Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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For the information of the House, Committee Stage of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 is starting at 3.30 p.m. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will come in after I have spoken. Officials will take note of matters raised by all Deputies here and we will respond. It is outside my control as the committee meeting was scheduled by the committee.

Since 2022, we have seen significant increases in the prices that households and businesses pay for energy. This has come alongside general inflation at levels not experienced in recent times. Domestic energy prices and cost-of-living pressures remain matters of serious concern.

The Government is acutely aware of the challenges that households continue to face in meeting the costs and remains fully committed to supporting those most at risk.

The Government takes this matter very seriously and has made a number of important commitments in respect of addressing the continued high cost of energy and, indeed, we have implemented some measures already. This is evident in the programme for Government which acknowledges the increased energy cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward measures to help contain energy costs.

Today, I will outline some of the key drivers of energy prices as well as the steps that the Government has taken to support households to meet these costs. I will also set out the actions being taken to protect Irish consumers over the longer-term, by making critical investments in renewable energy, in our electricity grid and, importantly, in energy efficiency.

The pressures we face are not unique to Ireland. Rising energy costs have been seen across Europe since the economic recovery from the pandemic and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The invasion introduced huge volatility into the wholesale gas market, which directly led to higher prices paid by households and businesses across Europe for electricity. There remains a strong correlation between wholesale gas and wholesale electricity prices, as gas remains an important source of fuel in the electricity generation mix. Wholesale prices have stabilised and fallen since then but remain elevated compared to the pre-pandemic averages. In line with rising wholesale prices since the post-pandemic recovery, accelerated by the war in Ukraine, household electricity and gas bills rose significantly in 2022 and have remained elevated since.

The electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime wherein electricity and gas prices are commercial and liberalised. The position of successive Governments has been that competitive energy markets result in greater choice for consumers and businesses in terms of suppliers, products and prices. CRU ended its regulation of retail prices in the electricity market in 2011 and in the gas market in 2014. Price setting by electricity suppliers, including standing charges, is therefore a commercial and operational matter for the companies concerned.

Each such company has its own approach to pricing decisions over time, in accordance with factors such as their overall company strategic direction and developments in their cost base. The latest data from Eurostat shows that, in nominal terms, Ireland ranked fifth for electricity prices and eighth for household gas prices among European countries in the first half of 2025. When adjusting for purchasing power parity Ireland is mid-table in terms of energy affordability with the 12th highest electricity prices among the EU 27. Retail prices are influenced by several factors which must be borne in mind, including wholesale energy prices, system operation costs and supplier hedging. In Ireland, our reliance on imported fossil fuels, specifically gas, for electricity generation, has been a long-standing driver of higher energy costs. Furthermore, our location as an island on the periphery of Europe and our low-density and widely dispersed population also influence prices.

Regarding hedging, suppliers in Ireland were shown to have taken a prudent approach to hedging which had the benefit of protecting final customers from the very worst effects of the wholesale price crisis. Conversely, hedging limits the ability of suppliers to reduce prices immediately in line with wholesale price shifts. The International Energy Agency has observed that retail prices in Ireland have not adjusted at a comparable pace to the decline in wholesale prices, with the energy component of retail prices remaining up to three times that of wholesale prices. That is the margin to which I referred.

While the CRU has carried out extensive monitoring of the Irish retail energy market before, during and in the aftermath of the energy crisis and found no evidence of market failure, the findings of the IEA renewables report underline the importance of progressing the programme for Government commitment to "commission an independent review into the speed and level of passthrough from wholesale prices to retail prices, with an additional assessment of the overall price dynamics and an overall focus on the competitiveness of the Irish economy".

It is in this context that I have requested that the CRU lead the independent review of the relationship between wholesale and retail energy prices. This review will build on the work of previous CRU reports and investigations from 2017, 2023 and 2024 by reviewing the competitiveness of Irish retail energy markets, examining supplier costs, including hedging and pricing practices, and providing comparative price analysis with other EU member states. It will also identify any issues affecting the speed or scale of passthrough from wholesale to retail costs, assess whether any further measures are warranted to enhance market responsiveness to wholesale price changes and make recommendations to ensure that the benefits of lower wholesale prices are felt by both households and businesses.

