Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 - Second Stage. What a mouthful. The Government does not intend to do anything for the hard-pressed people. Households are facing annual gas and electricity hikes of €6,000 from early next year. That is more than triple the €1,900 they were paying at the start of 2021. Figures have been quoted and I am not going to quote any more of them. What is going on is pure gouging.

I have great respect for the ESB, its workers and outdoor staff and the work they do but the Government's inability to tackle the conglomerates and multibillion dollar companies is sickening. Why can the Minister not do something like he did during the Covid pandemic? Why not introduce emergency legislation to cap prices to bring some kind of respect on them? It is shocking that those companies can get away with those kinds of price hikes. There has been a range of price rises in recent weeks in other utility firms. SSE Airtricity, Community Power and PrepayPower have all hiked up their costs but the ESB showed the lead. If the Government had done something meaningful to deal with the ESB it would have sent the clear message to the other companies that they would not be allowed to gouge ordinary people.

Why does the Government not do something about the standing charges? That would be quite simple. Those charges are exorbitant at the moment. Why does the Government not do something about pay-as-you-go schemes? How are people on those tariffs going to manage? I want something clarified. If there are 20 flats or units with only one MRPN, how are those tenants going to get this money, the so-called manna from heaven the Government is talking about?

Smart meters are far too smart for us all. It is a con job. That is my honest belief about smart meters. I certainly will not be installing one or advising anyone else to do so. The Government is far too smart at taking money out of pócaí na daoine gach lá, gach uair.

The Minister of State might ask the senior Minister about the following. The Minister stood there seachtain ó shin and said there was a licence application in front of him. It was not a licence application but a continuation of a licence that a company already had for Ballyroe. He said he would have an answer in a few days but that was two and a half weeks ago. He is playing with these serious issues. They are sitting on his desk and he is refusing point blank to deal with them. He is kicking the can down the road and trying to hunt good investors we have in Ireland, which are bringing us in energy at no cost to the taxpayer. They are spending their own money.

I have ceist eile for the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I met a group of people last week with my colleagues.

They informed me that the Kinsale gas pipeline is not being used now. Tá sé folamh; it is empty but it is in great condition. I am shocked to hear this but we are told, and it is not dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi go raibh fear i dTiobraid Árann a bhfuil póca ina léine aige but pretty hot information, that the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is waiting to sign a directive that is on his desk to carry out an act of national sabotage on that pipeline. I would go so far as to call it high treason to put ready mix concrete, which will probably have a 10% cost increase on it, into that pipeline to render it unusable ever again. I want the Minister of State to answer that question. If that happens, the Minister, and members of the Government with him, should be dragged out of the Government and people should rise up here and say enough is enough. What kind of thinking or mind would anybody have to damage a piece of infrastructure? If someone did it, we would send an Garda to arrest that person. The Minister will sign this order to send employees of ready mix concrete companies and others to pour concrete into a gas line that was laid and has served this country for decades. It is still intact and ready to be used again but the Minister wants to put ready mix into it so it can never be used again because of an ideology. The lunatics are definitely running the asylum if that happens.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We will not use language like that.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is a very old saying in Gaillimh and Tiobraid Árann.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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It is not fair on people to use that language.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It looks like that to me, if we put in 10 newton concrete that will probably be the strongest batch, but we will never again use that pipeline. If that happens, I will call it an act of treason. I ask the Minister of State to clarify immediately, or tomorrow, whether this is poppycock or a wild dream someone has had. Could the Minister reach so far as to sign an order to instruct people to carry out that kind of State vandalism, national sabotage and cutting off our nose to spite our face? We might never be able to use that pipeline again but floating gas terminals will come in, treat the gas, and pump it back into the system to keep the lights on for the winter.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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Tá áthas orm labhairt ar an mBille seo. Mar is eol dúinn, tá formhór na dteaghlach ar fud an Stáit seo ag fulaingt. Caithfidh an Rialtas seo a sheacht ndícheall a dhéanamh chun cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt dóibh chomh luath agus is féidir. It is vital that all the necessary steps are taken to prevent households from sinking under the weight of energy price debt this winter and into the new year. In that respect, I see that the Bill provides for a benefit payment in each of the periods, namely, November to December 2022, January to February 2023 and March to April 2023. I have a parliamentary reply pending on a specific issue that the Minister of State may be able to shed light on. It is whether churches and parish halls will also be eligible for support for their energy costs. They are doing their utmost and also have significant energy bills. They provide vital community services and are deserving of equal support and an equal response.

