Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, for bringing this motion before the House. We have known for a long time of the struggles that some households are facing when it comes to energy costs. That situation is now worse than ever given the cost-of-living crisis and the particular crisis that families and households face as electricity and gas prices continue to rise.

Since the pandemic, families have had to worry about illness, temporary loss of jobs, financial worries and putting food on the table. They now face a new pandemic in energy with costs spiralling out of control, so much so that they choose between sitting in darkness, having a meal on the table or heating the house. Government should also take into account the stress our school children will go through if their homes are disconnected as the winter months come in and they may have two to three hours of homework.

We in Sinn Féin are calling for a ban on disconnections to start immediately and run to the end of March for all customers and not just those who are medically vulnerable. Households need support during this difficult time, not the threat of being left in the cold, with darkness hanging over them. Such a ban on disconnections gives a household time to come to an arrangement with their supplier. Our motion would also give certainty to the many people who use prepay electricity meters. Once their €20 emergency credit runs out, prepay customers are disconnected. The Government still has no plan to protect these households.

Our motion would ensure that prepay meter customers got the same protection from electricity and gas disconnections. This is about fairness and giving certainty to people. The Government needs to ensure that all households are protected from disconnections. I would have called on all Deputies to support this motion but the Government took the easy way out by not opposing the motion, which does not necessarily mean it is supporting it. We in Sinn Féin will stand up for ordinary workers and families to ensure no family will be in the dark or the cold this winter.

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