As Minister, I have engaged with individual suppliers to gain a detailed understanding of measures they will introduce to support households this winter. This included a round of meetings with the largest energy suppliers on this topic. Each of those suppliers committed to ensuring that hardship funds and focused measures are in place for any customers who may find themselves in difficulty over the winter months.

A suite of measures was introduced in recent years to help households and businesses deal with the rising cost of energy. This included €1,500 in electricity credits to all households through the electricity costs emergency benefit scheme and that cost €3.3 billion. This universal measure provided valuable on-bill support to nearly 2.3 million households, taking many out of arrears completely and preventing others from becoming more indebted. Further financial support was provided through the reduction in VAT on electricity from 13.5% to 9%.

This is in addition to one-off increases to certain social welfare recipients such as those in receipt of the fuel allowance, pensioners, working families, carers, those living with disabilities and those in receipt of child benefit. The SEAI has invested significant resources into enhancing existing support schemes which businesses can avail of. These include longer-standing schemes such as excellence in energy efficient design and the support scheme for energy audits, introduced in 2021, as well as the new SME scheme, the business energy upgrades scheme, introduced November 2024. The accelerated capital allowances scheme is a tax incentive that encourages businesses to purchase equipment that are highly energy efficient and thus make significant savings on energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. The accelerated capital allowances scheme for energy-efficient equipment is extended until 31 December 2030, encouraging investment in low-emission technology among businesses.

As part of budget 2026, the Government has also provided significant targeted support to those people who most require help with their energy costs. From January, the fuel allowance will be increased by €5 per week to €38 per week, supporting over 450,000 households who most require Government assistance to meet their energy costs. To directly support working families, the fuel allowance is now being extended to recipients of the working family payment. This will benefit over 43,000 families and will be a significant measure in protecting children, in particular, who are experiencing energy poverty. This measure will be paid from March next year, and backdated to January.

In addition, from September 2026, those who move from disability allowance or blind pension to employment will be able to retain their fuel allowance for five years. Additional needs payments are available for people who have essential expenses, which they cannot meet from their own resources, including people who face difficulties in meeting fuel bills. Also, a heating supplement may be paid to people who have exceptional heating costs due to ill health, infirmity or a medical condition and are unable to meet those costs out of household income. Heating supplement is not restricted to the fuel season and can be paid throughout the full year. As Deputies will know, the reduced VAT rate of 9% currently applied to gas and electricity has also been extended for the lifetime of this Government. This will reduce household energy costs by up to €100 per annum at a cost of €254 million per annum.

The programme for Government has committed to continuing to allocate revenue raised by the carbon tax towards the funding of social welfare measures, agri-environmental schemes and retrofitting. This is an important commitment to ensure we protect the most vulnerable throughout the clean energy transition. As of budget 2026, the Government has allocated over €4.2 billion in carbon tax revenue for this purpose since 2020. ESRI analysis consistently shows that lower income deciles are better off as a result of the social protection measures funded by the increased carbon tax.

Each year, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities carries out a review on the effectiveness of customer protection measures over the past winter, as well as deciding the measures to be retained for the forthcoming winter. The additional protection measures originally identified by the CRU in 2022 have been monitored with data and feedback sought by the regulator from customer representative groups, network operators and suppliers, to fully understand the impact for all customer groups, and really importantly, for those vulnerable customers.

