Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)

The response of the Government in this amendment is vague in places and downright inaccurate in others. The amendment is an insult to the millions of ordinary workers and families who are bracing for another round of energy hikes and to the hundreds of thousands of households that are falling further behind on their energy bills with each passing month and many more who are barely scraping by. I am disappointed but not surprised that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry-led regional independents are choosing to prioritise the profits of energy companies and the demand of data centres over the needs of workers and families. Ordinary people are being fleeced by the energy companies while the Government stands idly by.

Judging by the amendment, the Government seems to think it is inevitable that Ireland will have the highest electricity prices in Europe and that households will simply just have to grin and bear it. With one in five children living in poverty, it is totally unacceptable but the problem is not intractable. It is a matter of political choice. Sinn Féin's proposals provided the Government with the answers but it is clear that it is not prepared to listen. The energy task force that has been referenced is nothing more than a smokescreen for the fact that the Government does not have a plan or even the intention to end the rip-off for good. It was stated that the task force, which was set up in June, was not finalising a report but was instead working to finalise the preparation of an interim report. That does not sound like urgency to me with the winter coming in and the price hikes we have seen. The task force members' predecessors had a steering group. It achieved nothing. Ordinary people do not need another round of talking shops. They need action and urgency.

The amendment claims that electricity and gas prices have historically been higher here than in other EU states. That is not the case. It implies that we have no choice but to accept energy bills that outstrip our neighbours by over €500. Ireland used to have the lowest electricity prices in Europe. Following the disastrous decision to completely liberalise the Irish energy market, we now have some of the highest electricity prices. As many contributors have pointed out tonight, this is a political choice but does the Minister of State know what is regrettable, given that the amendment talks about how regrettable the network charge rise is? Households are expected to shoulder a disproportionate burden while data centres do not have to pay their fair share. It is time for the Minister of State to stand up. Ordinary people are stretched way beyond their means. They need more than this. The Government must stop rolling out the red carpet for data centres. They must not be allowed to drive up energy prices any further. Ordinary people must be protected and energy affordability has to be the priority for the Government rather than an afterthought. It is time to end the rip-off.

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