In the wider sense, the issue of energy costs is front and centre for households, businesses and farms, which are the major users of energy throughout this State. A farmer I spoke to recently said his costs have risen by more than 400%. Can any level of State intervention rise to the challenge of offering support, when costs are at such an astronomical scale? The Bill does nothing in signalling a change in our fundamental approach to energy security, which is nothing other than a sham. Instead, the Government insists it is doubling down on renewables and refuses even to consider options such as LNG, gas or oil exploration. The power plants at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough need to be reopened. We need to have a sense of pragmatism and urgency. Those power plants could be powered and fuelled on biomass. I again call for that, as a Deputy in the midlands.

I have no doubt but that future generations will look at this self-imposed hostility towards our available energy resources as an act of utter lunacy and national self-harm. As important as it is to offer some financial support, it is difficult to avoid the impression that we are merely delaying the inevitable and that sooner or later Irish households, families, businesses and farms will be pushed over what I recently described as the energy price precipice. It will be no consolation to these people, as they plummet into cold and ruin, that it was all done to meet the demands of a nonsensical and borderline insane carbon reduction policy that is radical, extreme and is restricting us just when we need flexibility and common sense the most. It is like throwing a heavy weight to a drowning person instead of a rope.

Burden after burden is imposed on the Irish people. Regulations on the banning of heat and energy sources such as peat, and even wood, are being pursued with reckless vigour with little thought for people who are struggling to heat their homes this winter, despite a clear and obvious need for a change in approach or at least a pause. We also need certainty that prepay customers will be protected. In addition, I am calling for a full investigation of the roll-out of the so-called smart meters, which are far from smart, and the impact they are having on families. As Ms Caroline O'Doherty recently reported, only a tiny fraction of the almost 1 million electricity customers with smart meters are using them as intended. In fact, more than 930,000 smart meters have been installed in homes and small businesses under a €1.2 billion scheme over the past three years. Many people were under the distinct impression that these meters would assist with costs and were legally mandatory, yet we know that the tariff plans are being described as deeply confusing and unworkable. It is yet another example of people being railroaded into schemes that are not operating in their interests but in the interests of another agenda entirely.

I will conclude by referencing my question on the reopening of the power plants. It needs to happen. We are in an energy crisis and we need our power plants at Lanesborough and Shannonbridge reopened immediately.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I welcome the few payments that people will get as small as they are. They will help some people but many will be left behind. I, along with many others, could understand the cost of electricity going up, if the cost of producing it was going up. We now find, however, that the electricity companies are doubling, tripling and quadrupling their profits. Where is the regulator? Where is the Minister who is in charge of the regulator? What are they doing? Why are they allowing this to happen? Yes, the Taoiseach has said he will fight like a big man for a windfall tax in Europe but the problem is here. We have no regulator and no Minister who is responsible for the regulator. People are being robbed day after day for electricity that they should be paying far less for.

I am glad for all the people throughout the country who were able to cut turf for themselves because those people who have turf have surety that they will not be cold this winter. There is nothing more homely than to sit around a blazing turf fire. I thank the Minister, Deputy Ryan, for creating awareness when he said that people could not cut turf because that is when they got out to cut it in the fine weather and saved it. We are glad that happened.

We are leaving 10,000 acres of bog behind us in Littleton. We have grand bogs in Barna, Foilbee, Reaboy, Rea na Colli and other locations. All these places could be utilised way more. Shannonbridge was closed down and every day since then the cost of electricity has gone up day after day. The Government will not allow us to open Shannon LNG or Barryroe. The Corrib gas field could be explored more deeply and the Kinsale gas field could be used as storage. We need to reverse the decision of the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, when he was Taoiseach, to cancel drilling services in 2019.

The Taoiseach says every day that anyone in financial trouble should go to his or her community welfare office. I know of a man who is 80 years of age who is having financial trouble in accessing treatment.

He went to the community welfare officer to get financial help. He was in the office for an hour and a half. There was a group of refugees in front of him. When he proceeded to go up to the man at the counter - there was only one person there - he was told to go back to the queue and that all of the other 23 or 24 people were in front of him. If the Taoiseach is good enough to suggest that people should go to the community welfare officer, will he put more people on the counters to deal with and see after our own people, as well as the refugees?

