Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Déanaim comhghairdeas ó chroí lenár gcara, an iarTheachta Catherine Connolly. It is a truly historic achievement. Our warmest congratulations go to our Uachtarán-elect, Catherine Connolly.

I would like also to pay tribute to Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy, who passed away yesterday. Sr. Stan championed social justice, advocated for the homeless and spent her entire life standing on the side of those in need. She gave gentle yet powerful voice to the voiceless. She never stopped working for a fair and equal society. She leaves an incredible legacy of compassion, activism and hope. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

The Government's energy task force published its interim report yesterday, confirming people's worst fears. Households will be hit with massive electricity bills this winter, with average yearly bills approaching €2,000. The barrage of electricity price hikes from big energy companies puts people under huge pressure in the run-up to Christmas.

Three hundred thousand households are unable to pay their electricity bills. Household energy arrears have almost doubled in the last four years. Many more will now be pushed into this awful situation. The Government's decision to strip away energy credits was a terrible call in a terrible budget - a budget of €9.4 billion that has left working people worse off. That is some going.

While people are so brazenly ripped off, what is the Government's big idea? It is a promise to make an announcement of a plan sometime next year, with action to follow God knows when, if at all. Households are being fleeced, right here and right now. These huge bills are already landing and yet the Government pretends like it is not happening.

Government failure to tackle energy rip-offs leaves people in desperate situations, with families using prepay meters going days without electricity and households relying on organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to keep the lights on. The Government sits back and allows big energy companies to rip people off at every opportunity. Now, as the days get darker, families will be forced to cut back on necessary electricity use, counting the cost every time they use the washing machine and feeling pressure every time they flick on the light switch because they know it is costing them a fortune. Is that an acceptable way for people to live?

The big question for me is this: how many wake-up calls does the Government need before it acts? Four energy companies announce big electricity price hikes but the Government does nothing. The International Energy Agency reports that energy companies are fleecing Irish households but the Government does nothing. The CSO releases figures proving that people are being ripped off but the Government still does nothing. Now the Government's own task force confirms that households will be hit with massive electricity bills over the coming weeks but the Government still does nothing. Worse still, the Government actually has the neck to tell people to wait until next year for some pie-in-the-sky plan. Not alone is this Government inaction woefully out of touch, it is downright lazy.

This is a lazy do-nothing Government incapable of understanding how these huge bills impact on people's lives so it does not even muster up the effort to do anything about it. That is not good enough. The Government's job is to stand up to those companies, to end this energy rip-off and to support households mar tá geimhreadh lán de bhillí leictreachais ródhaor in ann do theaghlaigh. Caithfidh an Rialtas seasamh suas in aghaidh na comhlachtaí móra fuinnimh agus tacú le teaghlaigh. Given the scale of this crisis, will the Government now act to reinstate energy credits to help households and what action will the Government take to reign in energy companies and to put an end to the scandalous rip-off?

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