and the Government has a responsibility to ensure that all households are protected from disconnection. There can be no exclusions in this.

We have asked the Taoiseach and Tánaiste what the plan is and today I am asking the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to do two specific things that can provide protection and certainty to households. Will the Government introduce the ban on disconnections for all customers from now until the end of March? Will the Minister guarantee that those using prepaid electricity meters are included by extending that friendly credit for the duration of the ban on disconnections?

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