Deputy Griffin created a hullabaloo here today about refugees being displaced from Killarney because other refugees came into the place they were in. I remind Deputy Griffin, who will be watching this debate from somewhere, that he is part of the Government that brought the 193 men into Killarney to upscuttle the refugees who were already there. Not only does he vote for everything the Government does, but he rounds up all of the backbenchers to vote for every notion Deputy Eamon Ryan and the Green Party think up.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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Households are facing annual gas and electricity bills of €6,000 from early next year if prices keep increasing at the current rate. The Government, which has a controlling shareholding of 95% in the ESB, fails to protect consumers by explicitly directing the ESB to either cap prices or not proceed with any price increases at this time. Such action by the Government is possible. It would also send a clear message to other price-gouging electricity providers, as the ESB is the benchmark price-setting organisation for the electricity market in Ireland. The latest Electric Ireland or ESB price rises mean that households now face paying an extra €446 a year for electricity and an extra €516 for gas. The reality is that the electricity bill for a three-bed semi-detached home in Ireland is now approaching €4,000 per year as we enter the winter 2022-2023 period. According to the price comparison website bonkers.ie, when all increases are considered, households are looking at paying a minimum of €1,100 more for their electricity and more than €1,100 more for their gas compared to January 2021. That price increase does not include the expected price increases that are due to emerge over the coming months. Last week, I mentioned schools in west Cork I know of that are going to the local parish priest for help paying the electricity bills. That is an astonishing situation. This Dáil criticises the church and its connections with schools but, were it not for the church, the lights in the school would be turned off.

When the average price increases for electricity alone, totalling more than €1,100, are considered, the Government's €600 voucher scheme is shown to be completely insufficient. These colossal energy policy failures on the part of the Government are having a deep impact on the financial sustainability of every household, farm and small business and are exacerbating a winter of discontent. The best that can be hoped for is that it will be a mild winter.

The Irish Government has largely sat on its hands in comparison with those of other EU states. Since Gazprom's decision to shut down the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the EU has planned a significant emergency intervention in the European electricity market. The toolbox for rising energy prices was announced as the crisis was starting. The EU outlined a number of fiscal and regulatory measures that each individual member state could take against the crisis. These options included reducing taxation to zero, helping energy companies manage the high costs and providing support for vulnerable people. The Rural Independent Group drew attention to these measures in the Dáil on several occasions in 2021 including through the tabling of two Private Members' motions calling on the Government to reduce energy taxes. One each occasion, Government Deputies voted against easing the financial pain on the consumer and sided with keeping energy bills high while providing absolutely no alternative energy supply.

I listened to one Fianna Fáil Deputy from Cork South-West today who said that we are not doing enough as regards climate action. This Deputy is clueless when it comes to climate action, despite being his party's spokesperson on it. We need only look at the warmer homes scheme fiasco he and his Government have stood over. People are waiting for two years to get works done under the scheme. We should also look at the shocking grants for solar generation. They are so bad that west Cork hoteliers, shop owners and supermarkets have told me that they will not apply for a grant but will instead pay out of their own pockets to install solar panels. We can also look at the zero return on public transport in that Deputy's constituency while his constituents in west Cork are being robbed through the carbon tax thanks to him and his Green Party buddies. If I were that Deputy, I really would not point fingers while his constituents are waiting for him in the next general election. In the UK, there is a cap on electricity charges while the standing charge is capped at £169.21.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am grateful to my colleagues for allowing me some of their time. The Government, which has a controlling shareholding of 95% in the ESB, failed to protect consumers by explicitly directing the ESB to either cap prices or not proceed with any price increases at this time. Such action by the Government would have been possible and would have sent a clear message to other price-gouging electricity providers, as the ESB is the benchmark price-setting organisation for the electricity market in Ireland.

What the Minister of State and his Government are presiding over is absolute and total chaos. Never before have people been hit with such energy costs. While I welcome the money that is to be given in a couple of tranches, which will be needed and wanted, what the people really wanted was a cap on prices. Giving a subsidy like that being given is like spitting in the ocean. If the price keeps going the way it is going, people will not be able to heat their homes or work their electric products because they will be quite simply unable to pay the ESB bill.

