Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Ceann Comhairle and Tánaiste and thank all the staff and everyone involved in providing the services that allow us to run this House. As the Tánaiste said, they will still be working over the summer but they might not have to deal with all the carry-on that goes on here sometimes. We certainly respect all the work they do. They do a fabulous job which should be acknowledged.

Households are under huge pressure from the cost-of-living crisis. Energy bills are sky high and totally unaffordable. New figures have revealed that over 400,000 household are in arrears. That is up almost 40,000 since February. This is an astronomical sum. It is staggering. Behind these numbers are ordinary workers and families who are desperately trying to pay their bills. They are being stretched to the limit because their pay packets cannot go further. The wholesale cost of gas and electricity came down a long time ago but the companies are not passing it on to consumers. Despite that, the Government has failed to act and has sat on its hands in an effort to cut costs. My question is a simple one. Will the Government finally act to cut energy costs for households?

See this speech in context