For this winter period, 2025-26, some of the key measures that will remain in place are as follows: the debt repayment level on pay-as-you-go meters will remain at a maximum level of 15%. Suppliers will be required to continue to automatically place customers with a financial hardship meter on the most economic tariff available. Energy suppliers will be required to actively promote the vulnerable customer register and the protections it offers, promote how customers can have a nominated representative to manage their account, and how customers can sign up for level payment plans. Additional requirements have been outlined for suppliers when engaging with indebted customers who may benefit from entering a repayment plan, due to increased levels of customers not being able to complete repayment plans in the previous year. The disconnection moratorium for registered vulnerable customers will remain in place from 1 of November 2025 to 31 of March 2026. The winter disconnection moratorium for all other domestic customers will be in place from 8 December 2025 to 16 January next year. The customer protections are complemented by the supplier energy engage code, which provides a further level of security for domestic electricity and gas customers. This code encourages customers, who are having difficulty in paying a bill, to engage with their supplier regarding the management of their debt. Under this code, suppliers will not disconnect customers who engage with them and must provide every opportunity to customers to avoid disconnection.

There are a number of longer-term actions we need to take as well. The energy crisis required Government to act decisively to shield households and businesses from unprecedented price hikes. The energy transition poses a different challenge to Government. The transition towards an electrified and low-carbon economy will be of huge long-term benefit to the economy, and really importantly to society, and is aimed at providing secure, sustainable and affordable energy for generations to come. The energy transition requires unprecedented levels of investment in renewable and conventional generation capacity as well as network infrastructure. This requires a shift in policy approach from crisis measures to enduring solutions, including significant investment in energy infrastructure coupled with targeted supports for the most vulnerable, which tackle the root causes of energy poverty. The Government is working at speed to roll out more renewable energy infrastructure, both onshore and offshore, wind and solar. This is already helping to bring down the cost of electricity and is the long-term solution to high energy bills.

In July this year, we approved a landmark €3.5 billion investment in Ireland's electricity grid infrastructure to the end of the decade as part of the national development plan. This represents the largest single investment in the country's electricity network in its history. This transformative investment will strengthen Ireland's energy security, support economic growth and accelerate our transition to renewable energy. The investment will see €1.5 billion allocated to ESB Networks and €2 billion to EirGrid, enabling both companies to significantly increase capital investment to expand our onshore and offshore electricity transmission and distribution network infrastructure. We have had that debate and that legislation has been signed into law.

The Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 2025 was progressed as a matter of priority to allow that €1.5 billion equity to which I referred, to be made to ESB Networks by the end of the year. The Act also increases the statutory borrowing limit of the ESB from €12 billion to €17 billion. This Act ensures ESB Networks is sufficiently financed to begin delivering on the ambitious onshore grid investment programme next year. The overall ESB Networks investment plan, under what is called price review 6, will see delivery of over 500 capital projects, including 181 km of new overhead lines, 319 km of new underground cables, nearly 70 new and upgraded substations right across the country and over 50,000 pole replacements. The Government equity injection into the ESB will support the strength of its balance sheet and assist in maintaining the excellent credit rating it enjoys. This will ensure the ESB can borrow at the most competitive interest rates, which ultimately lowers the impact of network charges on customer bills. Delivery of electricity grid infrastructure is a priority for this Government. My Department is currently reviewing grid delivery oversight and will ensure the equity investment is appropriately legally documented, with enhanced Government expectations of the ESB in relation to project governance, reporting and delivery. The mechanism for making the €2 billion investment in EirGrid will be agreed and legislated for separately next year in 2026. This investment will be allocated over the next five years to support EirGrid access the capital markets and fund its investment program.

We are continuing to make significant investments to improve the energy efficiency of our built environment. Since 2019, almost €1.5 billion has been invested in SEAI schemes, supporting over 220,000 home energy upgrades, including almost 74,000 B2s and over 29,500 fully funded upgrades for households under the warmer homes scheme. A record capital allocation has been made available through the budget of 2026. That is €558 million for SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the solar PV scheme, to support the delivery of the national retrofit plan. That is an €89 million increase on Exchequer funding in the budget allocation. It means that more funding than ever will be available to homes to make them warmer, healthier, more comfortable and less expensive to heat. Analysis carried out by the Department and the SEAI indicates that a household can save between €750 and €1,120 per year by installing a deep package of efficiency measures. Government is also continuing to invest significant resources into support schemes for business, including the excellence in energy efficiency design, EXCEED, and the support scheme for energy audits, as well as the business energy upgrades schemes that were introduced in November 2024 to support SMEs to undertake energy upgrades. Supporting these schemes will be critical to the achievement of Ireland's 2030 public sector energy efficiency targets, which are mandated in the energy efficiency directive. My Department has also established the heat and built environment task force to accelerate and drive delivery in relation to retrofitting, renewable heat, district heat and decarbonisation of the building stock.