This country is full of small businesses. They are the backbone of Ireland, particularly rural Ireland. I am talking about the farmers who use electricity in milking cows along with pig farms, poultry farms and the horticultural industry. People are quite simply being forced out of business. I remind the Minister of State that many businesses in County Kerry got a final death blow of a letter in the post telling them that their rates are being reviewed. A business in Killarney is facing an increase of €30,000 in its rates. How could any government stand by and allow that to happen at this time? Surely the Government would have had the cop-on to realise that now is not the time to increase people's rates. I plead with the Minister of State and the people who thought it was a good idea to make it illegal to sell turf from service stations from the end of this month. Where is the sense in that? How can the Minister of State stand over it?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am saddened to hear the Rural Independent Group trying to sell snake oil to the Irish public. Its members are saying that the Government should write a blank cheque to foreign energy producers so that those exporting into our market would have their bills underwritten. That is an outrageous proposal.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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We never said any such thing.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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We have seen the impact that has had in other countries. Furthermore, they want to ignore the impact of wholeheartedly embracing the burning of fossil fuels on the future of our planet.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The snakes are all around Deputy Bruton over there.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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That will simply damage the future of the people they represent.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I strongly advise people to ignore the sort of counsel being offered by the Rural Independent Group.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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All the snakes are over there.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The truth is that the Government has struck the right balance in this. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has said that the Government's measures in the recent budget will protect people who are at risk of going into energy poverty. They will be protected from that by the measures the Government has introduced. That is a fact and not something produced by the Government. Of course, we are facing huge surges. The wholesale costs for Electric Ireland have risen from €300 million to €2 billion, a sevenfold increase in the cost of the electricity it produces and has to sell. That is the reality of the world we are living in. That has been caused by the war in Ukraine and by very high dependence on gas from the Russian market. That is the reality we face.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Government is approaching this in a prudent way. We are making sure to protect people, while also pursuing companies that have been making excessive profits. When the Government is deciding on the appropriate tax for the so-called solidarity contribution, I suggest to the Minister of State that we should go to the high end of the permitted scale, rather than down around the 33%. The contracts for wind companies that are being underwritten by a price of €180 per megawatt-hour were at about €90 per megawatt-hour. There is too much fat being put into those charges.

Wind energy companies should be making a contribution to help people adapt to a lower carbon and lower energy cost world. They should be stepping up to the plate because in the long term we need people to support renewable energy and the projects that will switch us to becoming less dependent on fossil fuels. This is a golden opportunity for companies in that sector to show they are in tune with the needs of the communities they serve and that they are willing to help people make changes in their homes to make them warmer and more efficient.

I have said this to the Minister of State on a previous occasion. and I will say it again: the missing piece in this is a serious Government effort to help people to make those changes. We should be focusing on shallow retrofits. Today, the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action was told that there are 162,000 unfilled cavity walls that could be insulated. They should be the target of early intervention. We were also told that heat controls have the potential to reduce energy use by 36%. These groups should be eligible for 80% grants. We should be moving to help people to make the changes that would reduce energy dependence. There is not enough emphasis on the early wins that can be delivered by sharing, having more electric vehicle chargers and helping people make those low-cost changes. Now is the time to do that, when people are attending to the needs and vulnerability of what they are doing. Now is the time to capitalise on that. We need to do more in that sphere.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Like many on both sides of the House, I have stated that the energy crisis and fuel costs in general comprise one of the biggest challenges facing citizens in this country, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Many households and businesses throughout the country are worried heading into the winter months. The cost of energy and that of doing business are also rising, food and shopping bills are increasing and interest rates are going up. The scale of the energy crisis has without doubt shifted the Government's approach and attitude to responding to this type of emergency by delivering a huge budget package of once-off measures. This second €1.2 billion electricity credit will support over 2.2 million electricity account holders, which is a hugely significant step, with the scheme for three €200 payment to become operational by 1 November. September's cost-of-living budget was about putting more money back into people's pockets and reducing the burden of rising bills that individuals and businesses have to pay. As we saw during the pandemic, this Government backs businesses, backs jobs and supports its citizens to ensure we have the strong economy required to improve the quality of life of our citizens.

During the debate tonight, a few Opposition speakers were scaremongering by stating that these measures do not go far enough and are not sufficiently targeted. They failed to acknowledge that for financially vulnerable households at risk of energy poverty, the €600 electricity payment scheme is complemented by targeted measures in the budget, such as the fuel allowance, which includes an additional lump sum payment of €400 and expanded eligibility to up to 80,000 householders over 70 through an increased means threshold. This will comprise €500 per week for single persons and €1,000 per week for couples. We simply do not know how bad this European energy crisis could get this winter. Sinn Féin's price cap would certainly have unintended or unforeseen consequences. The cost of the price cap, a measure that does not dampen down demand, would be open-ended and would be economic suicide. In Britain, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that the annual cost of the UK Government's price cap is more than £100 billion. Countries that have implemented price caps, like France and Denmark, have seen little change in demand. The electricity costs emergency measure and the measures within the recent budget strike the right balance between helping people in the short term and planning for the uncertain times ahead.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill and, perhaps, to try to improve it. My Sinn Féin colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, has proposed several amendments that would improve the Bill and make it more socially inclusive. These would include a liaison with MABS and provision that those who do not need this energy credit could ask their provider to direct that money to agencies dealing with people who are most risk of energy poverty. The financially vulnerable are an ever-increasing cohort of people because people find they are being hammered by costs at every turn. I am thinking of my constituents in north Kildare, who tell me they are considering living by candlelight, not because they are old romantics but because they are older pensioners who are terrified of their bills, including the standing charges eating into their funds before they even turn the light on. In this decade of commemorations is hard to believe that we have gone from electricity back to candlelight. Amendments making low-usage properties, whether vacant houses or holiday homes, exempt from this energy grant would go some way towards addressing the huge and growing gap between the extremely privileged and those barely getting by.

