Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak. I thank the Social Democrats for bringing it forward.

Last month, Europe's gas prices returned to pre-war levels yet citizens' bills continue to soar while energy companies make eye-watering profits. The Government has not only allowed this to happen but it has actually facilitated it. I warned of this back in September when speaking on budget 2023. I warned that by giving out three instalments of energy credits, we will be putting money straight into the pockets of the energy companies. At the time, I asked why energy companies would ever reduce their prices when they know the Government will not only let them keep rising but will actually pay them when they do it.

It is five months later and here is the proof - gas prices have gone down and energy companies are paying less yet not a single energy company or supplier has reduced its prices to their customers. Why? Because they know the Government will facilitate any ridiculous rates they decide to charge. The reality is that we paid for Shell's record-breaking profit of €36 billion last year, which is more than double what it raked in in the previous year. It is absolutely despicable. Profiteering on a war is unethical and wrong. Instead of taking power away from these profit-hungry immoral companies, the Government has instead subsidised them at the expense of its own citizens.

I heard a quote on radio today that rings very true. Someone said gas prices rise like a rocket but drop like a feather. That is the reality of the situation everybody is facing here. On the radio this morning, people were talking about how ESB prices are fixed for the next two years. This is absolutely incredible stuff.

It is incredibly frustrating to see the detrimental impact energy prices are having on people and businesses in my constituency of Donegal. Many businesses in the county were forced to close their doors due to the struggles they faced in paying energy bills. I fear that many more will follow after what has been a very difficult winter for many small businesses.

The motion put forward today rightly points out the fact that there is a risk of an energy crisis coming, and a jobs crisis if businesses begin to close. The people of this country are already enduring a cost-of-living crisis. The last thing they need is yet another crisis to join the endless cycle of crises in the country. Citizens are struggling enough. Food banks are becoming increasingly frequent and sought after in rural communities as families struggle to put food on the table. It is devastating and we cannot continue to pay this way.

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