In June 2025, a cross-government national energy affordability task force, which I chair, was established to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses, while delivering key renewable commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability. The task force membership includes representatives of various Departments and crucial energy sector stakeholders. The first report of the task force was recently published and included measures for consideration to support customers in budget 2026. The report is available and has been published. Further analysis will now be carried out in order to inform the energy affordability action plan, which will include recommendations for structural reforms to benefit consumers in the medium and longer term. This will be a crucial part of Government's work to improve competitiveness and will complement the development of a whole-of-government action plan on competitiveness and productivity. This plan will also include a broad review of cost drivers in the energy sector and will address energy poverty, including work from the energy poverty steering group. Specific engagement and measures to support those most at risk of energy poverty will also be a key feature of the energy affordability action plan. The task force will soon commence a consultation to ensure the action plan is informed by public input, as well as further stakeholder engagement. The plan itself will be published next year. The work of the task force reflects a firm commitment to move towards long-term sustainable solutions to energy cost pressures, including through greater targeting of resources towards those most in need, and exploring the best way to fund necessary investments in energy infrastructure. Effective ways of defining, measuring and tracking energy poverty are absolutely essential for designing sound policy responses. Currently, the measurement of energy poverty in Ireland is based on the level of expenditure on energy by a household. Households spending above 10% of total income on their energy needs, excluding energy for transport, are counted in the current measurement of energy poverty. Using this metric, it is estimated that, in 2022, the share of households that could risk energy poverty had risen to 29.4%.

However, this measure does not account for the energy efficiency of homes and does not identify households most acutely affected by rising energy costs. Neither does it capture the extent to which households may restrict their energy consumption due to cost concerns. For that reason, the Government is providing funding to examine whether existing supports are well targeted towards those who are at risk of energy poverty and the impact of those supports on the level of energy poverty. Amongst other things, this research will propose a metric for measuring energy poverty that combines expenditure and energy efficiency and metrics to measure changes in the trend of fuel energy poverty regarding the number of households and its severity. This research programme is due for completion in 2026. The results will be considered as part of the work of the national energy affordability task force and will be part of the budget discussions for next year.

I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the challenges and reaffirm mine and the Government's commitment to taking action to help households and businesses across Ireland with energy costs and to building a clean energy future. I am looking forward to hearing contributions from Deputies across the House.

The critical area for us in relation to grid is delivery on the capital programme. This will be the largest investment the State has ever made in electricity infrastructure. It is badly needed so we can ensure more clean, green, renewable energy that we have control over, as well as more storage capacity, more distribution capacity and more generation capacity, is brought onstream.

Last year over 40% of our electricity was generated through renewables. That is a good thing. We are projecting well into the high 60% or early 70% by the end of the decade. We need an energy grid that supports businesses and households. We need to be acutely aware of those struggling to pay their energy bills. It is absolutely correct and prudent to target measures at those households and individuals. I have already mentioned what we have expanded there. The permanent change, effectively, in the VAT rate is also significant but we need to deliver projects like the North-South interconnector. That project alone will reduce household bills by an average of €100 per annum. It is badly needed from an all-island, all-Ireland electricity network perspective. It is one of the critical capital schemes we need to deliver over the period of 2026 to 2030. The changes we have made and are making with regard to planning will underpin the critical infrastructure we need. Deputies can be assured the work will continue with regard to the national energy affordability task force, looking at structural measures within our energy system.

