Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In terms of the cost of living, Ireland is the most expensive country in the EU. Electricity costs are at the core of this huge increase. Ireland's costs are 46% above the EU average. Our gas and electricity are the most expensive in the EU at more than double the average. At the same time, energy companies are making massive profits. This affects many ordinary workers and families on a daily basis, with many struggling, or worse unable, to pay their bills. Many families and workers pay their bills. However, it leaves them with no wriggle room for any of the yearly costs, such as back to school, Christmas and birthdays. They have a fear of an emergency such as a broken washing machine or cooker or the car breaking down.

A community-based project stated in its report this year that one woman "was sitting at home in the darkness with her three young children in utter despair, with no food beyond dried pasta, no electricity to cook it or to light her home. This is the reality of food poverty in Ireland. One story out of thousands.” Another person said, "“You simply cannot detach the massive profits from the energy poverty and the cost-of-living crisis. They go hand in hand.” Another constituent emailed me to say, "A continuous rise in profits reported by electricity companies raises concerns of exploitation through unjustified pricing. The lack of transparency and responsiveness from both the company and the Government is disheartening. This situation reeks of price gouging, taking advantage of the fact that consumers have little alternatives.”

Sinn Féin has produced a five-point plan to deal with this cost-of-living crisis because there is a different way: reform of the electricity market and the CRU and control of the chaos in the energy market by mandating a stricter regulatory regime. We need a fairer retrofit programme giving ordinary workers access to the programme and making it accessible to all. We must create a just energy system by creating a just transition commission. We need to introduce measures to deal with investment in our electricity grid, which is underfunded and struggling to keep up. We also have a planning system that is not fit for purpose. That will be addressed by Sinn Féin. The Government's one-off sticking plasters are not good enough. We need a real, seismic shift towards real, sustainable change for good.

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