Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not think there is anybody out there who will not welcome some element of help regarding payments. I accept there is a significant number of people who will not need this, but any of us who knock on doors have come across people in last while who are under severe pressure. The Government is talking about €250 as a one-off payment, whereas we should be talking about €450 or something significant. A major part of that is the fact that the PSO levy and network charge changes are going to knock out the first payment of €125. It is the old phrase of giving with one hand and taking away with the other. I do not know how many people have said that to me in the last while, even with regard to the budget.

As much as that is our proposal, we also know that a major part of what needs to happen is wholesale reform of the energy market and sector. We need to deal with hedging practices. We know that the Government absolutely failed to put in place proper windfall taxes, and what it did it only did under pressure from the EU. We need to make sure the CRU has the proper powers and we have a decent regulatory framework. I would also mention the retrofit scheme and state that Louth County Council's target in 2023 was 105. It was able to draw down more money and deal with 205 retrofit projects. The target for this year is 140. That does not look like the council is doing the business it should be. We also accept that when Louth County Council is dealing with the worst cases, 35% are those who most need it and the other 65% do not require quite as much retrofitting.

That is down to the financing. Louth County Council has a greater capacity. The number of houses is least 4,200. I do not know how we are going to reach that by 2030. I do not think we are next to near it but Louth County Council has the capacity and we need to make sure the Government puts real effort into giving to those who can deliver.

See this speech in context