I note especially our proposed amendments on prepay metering, stipulating that at the request of the Minister an electricity supplier would have to credit prepay meters with an electricity cost emergency benefit payment in advance of the prescribed payment period. That is critical. Equally critical is that the suppliers would remove any arrears or limits placed on prepay meters until the Minister directs otherwise. Also of vital importance is the provision that an electricity supplier would not disconnect a household using a prepay meter during a moratorium on disconnections. I am very worried about people who self disconnect. The prepay meter issue is vital because these are already the people who are most financially vulnerable. Most are on prepay meters as a means of budgeting their income and their outgoings. They already pay a higher tariff than those of us on a regular meter. We could call it a poverty tax if we were to be honest but we would never be that crude or honest in this House. These people should not be punished for being poor.

I hope the Minister of State will take the amendments on board and look at them. These are matters that we have discussed at length at the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. We have been talking about this non-stop for the past four or five weeks, and even before the war in Ukraine. We need to be clear about what this Bill is meant to do. It is meant to protect vulnerable energy users. It has to protect those who are at the greatest risk and those on low to medium incomes, who get up the earliest in the morning and work the hardest. These are front-line workers in health, retail, transport, schools and carers. They are the workers who keep the show on the road and to whom we have a duty to keep going when it comes to one of the most basic aspects of life and living, which is energy and heat, hot water, hot food and light.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I heard the Minister of State outline some of the specific measures taken in the budget to help alleviate the cost of living and increased energy costs for some people and specific sectors. Those were very welcome but they were the targeted measures. Tonight we are looking at universal measures, or the safety net for the general public. All the payments we are speaking of tonight are welcome but they fall far short of what is needed. That is the case for those who are on low or middle incomes and for family carers, for example, 75% of whom do not get the carer's allowance. One of the things I was hugely disappointed about in the budget was the fact that the carer's allowance is still not a qualifying payment for the fuel allowance. However, that is for another day.

There has been a lot of discussion about a cap on electricity prices. I am not convinced that a cap on electricity prices at the amount of last year's bills is a good solution because it would do nothing to incentivise cutting back on energy usage. In fact, it might be a recipe for a greater threat of blackouts. Crucially, those on bigger incomes and with bigger homes would benefit on the double. Their bills would be static, which would be a big saving, but because they have larger homes, they could freely use more electricity and more energy and they would not pay an extra cent for it. It would also mean writing a blank cheque for large energy companies. All in all, I am not convinced that the best way to support those who really need help is by putting a cap on their electricity bills.

I am of the view that the Bill does not go far enough, but the Government still has time to amend it. People have already been hit with huge hikes in their electricity bills, yet the first payment under this legislation will not kick in until December. What about the massive bills people got in August, September and October? They will get similar bills in November also. How will those be paid by the carers about whom I spoke, those on low and middle incomes and those who do not have €10 left over at the end of the week? An extra €150 or €200 hike in their electricity bills is like a mountain to climb. Before they get their first payment to help cover the increase in the November-December bill, they will already be in debt. People who have always paid their bills on time are struggling.

We should ensure a single €400 electricity credit before Christmas and the two €200 credits afterwards. This would mean that many families would not be facing into Christmas already saddled with bills they cannot pay in their entirety. We risk people running into arrears and going to moneylenders just to keep the lights on and their homes heated. A double payment before Christmas would be a big help. It would allow people to breathe and not be worn down by the worry of unpaid bills before Christmas without having to worry about what will come afterwards.

People who do not need these payments will receive them because they are universal but is there any way the owners of holiday homes might not receive a €600 payment for each holiday home? There are over 60,000 such homes in Ireland. That saving alone would go a long way towards financing the proposed initial €400 electricity credit to which I am referring. Perhaps the Minister of State might clarify whether somebody who is renting a second home on Airbnb and charging well for it will receive these energy credits. If they do, the Government has had a long time to prepare this legislation and knew it was coming. It is not good enough that all of those people will be able to get the benefit about which we are speaking.

