Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, on introducing this motion. We have had 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections in the first half of this year. Something needs to be done immediately.

The Government's rejection of the Sinn Féin proposal to reduce and cap electricity prices at pre-crisis levels was a big mistake. It leaves hard-pressed households exposed to additional hikes and to the prospect of disconnection. As families face a long winter, they worry that they will not be able to keep the lights on.

The Government also delayed by 12 months the Second Reading of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021, which was introduced by Sinn Féin. The Bill sought to extend the moratorium on disconnections to run over the entire fuel allowance season. The Government should rethink these proposals and not simply reject them because Sinn Féin has proposed them. What is important is that people are protected now.

Households throughout my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan and all other constituencies are facing enormous energy bills this winter. They have been hit by price hike after price hike over the past 18 months and are anxious about whether they can keep on top of these escalating bills. It is vital that people are protected now, that they are given certainty that their bills will be affordable and that they will have an assurance that they will not face disconnection from electricity and gas this winter.

Introducing measures in December will be too late for many. This needs to happen now and continue until the end of March. The protection must also be extended to the 378,000 customers across the State who use pay-as-you-go meters. Currently, when their emergency credit runs out, prepay customers are disconnected by default but the Government still has no real plan to protect these households. That is not good enough. We need to ensure that prepay meter customers get the same protection from electricity and gas connections or, at the very least, friendly credit on prepay meters needs to be extended.

This is an unparalleled crisis. The Government needs to ensure that all households are protected from disconnection. I commend Deputy O'Rourke on the work he has done to bring this motion to the floor of the House and I urge everyone to support it.

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