Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister of State and his Department on bringing forward the Bill and the work that is ongoing with this and associated Bills, which I understand will be published this summer. Like others, I lament the fact it has taken some time for this Bill to reach the House, but I know the committee had a small hand in that today.

I, like other Members of this House, am acutely aware of the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on the lives of people we represent. The energy market saw significant disruption following the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia in January 2022. This caused huge uncertainty regarding the production and supply of energy. This has resulted, unfortunately, in soaring energy prices that are ultimately shouldered by consumers. Home heating and electricity are base needs, leaving consumers with little or no option but to meet the rising costs of energy.

We also know that the initial shockwave to the market has subsided, and prices involved in the production and refining of fossil fuels have fallen significantly since their peak in 2022. Despite this, the energy companies have taken in extraordinary profits well above what they might have imagined prior to the invasion of Ukraine. The vast majority of them have not reacted to the reduction in production costs and are passing them on to their customers.

This Government, since the onset of war in Europe, has brought in significant measures to protect people and businesses across the State. These measures saw an investment of €2.4 billion in supports for consumers in 2022 and a further €2.5 billion in one-off supports contained within budget 2023. These are not just headline figures. They have made an enormous difference to hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country and, as we have committed, we will do more if we need to in the coming budget, and I am sure we will.

The introduction of an electricity energy credit, for example, made a significant impact and helped to give consumers breathing space with regard to meeting their energy bills, while also contending with the rise in the cost of living. The temporary solidarity contribution contained within this Bill will allow us the option of using the resulting proceeds to implement further supports, where necessary.

I believe the energy crisis experienced in Europe and the wider world underscores the necessity for us to further develop clean renewable energy here at home. By developing our wind sector, both onshore and offshore and, indeed, the solar energy sector, we can boost our ability to adapt to changing international outlooks and respond to emerging crises as they occur.

Importantly, these efforts will also result in cheaper household energy bills in the long term.

Through these measures, we can also change the relationship we, as a State, have with energy use and production, shifting our culture from an import-based model to a more self-sufficient model, and perhaps one day becoming a major exporter of energy. That day is not too far away. Even today, I received notification from Irish Rail of a significant study, supported by Europe, resulting in it progressing studies up to the stage of lodging a planning application for the construction of an offshore renewable energy facility at Rosslare Europort. My colleague, the Chair of the Oireachtas committee, mentioned an undersea cable in respect of which permission has been granted today in the Shannon Estuary. These are welcome and timely developments.

It would be remiss of me to speak to this Bill without recognising the wider cost of living crisis being experienced by homes across Ireland. I welcome the falling rate of inflation. Data released by the CSO at beginning of this month show that inflation is now at 5.4%, down from a peak of 9.6% last summer. Inflation in Ireland is currently below the European average of 6.1%. However, these numbers remain problematic for many families and businesses and we must continue our work to support consumers and further drive down the cost of living.

As we look ahead to budget 2024, I believe, as I know my Fine Gael colleagues do, that the best place for people's hard-earned money is in their own pockets. While there is a need to provide support such as reducing energy costs, maintaining reduced public transport costs, ensuring that we hold supermarkets to account, reducing the cost of childcare and schooling, and much more, we must also aim to ensure that households take home more of their income at the end of every month. This will allow us to build a sustainable framework to allow both Government and individuals to respond to what the future might hold for all of us.

In conclusion, I think certain members of the Opposition probably do not understand and probably cannot even spell neoliberalism, let alone define it.

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