Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to introduce emergency price controls for petrol, diesel, electricity, natural gas and home heating oil.

We in People Before Profit are seeking leave to introduce the Emergency Price Controls Bill 2024 today because increases in the cost of living have not gone away. The media is not covering them any more. The Government is trying to sweep them under the carpet, but when I am out talking to people while canvassing or in the shops, it comes up constantly. Ordinary people know they are being hammered. Mortgages and rents are sky high. Grocery prices are off the charts and energy costs are still much higher than they were three years ago.

Yesterday, I introduced a Bill that proposes to cap the price of groceries. Next month, Second Stage of a Bill that proposes to cap mortgage interest rates at 3% will be debated, and today, as the second part of the People Before Profit's cost-of-living package, I am seeking leave to introduce this Bill to cap energy and fuel prices. Our Bill would cap the price of electricity, gas, home heating oil, petrol and diesel by using existing powers available to the Government under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 which allow it to introduce price controls. The Bill would cap electricity prices at 25 cent per kWh, significantly less than the current average price of 35.83 cent. It would cap the price of natural gas at 8 cent per kWh, significantly less than the average current price of 11.17 cent, and kerosene or home heating oil would be capped at €1 per litre. We estimate this would save the average household €1,300 on electricity alone.

In a country with the highest electricity prices in Europe, it is clear that price controls are badly needed. A third of households are living in energy poverty, which means they are forced to spend more than 10% of their income on energy. For many, that is unsustainable and means falling further and further into debt. Electricity prices doubled in the two years to April 2023. Although prices began to slowly fall in late 2023, households are still paying far more for energy than they were two years ago. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, recently stated that a return to 2021 prices is unlikely. The Government has said that the energy credits were temporary or one-off payments. It is therefore expecting ordinary working people to shoulder the burden of permanent price hikes for years to come.

The latest figures from the CRU show the cumulative effect of two years of high energy prices. One in ten households are in arrears on their electricity bills and a record one in four households are in arrears on their gas bills. Meanwhile, domestic households are paying three times more for electricity than big multinational companies and Government energy supports have also favoured big businesses over households. On top of this, ESB Group, a State-owned company, reported profits after tax of €868 million for 2023, up more than 30% on 2022. This shows that the cost of price caps could be easily absorbed from the profits of the energy companies and by redistributing tariffs between domestic and big business consumers.

The second area in which the Bill proposes to control prices is the area of petrol and diesel. The latest figures from the AA show that petrol costs an average of €1.83 per litre and diesel costs €1.76. The Bill proposes to set a maximum price of €1.75 per litre for both petrol and diesel. It would cut the price of petrol and ensure prices cannot rise any further. That cost could be absorbed through reductions in excise duty by the Government and by scrapping excise duty hikes planned for 1 August, which are set to increase the price of petrol by 4 cent per litre and the price of diesel by 3 cent per litre. There must also be no increase in the carbon tax, which is due to go up yet again in the budget. People Before Profit has always opposed the carbon tax. We want it to be scrapped completely. Like excise duty and VAT, carbon tax is a regressive tax that penalises low-income households. Recent research by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that 29.2% of the income of the poorest 10% of households goes on indirect taxes, compared with only 9% of the income of the richest 10%. That is utterly unjust and regressive.

In tandem with these price controls, we can further cut costs for households by reducing energy and fuel use. That means massive State investment in free, green and frequent public transport and 100% State funding of retrofitting for all households that need it and switching to 100% renewable energy. The Government has a €65 billion surplus, more than enough to fund a just transition for all.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is the Bill being opposed?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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It is not being opposed.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I move: "That Second Stage be taken in Private Members' time."