David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The culture of corporate rip-off is alive and well. The Government has allowed itself to become a doormat for companies making eye-watering profits of billions of euro at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet. Inflation has a crippling impact on families on the breadline but the Minister and the Government are not interested in picking a fight with the corporates who are ripping their constituents off. Ordinary workers and families are struggling but are not the Government's priority. We have some of the most expensive electricity prices in the European Union that are €700 per year more than the European average. While the Government points to external factors beyond its control, and there are factors beyond its control, it is not an innocent bystander either.

The fact remains that there is plenty the Government can do. We have set out exactly what it can do in our motion today. It about political choices. That is what it comes down to. The motion lays out what Sinn Féin would do to protect consumers from these crazy costs. It requires action on the Minister's part. We must protect the most vulnerable from the rip-off culture that is embedded in this State. The regulator needs far more power than it currently has. The CRU needs to be able to monitor companies to ensure consumers are not being taken for a ride. It needs a reformed mandate that sees affordability for consumers as its priority. We also need to look at how to empower communities to invest in renewables and sustain themselves into the future.

We need a proper and fairer retrofit plan. When the Minister launched his own retrofit plan, I was taken with his comments about it being revolutionary. Unless you have tens of thousands of euro in a bank account, you are not able to avail of the Minister's so-called retrofit plan. The people I represent do not have money to spend. They do not have tens of thousands of euro in bank accounts that they are able to spend on retrofitting. They need the State to come in with fairer systems. It is okay for people on higher incomes. The Minister seems to think they are the ones who should benefit the most from retrofit programmes while he forgets about those who are in cold houses, older people, people in poverty and people who do not have means. They are who we will stand up for. They are who need to be protected the most. They are the ones paying the biggest price. We need a proper retrofit programme that will deliver for them. In my view, only a Sinn Féin government will do that.

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