The challenges we face are not unique to Ireland. They are challenges right across Europe and the developed world. I have put the issue of energy affordability front and centre at Energy Council meetings at EU level and as recently as the COP conference in Belém, Brazil.

As I mentioned and as Deputy Daly will know, the Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is on Committee Stage, which I will have to attend around 3.30 p.m. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will come in shortly and take the rest of the debate. We will note each contribution Members make. The scheduling of the committee meeting and of this debate was outside of my control and I cannot be in two places at once, unfortunately.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I thank him for explaining his departure at around 3.30 p.m. We understand the committee is on as well. Bogaimid ar aghaidh le Sinn Féin anois.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Beidh mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis na Teachtaí O'Hara, Ní Fhearghail, O'Rourke agus Newsome Drennan. I have come from the committee the Minister mentioned and apologise for being a couple of minutes late.

Workers and families across the country are being hammered by soaring energy costs and it is happening on this Government's watch. Despite all the promises made before the election to protect workers and families from further increases in energy bills that were already eye-watering, the opposite is being done. For the first time in five years, there are no energy credits. At precisely the moment energy companies announced a fresh round of price hikes, the energy credits were withdrawn. Energia, Bord Gais, SSE, Airtricity and Pinergy all piled on, adding hundreds of euro to household bills. Then the supports were ripped away, contrary, as we now know, to advice given by Government advisors that they were very much needed. As if people were not frustrated enough, the fact this was done despite the warnings of how badly it could go is a total slap in the face to hard-pressed energy-bill payers. Does the Minister seriously think ordinary workers and families can afford the extra €321 on their bills when they already pay some of the highest prices in the EU? The officials warned bills would skyrocket and the number of households in arrears would further spike, and this has happened. The one lifeline people had to help them keep the lights on and stay warm this winter was ripped away.

Already we have a record-breaking figure of over 300,000 households in arrears. Disconnections are up 50% on last year. Those are not just statistics; they are real people and families terrified of what is about to come. Rolling out the tired excuse or explanation that the Government's hands are tied will not cut it. The extortionate cost of energy here is not inevitable; it is a result of political choices made. Promises were made last year but it seems to ordinary people they were just an attempt to buy the election. This is the result of inaction since then. The report we received today could not have made that any clearer. The Government was warned of the fallout but chose to proceed in any event. It was also made clear by the Government's complete failure to end the price gouging by the energy companies. It continues to prioritise the corporate bottom line over the needs of workers and families. More and more households cannot afford to pay skyrocketing bills while energy companies ride off into the sunset with massive profits.

Let us look at the facts. Wholesale energy prices have fallen 75% since their peak in 2022 but retail prices remain sky high at between 50% and 70% above 2021 levels. Average household electricity bills have basically doubled in the past five years from €976 to an expected €1,877 this winter. Who in their right minds thinks this is okay? It is a total rip-off and the Minister knows it.

Energy companies are riding roughshod over consumers and being let away with it. The energy regulator has no effective powers to regulate hedging practices or standing charges despite legislation Sinn Féin introduced to fix that and mandate the regulator to prioritise energy affordability. Unsurprisingly, those pieces of legislation were blocked by the Government.

The Government betrayed households once again with carbon tax hikes on home heating oil. The cost of a tank of home heating oil has already risen by €220 and last week we learned the Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Regional Independents and the Healy-Rae brothers - plans to increase this by a further €150 over the next few years. Last week there was a motion here and a chance to vote against these carbon tax increases and to support our Bill but once again the Government failed to do so. Nearly 1 million households rely on oil to heat their homes, especially in rural Ireland. Ministers cannot continue to shrug their shoulders. Enough is enough.

We are calling for immediate action to reintroduce the energy credits of three payments of €150; reverse the carbon tax increase and scrap further hikes; give the energy regulator real powers to hold the companies to account and stop profiteering; and make data centres pay their fair share. Treat energy as a public good, not a commodity for profit. Translate our national resources into national wealth for all.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Ireland's energy bills are among the highest in Europe. Households across the State see their bills continue to rise and have to balance paying their bills, keeping a roof over their heads and putting food on the table. Sometimes this balancing act is simply not possible. I meet people across my constituency forced to make the most difficult of decisions. Families are forced to choose which essentials they must do without to stay on top of bills. We are seeing record levels of energy arrears. There are now over 300,000 households in arrears on their energy bills.