Many Deputies have spoken about the standing charge. Could the Minister of State explain matters to me because I do not know what is happening. A standing charge is meant to reflect the actual or fixed cost of providing the electricity in the first place. We urgently need to refer the savage increases in standing charges to the energy regulator. Certain providers have pushed up the standing charges for residential customers by more than €300 in some instances. As a result, the Government's €200 electricity credit before Christmas will not even cover the increase in the standing charge for some people let alone help with the increased cost of their electricity.

I know that the Bill is not about support for businesses, but I want to add my voice to those who are calling for an immediate support package for businesses. So many small businesses and retailers and people in so many different sectors are really in a bad way. The Minister of State must know it because he must receive the same emails I receive. Costs for many of these smaller retailers, particularly small supermarkets with delicatessens and stocks of frozen food, cold drinks, etc., have gone through the roof and are eating into their working capital. Many of them have gone right through it. They have nothing left to pay their huge bills and their businesses are on a knife edge. They are not looking at investing in solar panels. They do not have the capital up front to install them and in truth, many do not have the heart to install them because they are concerned that they will not have a business after Christmas.

Domestic customers see their electricity bills skyrocketing and their standing charges increasing for no reason they can fathom. They have been given no reason as to why this is happening. They see the obscene profits of energy companies and what do they see for themselves? They see one €200 electricity credit before Christmas. It is just not enough. It will leave very many people in debt and some in despair before Christmas. I ask the Minister of State to double that credit to €400. It really would help.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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The Government had a number of options to alleviate the cost of electricity facing families, older people, people with disabilities, carers, small businesses, etc., but the option it chose was to pay the electricity credit. Other options mentioned included capping the prices charged by energy companies, nationalising those companies trading in Ireland, a windfall tax on energy companies or taking extra dividends from these companies to support people who need it most. These options were not seriously investigated. I hear what people are saying about blank cheques but a €600 blank cheque from every household is going to these electricity companies over the next four or five months anyway. Certainty is key here. If you talk to people in small businesses and corner shops, they are seeing their bills rise and do not know what their next one is going to be. They do not know how they are going to be able to cut down on their bills. They have fridges in their shops. Which ones do they switch off for the winter? All these questions are coming to mind. Certainty is really important for people so that they know it will be at that level for that period. I do not believe people would use electricity in an over-the-top fashion. This was the argument made in respect of water charges. It was argued that people were using water excessively. When the commission looked at the matter, it found that they were not. It found that we were actually more prudent than most European countries regarding the amount of water we used.

The cap was a really important policy to look regarding keeping them at 2021 prices. They have done this in other countries. It is expensive but what we are doing here is also expensive. Energy companies are benefiting from the credit. The Government will have to come back next year because while once-off payments will buffer for a period, despite the €5.6 billion in additional public spending and taxation measures, the majority of people will be poorer. The ESRI has stated that, as has the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. It is not just people in here who are saying it. People are number crunching the outcome of the budget. The reason this will happen is because workers are not getting pay increases. Increases in social welfare payments to pensioners and social welfare recipients were not enough to keep up with inflation. That is the case. People will be facing into next year with increases that do not meet inflation. Inflation this year has been about 8.2%. Next year, it is expected to be at 7% so that means that the money coming into people's pockets is not matching what they need.

Thousands of workers who have not received wage increases will have to start putting in demands for them. I met a young girl who works for a small book publisher. The company increased the price of all its schoolbooks by €2.

When she looked for a pay increase because she is under pressure paying rent, she was told her employer could not afford it but would get a pilates instructor in at lunchtime to relax the workers and that might help their anxiety over rent, food prices and energy prices going up. For groups like lone parents, when the once-off energy payments are stripped away, this will entrench these households and their children deeper in poverty. Social welfare recipients will receive core welfare payments and this is a recipe for growing poverty and deprivation. A €15 minimum wage is a necessity, workers need to put in pay claims to at least match inflation and social welfare payments should be index-linked with a relevant economic indicator.

There must be an unambiguous declaration that no one will be without electricity through arrears, inability to pay a bill or not having money to put into their pay-as-you-go meters. The majority of people with pay-as-you-go meters had them installed because they had difficulty paying their bills and these meters are supposed to be more financially manageable. This has not proven to be the case in many instances. The fees for switching from pay-as-you-go to bill pay must be eliminated for everybody. The universality the Minister of State mentioned regarding payment of credits must be matched by universality in not having one's electricity cut off or having to pay for switching from pay-as-you-go to bill pay. That is important and if the Government does not do it, many people will face serious situations in their homes.

