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

There is a palpable sense of déjà vuin the Chamber. Here we are, debating for the third time an almost identical Bill to the ones we debated in both February and October of last year. In fact, the only difference between this year’s Bill and those that have passed through the Houses is that the Government has incorporated several proposals Sinn Féin tabled last year, which is to be welcomed. Ironically, however, they are proposals the Government had stubbornly rejected as inappropriate, unnecessary or made too soon.

There is no legitimate reason ordinary workers and families should have had to wait a whole year for these improvements to the design of the scheme. While late is certainly better than never, it is extremely disappointing a combination of arrogance, incompetence and negligence prevented the Government from doing the right thing a little over 12 months ago. Moreover, the Government has yet again cited this as a once-off measure, but three schemes in 20 months is hardly a once-off.

Last year, Sinn Féin sought to give the Minister power to make further payments to households should they be deemed necessary. This would remove the need for more primary legislation and, ultimately, speed up the process. The Government ignored these constructive calls. As a result, yet another item of primary legislation has been drafted and rammed through the parliamentary process in an uncomfortably short timeframe. The tendency to rush through or completely bypass important legislative processes has become an undeniable habit of the Government. I remind the Minister we were asked to skip pre-legislative scrutiny yet again on this Bill and were given less than 24 hours to submit amendments. This has, again, placed all members of the Opposition in a difficult position.

We recognise that ordinary workers and families need swift and urgent relief from high energy bills this coming winter and, therefore, while Sinn Féin would prefer a price cap, we will seek to amend rather than reject this important Bill. We hope the Government has learned from its mistake last year and will accept our amendments today, rather than waiting a year just to avoid acknowledging that Sinn Féin's proposals were reasonable, sound and important. Sinn Féin has tabled several other amendments that would have vastly improved the scheme.

Because Committee Stage will follow immediately, we already know that a number of those have been ruled out of order. Curiously, the same amendments were not ruled out of order when submitted in respect of previous versions of this legislation.

The Government accepts that Ireland should adopt a more targeted scheme, and that is welcome. The Government accepts that it is neither fair nor prudent to credit extremely low energy users - such as those associated with vacant properties or hardly used holiday homes – while others can barely afford to turn on a single light or heater. Had the Government listened to us last year, it could have saved tens of millions of euro by incorporating our amendments. The Government has also embraced Sinn Féin’s recommendation that there was a need to address sub-meters specifically, particularly as the scheme’s design last year meant that many missed out. Sinn Féin predicted that this would happen. However, we were ignored and the Government chose to go in a different direction. Nonetheless, we recognise that Bill before us is an important step in the right direction. However, what comfort is that in light of the unnecessary hardship many endured due to bad scheme design last year and earlier this year? This hardship was amplified by the fact that there was no dispute resolution process included in last year’s legislation, which was yet another problem Sinn Féin pointed out with the legislation last October. While the 2023 iteration of the electricity credit scheme corrects that, what consolation is this to the many who had valid concerns over the past 12 months, but no recourse to rectify them?

The Government has also finally affirmed that those on hardship meters – often extremely vulnerable customers living in energy poverty – should be included in the ban on winter disconnections. This initially was not the case last year. However, due to the diligent work of Sinn Féin and others via amendments and engagement, the Government could no longer ignore the issue. While the Taoiseach originally claimed it would be too difficult, he eventually acquiesced under sustained pressure. It is interesting that talk of this being too difficult has disappeared. It was always possible, if the will were there. This reinforces the proposition that while Government often can do more to protect ordinary workers and families, it does not, and often. I am calling on it to break with this futile trend. I would prefer not to have this discussion again six, eight or 12 months down the line. The Government can do better, by accepting our amendments.

On the proposal to exclude low energy users, Sinn Féin’s amendments would make this provision more robust. The Government’s proposal defines a low energy user as a customer who uses less than 150 kW of electricity for four consecutive periods of three months between July 2022 and 30 June 2023. This means that if more than 150 kW are consumed in even one of those four periods, the electricity credit is awarded, even if overall usage remains extremely low. By contrast, and in our amendment, Sinn Féin would define a low energy user as anyone who consumes less than 600 kW of electricity over a cumulative a period of 12 months. The word "cumulative" is important. This would ensure we are not placing scarce resources where they are simply not needed, such as the example of a rarely used holiday home.

We also want to strengthen the disputes procedure by providing additional protection to consumers and removing uncertainty. We would mandate energy suppliers to respond to a request for a review within a specified timeframe of 28 days rather than the lofty ambition of as soon as is practicable, which in reality could mean anything. Our amendments also seek to provide more definitive timelines for raising complaints to the CRU enhancing predictability for consumers. We also continue our efforts to ensure that those on hardship meters are afforded the same rights as all other customers by removing the limit on the amount of arrears they are allowed to accrue.

Beyond this, we also propose that any revenue not distributed or returned should be used to provide ordinary workers and families with relief from high energy costs. The Government has significantly reduced the credit from €200 to €150. This arbitrary reduction of 25% fails to reflect the fact that prices have just not fallen that significantly. Between the first and second quarter of this year, the number of customers in arrears increased by approximately 55,000 electricity customers and 7,000 domestic gas customers. Some 12% of all electricity customers and 24% of all domestic gas customers were in arrears at the end of June. This matches the ending of the last energy credit scheme in the spring. Considering the high levels of arrears and the lower energy credit, this is a huge cause for concern as we head into the winter. Sinn Féin has put forward an amendment to the effect that any reduction in the credit would be commensurate with the reduction in energy prices. The reality is that an energy price cap would have provided much more certainty to ordinary workers and families over the winter. This is why they have been applied across the EU. However, the Government once again decided to go in a different direction. That is why we believe it should justify the continued use of electricity credits over measures such as price caps. We have submitted an amendment calling for a report on this specific issue.

I take this opportunity to remind the Minister that there are a multitude of other policy proposals from Sinn Féin, across the Opposition and the energy sectors, that would alleviate the energy burden on ordinary workers, families and hard-pressed businesses. These are ambitious plans that aim to comprehensively address to address the consistent chaos in Ireland’s energy markets, rather than relying on repeated and rushed short-term measures. A key part of this of course is tackling the high cost of energy and, in the first instance, delivering renewables but tackling the high cost of renewables too. We had a presentation in the audiovisual room from Wind Energy Ireland earlier today. As they have done time and again, the company's representatives pointed to the grid and the planning system. They outlined in clear and stark terms that we are not on course to meet our offshore targets by 2030. In fact, we are further away this year than we were this time last year. That is something that absolutely has to be addressed. This energy credit will be welcomed by people who are in desperate need of it. It must be among a suite of measures to tackle the high cost of energy in this country.

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