Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá an babhta is déanaí d’arduithe i bpraghsanna fuinnimh atá á fhógairt ag comhlachtaí fuinnimh ag cur brú millteanach airgeadais ar oibrithe agus ar theaghlaigh ar fud an Stáit. Sa chéad leath den bhliain seo, dícheanglaíodh leictreachas in os cionn 700 teaghlach agus gás in os cionn 300 teaghlach. Caithfidh an Rialtas cosc dícheangail a thabhairt isteach anois agus cinntiú go mbeidh an cosc i bhfeidhm dóibh siúd atá ag úsáid méadar réamhíoctha.

We need a real plan from the Government that ensures every single household is protected from disconnections this winter. The latest round of energy price increases announced by the providers is putting real pressure on families and workers right across the State. In the first half of this year, over 700 households were disconnected from their electricity and over 300 had their gas disconnected. Since then, bills have skyrocketed. More and more families are falling behind. The possibility of these numbers increasing over the winter months is very real.

This week, Sinn Féin passed a Dáil motion calling on the Government to ensure all households would be protected from gas and electricity disconnections during the winter months. At the core of the motion were two demands. The first was a ban on disconnections now, instead of what the Government is planning which is in December. Second, this ban would apply to all households, including the hundreds of thousands of households that use prepay meters, which this Government has forgotten about and abandoned. This is the urgent action we need. As the weather turns, the fear of disconnection is very real and very present. Two weeks ago, the Taoiseach gave a commitment. He said that nobody would be disconnected this winter, including households using prepay meters. These were welcome words but they were only words, with no action to deliver on them.

Instead of taking responsibility to protect households from disconnection, the Minister told them to go to the local social welfare officer. To make matters worse, his Green Party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, went on TV on Sunday and told people not to look to the Government for help but to go to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Citing measures the Government has taken, he said: "St. Vincent de Paul and MABS are working with electricity providers to provide friendly credit." His comments reveal yet again that this Government is painfully out of touch. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul does incredible work. Nobody can take away from that. Only for it, many people would go hungry in this State. However, it beggars belief that a Minister of State would heap further pressure on it during such difficult times. It just is not good enough for the Government to outsource its responsibility to charities. We need a real plan. We need a plan from the Government that ensures every single household is protected from disconnections this winter. Some prepay companies already have bans on disconnections at weekends, public holidays or during other peak times. This ban should be extended to all households 24-7, providing that protection during the winter period.

The Minister needs to grasp this issue with urgency. We have been saying this for weeks and we have been saying it to his Government colleagues for weeks. This is in his portfolio. This is his responsibility. All households need to be protected from energy disconnections this winter. The Government must introduce a disconnection ban now and ensure those using prepay meters are included. I have some simple questions for the Minister. Does this Government have any intention whatsoever of giving action to the commitment the Taoiseach gave that nobody would be disconnected this winter, including those on prepaid meters, or was that just a false promise? Will the Minister do the right thing? Will he give action to those words? Will he introduce a ban on disconnections for households immediately and run it to the end of March? Crucially, will he ensure the hundreds of thousands of people who use prepay meters are included in this ban?

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