I have been raising this issue for months. Earlier, a Sinn Féin Deputy made the point about the additional needs payment scheme waiting times. That is the case. People have to wait. They have to make the application, and payment is not immediate. I have been making the point that community welfare officers, as they were pre-austerity cuts, should be in the community permanently, or at least two or three days per week, so workers on low incomes, people on social welfare and people facing a crisis in buying food or heating their homes have immediate access to these officers. It has been taken up by the Minister, who says they are in the Intreo offices. They are, but they are behind closed doors or thick walls and it is hard for people to access them. The Minister did an advertising campaign. That campaign needs to be reactivated in order to let people know they can access community welfare officers.

On the additional needs payment scheme, there was provision for bedding and clothing in circumstances of a fire or emergency. The clothing allowance should be brought back for people who need it, particularly older people.

I support the amendments, particularly those relating to pay-as-you-go and on the functions of the commission in relation to prepay customers.

The Government must ensure that holiday and vacant homes do not receive the electricity credit and that those in the Travelling community and on halting sites are not left behind. It must commit to universality of payment for those members of our community. I ask the Minister of State to go into detail on how the up to 1,000 travellers on halting sites will get the credits. He mentioned local authorities so I ask him to expand on how that will be done and communicate that to the Travelling community, whose members need to access that money.

The Minister of State mentioned a vulnerable customer register. How many people know of this register? I propose the Government produce an information leaflet on these issues, about what people can do, where they can go and what they are entitled to, and distribute that to every household in the country so people know what they can access and that pay-as-you-go customers will not be left without electricity.

Will people who apply for the fuel allowance in January 2023 be able to access the €400 extra provided for those on fuel allowance at the moment? People who apply in January and get the allowance will miss that €400 payment from November. Will that be given to them in January?

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir. I acknowledge and am thankful that the Opposition is supporting the Bill, which, in general, will help everybody. However, there were plenty of questions, comments and criticisms. I will try to address all of the latter in so far as is possible.

The general question at the start was why this Bill is so similar to another Bill we introduced recently and why we cannot just reuse that Bill. The reason is that this Bill grants a payment of €1.2 billion across more than 2 million families. The Attorney General's view is that no Minister should have the power, through executive order, to issue such payments to the public without the consent of the Oireachtas. In light of that advice, we are going through these steps again. Deputies will be familiar with the idea that there is a finance Bill every year, when large amounts of taxpayer money are spent and we need the consent of the Oireachtas in order that Ministers are not granted too much executive power. We were advised that it would be unconstitutional to give any Minister the power to hand out €1.2 billion as he or she saw fit.

Another question from many Deputies concerned why the payment is not targeted, though a small number said that it is too targeted and that they would like to see more universal payments. This is a single universal measure, part of an overall package of €2.5 billion, most of which is targeted. This payment is universal. It goes to everybody. Even if you fall through the cracks or do not qualify for welfare, you can collect it. It is one of three parts to the universal payments. Last year, the PSO charge on people's bills was €51. This year there will be a credit for PSO levy of €89, so in that way there is €140 credit on everybody's bill this year. The VAT rate has been introduced on electricity from 13.5% to 9%. That is a universal measure that applies to everybody.

We have to make sure we are targeting expenditure at people who need it most, and it is for that reason we have a €400 lump sum payment to fuel allowance recipients, which Deputy Joan Collins referred to. That will be paid in the week commencing 14 November. The Deputy asked if this will be available to people who apply in January. I will have to ask the Minister for Social Protection that question. We can come back to that on Committee Stage. A number of Deputies have said they will table amendments on that Stage. I look forward to seeing them and they will all be considered.

The €400 lump sum payment to fuel allowance recipients is not the only targeted measure. There is also a €200 lump sum payment for pensioners and people with disability getting the living alone allowance that will be payable in the week commencing 14 November. There is a €500 cost-of-living lump sum payment to all families getting working family payment. That will be payable also on the week commencing 14 November. There is a double payment of child benefit to support all 639,000 families with children. This will be paid on 1 November. There is a €500 cost-of-living payment for people receiving the carer's support grant, payable on the week commencing 21 November. There is a €500 lump sum cost-of-living disability support grant targeted to all people receiving a long-term disability payment, payable on the week commencing 14 November. There is an autumn cost-of-living double payment for all long-term welfare recipients, payable on the week commencing 17 October, and a Christmas bonus payable to all those receiving a long-term social welfare payment on the week commencing 5 December.

