Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises that unsustainably high energy bills continue to put workers and families under significant financial pressure;

notes that:

— the average cost of gas and electricity bills has doubled over the last year;

— the price of electricity in Ireland is the highest in Europe, and the price of gas is the eighth most expensive according to a European Household Energy Price Index;

— the number of people living in energy poverty has doubled over the last year, and at its peak was reported to be at a record breaking high of 40 per cent;

— one in five Irish homes are now behind on their gas bills, of those 679,000 people rely on gas to heat their homes, and 139,785 were in arrears at the end of December, with this rising to 152,276 by the end of February; and

— wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen significantly, yet there have been no efforts to pass this on to consumers, in addition wholesale electricity prices have dropped by 50.5 per cent in the last year, a decrease of 8.7 per cent since February;

further notes that:

— there is inadequate regulation in the energy market;

— the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) lacks the regulatory power, resources and mandate to adequately regulate the energy market;

— there is an increasing trend for energy companies to use standing charges to increase their profitability, and in some cases, the increase was more than €300, and the CRU does not have the legislative remit to address standing charges; and

— two of the State's largest energy providers, Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy, have recently made blunders in their billing process, putting thousands of workers and families in even more financial hardship during a raging cost-of-living crisis;

regrets that:

— on 1st May, the Government have again chosen to increase the carbon tax, which has increased the cost of home heating oil, peat briquettes and natural gas for household use for workers and families;

— the Government have prioritised the profits of energy companies over workers and families at every turn, and their efforts to shield consumers from rising energy costs are weak and comparatively thin when compared to other European Union (EU) member states;

— the Government has also failed to introduce electricity price caps when they are commonplace amongst many EU member states;

— the Government measures to address windfall gains in the energy sector are wholly inadequate, and despite the European Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 coming into effect in October, the Government did not make an announcement until November and legislation was not introduced until late March, for which we are still at the stage of pre-legislative scrutiny;

— the Government blocked attempts to introduce a windfall tax, only doing so when compelled to do so when the EU, as a whole, did so through the introduction of regulation 2022/1854 to address windfall gains in the energy market;

— the regulation does not go far enough to address these windfall gains, and with reference to the cap on market revenues in particular, the regulation does not provide for member states to address the periods where they were at their peak; and

— the Irish Government has elected to introduce the cap on market revenues for the minimum period of December 2022 to June 2023, while other EU member states have recognised the weakness in the regulatory measure and introduced taxes to address their super-profits, with Austria, France, the Netherlands and Belgium all having introduced taxes which enable them to address the super-profits earned in the summer, and similarly Germany and Poland have introduced other levies which address profits in the period after the regulatory measure ends; and

calls on the Government to:

— introduce a windfall tax which addresses the super-profits of energy companies when they were at their peak in 2022;

— provide financial relief and certainty to households by reducing electricity prices for households to their pre-Ukraine War levels, and capping them at that level as done in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands;

— reverse the increase in carbon tax; and

— introduce new regulatory powers for the CRU, including the legislative remit to address standing charges, to review practices of hedging and investigate possible instances of price gouging, and ensure that it is resourced to do so.

If we could find one word to describe the past year in our energy sector, it would be "chaos". Prices surged, profits soared and people suffered. Last week, we learned that Ireland's electricity prices are the highest in Europe, while wholesale prices have fallen sharply. The Government has not done enough to protect people, instead choosing at every turn to resist progressive reforms with the knock-on effect of protecting the obscene super-profits of energy companies. This motion seeks to right those wrongs. Energy poverty is at some of the highest levels ever recorded, having doubled in the past year. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul told the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands today that 377,000 people are now living in energy poverty. All of this happens while the profits of energy companies have risen to eye-watering and unprecedented levels. It is galling and unjust. It is clear that something is going very wrong here and that the system is not fit for purpose. Energy companies have free reign to run rough shod over their customers. This motion will not only provide people with the relief and certainty they so urgently need, it will also put forward solutions that will address the absolute state of disarray in the energy sector.

Price caps are an accepted and sensible measure to address the runaway prices of energy. This Government would prefer to paint it as a drastic measure that is some sort of international outlier. The Government will point to Britain as if we in Sinn Féin would propose measures mirroring the approach of its Tory counterparts across the water. The fact is that amongst many EU states, price caps are commonplace, having being introduced successfully in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and elsewhere. A temporary electricity price cap is a necessary reprieve people need to avoid disaster. That is why Sinn Féin is proposing this three-month measure until July, at an estimated cost of €530 million. Our motion also seeks to follow the example of our EU neighbours and go beyond the narrow EU regulation on windfall taxes and temporary solidarity contributions, recognising that it fails to address the obscene superprofits earned last summer, especially in the renewable energy sector. The Government will present its efforts as if it is doing the most it can, but that is not the case. Other EU states have introduced windfall taxes that target these eye-watering superprofits prior to December 2022 and go beyond June 2023. That is exactly what this motion sets out to do: to restore some semblance of fairness and balance.

However, we should not be surprised that this Government is bringing forward a weak windfall tax. Let us not forget that the former Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, made it very clear that he opposed windfall taxes as late as last summer. This Government has only moved to do the bare minimum when compelled to do so by narrow EU regulation. It is too little, too late. It is not good enough for pensioners paying bills of more than €1,600; single mothers regularly skipping meals so they can keep the lights on or the renters who are also facing sky-high rents. Instead of pathetic online petitions and endless hot air from Ministers, it is time Government held energy companies to account.

We know that wholesale prices have fallen below pre-war levels but consumer prices remain sky high. People are outraged and demand answers. Energy companies point to their hedging strategy and Government acts like a mouthpiece for them. It is even in the Government's amendment. The Government keeps saying it will bring the issue to energy companies. It will not just be polite encouragement, the Taoiseach said in February. Yesterday, three months later, the Minister, Deputy McGrath, said he needed a better explanation. I am sure the energy companies were quaking in their boots. The Government is merely acting as a commentator when action is needed. The regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, does not even have the power to address standing charges, again a measure that is common among EU member states.

This motion seeks to correct this absolute lack of power and scrutiny and reduce the risk of profiteering while ordinary people struggle to make ends meet. It proposes to reverse this Government's punitive move to increase the carbon tax. What the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and this Government continually fail to recognise is that the transition away from fossil fuels must be just. I call on the Government and the Opposition to support this motion to provide relief, quell the chaos and reduce rip-off energy bills.

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