Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been a huge surge in energy costs since last year. As electricity prices skyrocketed, the impact of these drastic price increases has been felt across every sector of society. Businesses have incurred devastating additional costs, which has meant that continuing in business is not sustainable for many people. Families have seen energy bills triple. Over the winter, people had to choose to either heat their homes or put food on the table. Many families and elderly people in my constituency faced a cold winter as they could not afford to heat their house. These unprecedented increases in energy prices for homes and businesses are among the highest in Europe.

Dublin North-West has a number of older housing estates that were built from the 1950s onwards. These old buildings are expensive to heat. Most of the heat escapes through the walls and roofs because they are not properly insulated. Many residents are older people and are more susceptible to hypothermia in a cold environment. Many elderly residents have come to my constituency office in despair at their latest electricity bill. People have received bills amounting to thousands of euro. These exorbitant bills have meant that many vulnerable individuals who are unwaged or on low pay have had to cut back on other spending. People are increasingly getting bills they cannot afford.

A recent report from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul showed that almost 400,000 people were unable to afford to heat their homes adequately last year, double the number from 2021. This is in the face of massive profits made by energy companies. After-tax profits at the ESB in 2022 were more than double those of 2021, amounting to almost €650 million. In view of such massive profits, there is a clear argument for the urgent need for a windfall tax on energy companies. Energy poverty, along with the cost-of-living, housing and health crises, adds to the hardship and stresses people face each day. Capping energy prices at pre-Ukraine invasion levels, reversing the increase in carbon tax and giving the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities the tools to prevent price gouging will all help struggling families with these unprecedented rises in the cost of energy.

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