That is to point out that this measure is one of many. It is one of three universal measures but one of a large collection of measures, both universal and targeted to help people get past this winter and to soften the hardest edges in the increase of the cost of gas and electricity which are the result of the war in Ukraine.

A number of Deputies referred to the effects on pay-as-you-go meters. While many find that these meters work well for them, vulnerable customers should not be on these meters but on bill-pay meters. It is free for people to change from what are sometimes known as hardship meters to a bill-pay option. Consumers can contact their supplier to register as vulnerable and so avail of additional protections in recognition of their personal circumstances. Deputy Boyd Barrett told the story of his constituent who contacted him who had a medical need for an electricity connection but had been disconnected. I have been in that situation where I was contacted by a constituent and it was through that process that I discovered the register of vulnerable consumers. The CRU guidelines do no permit utility companies to disconnect customers who have a medical need for devices that run on electricity. It is very important that people get onto that register. Deputy Collins asked about that. There is an issue about communication and it is important that we communicate that well to people.

I welcome Deputy Whitmore's comments and those of Deputy Harkin on the drawbacks of an energy cap. They are quite right in pointing those out. It is essential we are aware of the negative impacts of such a measure as have happened in other jurisdictions. We have had the time to see how they are working out in other jurisdictions and have seen their outcomes.

Several Deputies asked about the Travellers who did not receive the payment and were left out on the last occasion or were only paid late and who were sharing a MRPN or meter through their local authority, perhaps in Traveller-specific accommodation of one form or another. Senator Flynn has raised that directly with me and in the Seanad. Around 1,000 families are affected. I assure Deputies that we will make sure that all correctly receive their money this time around and that any past underpayment will be corrected. It is 1,000 families out of 2 million but there is an issue of equity here. They absolutely deserve to be treated exactly the same as anyone else. Great efforts will be made to make sure that we reach all of them.

Deputy Canney asked when we will bring in the planning changes that will allow people to put solar panels on their roofs without planning permission. I am happy to say they were signed last Friday. This means that people can put as many solar panels on their roof as they wish wherever they live in the country. Anyone with a farm, business or apartment block can put them on their roof unless they live near an airport or helipad in which case there is a limit to 300 sq. m. That is a measure that I originally asked for in 2015. I am happy that it has come in now. It is also now the case that everyone can sell their power back to the grid if they wish. Those are two really important measures. That was requested in the Citizens' Assembly on climate change.

Deputy Murnane O'Connor asked for the dates when the three €200 payments will be made. The exact dates will be in regulation but they will be for the billing cycles of November-December this year, and January-February and March-April of next year. The Deputy stressed the importance of communications and particularly the case of tenants as well as the vulnerable register question and the case for Travellers. I absolutely take those points on board.

Deputy Stanley referred to security of supply. He said that it was important that we look to our own semi-state companies like Coillte, Bord na Móna and ESB and that we build up our capacity in renewable energy. I absolutely agree with that. All those companies are very active in the renewable energy field and I would like to see them invested in and continuing with the work they are doing.

Deputy Joan Collins said that we need to look at other options such as windfall tax. We are going to bring in a windfall tax. It will have two aspects: it will tax people who have deposits of gas, of whom there is only one in the country, and also bring in a tax on the profits of people who made unfair profits because they were selling electricity at the same cost because of the increased cost of gas. They will those with renewable energy or other sources of power. They will be taxed. Deputy Bruton asked that we tax them to the maximum extent that we can.

Deputy Nolan asked about churches and community halls and whether they will receive support for the increased cost of their electricity. I understand that separate funding of €25 million has been allocated to support such bodies as part of the budget. I expect a scheme to come out of that very soon. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said it was unfair that the cost of energy had gone up from suppliers whose cost of producing that energy had not gone up. That is exactly right. Those people have no right to overcharge for power and they will be faced with retrospective tax on the profits that they unfairly made. There are two aspects to the windfall taxes, with a windfall tax and a solidarity tax. They will be made in line with other European countries and will be done as quickly as possible.

Smart meters were raised. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh mentioned that information is not available to people to see how they are using their power which was half the point of smart meters. Conor Molloy also wrote to me on this. ESB Networks has now confirmed that customers who have smart meters installed will be able to access their 30-minute interval consumption data directly starting from November through a new ESB Networks customer portal.

I think that I have covered as many things as I can. I look forward to meeting the Deputies again on Committee Stage, looking at their amendments and seeing how we can progress this.