Despite this trend of rising energy costs, rising energy arrears and rising energy poverty, Government refused to include energy credits or a broader cost-of-living package in this year's budget. This decision flies in the face of the Government's national energy affordability task force.

Its interim report detailed the critical impact that energy credits played in supporting households. Today, our colleague, Lynn Boylan, MEP, has uncovered that the decision to remove energy credits was also made despite evidence from the Minister's own officials, who noted that the case for energy credits was stronger this year than last, that households would have to find an extra €321 to cover energy costs and that an energy scheme for struggling households was shelved. How can this be justified? This decision not to support families and households was a political choice. Realistically, the only difference between this year and last is that last year we had a general election on the horizon.

As well as having their energy credits pulled, households are hit. Once again, Energia, SSE Airtricity, Pinergy, Bord Gáis Energy and Flogas are all imposing fresh price hikes, with energy companies refusing to pass on the full reductions in wholesale costs. The Minister refuses to take on the energy companies, to empower the regulator or to reform hedging prices, the pricing system, the PSO or network charges. It is time for the Minister to act and intervene on behalf of customers who are being ripped off.

In recent weeks, we have heard of the cost of home heating oil shooting up by €80. We know the cost of driving continues to be very high, which is an absolute necessity for people in rural Ireland. Yet the Government continues to proceed with carbon tax increases that will continue to push these costs up in the months and years ahead. Whether the Minister wishes to acknowledge it or not, a cost-of-living crisis is happening. He needs to wake up to this reality, provide supports in the here and now, help people to get through this winter and tackle companies that are ripping people off.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Last month, a report by the International Energy Agency found that energy companies are buying electricity at a third of the price they are selling it at. We have hard-pressed working people and families being absolutely fleeced by big energy companies. The report confirms that sky-high energy prices are not the result of unpredictable global market shocks. Quite simply, they are being set by price-gouging energy companies lining the pockets of their shareholders at the expense of ordinary people.

We need to give people a break and the Minister could give people a break. He could end the rip-off, stand up to these energy companies and deliver affordable energy. What we have instead is a Government that has chosen to make it worse. This Government has actually gone out of its way to make life more difficult and to hike the cost of energy and transport by increasing the carbon tax. This is having a massive impact on people in the west of Ireland, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet. In my clinics, people come into me really concerned about being able to heat their homes. They are just saying they can no longer afford the bills they have to pay. A lot of people in the west of Ireland, as the Minister knows, rely on oil for heating. They are now going to have to fork out €1,000 to fill up a tank of oil. Some €220 of that is carbon tax. These people are being punished for something that is completely and utterly out of their hands. Thousands of rural households have no other choice but to use oil to heat their homes. They are being forced to live in freezing cold homes this winter because of this Government.

Climate action cannot come at the cost of pushing working people into poverty. It needs to be a just transition. The Minister's Government's carbon taxes are an unjust, failed and technocratic approach to environmental policy that is deepening social and economic inequality. It needs to be scrapped. Working people and families are in desperate need of support to pay their energy bills. They need the Minister to reverse his cruel decision to scrap energy credits. They need him to scrap the carbon tax and end the energy rip-off by standing up to the big energy companies. Tá an oiread sin daoine in iarthar na hÉireann nach bhfuil in ann íoc as a gcuid billí ná an ola atá acu agus tá an cáin charbóin ag cur leis an mbrú atá orthu. Is cinneadh é sin atá déanta ag an Rialtas. Is mór an náire é.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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Ireland has some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, way above the EU average. The typical Irish household is paying hundreds of euro more per year than its European counterparts. This is a scandal and a direct result of Government failure. When energy companies were making record profits after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this Government refused to apply a strong and effective windfall tax. Instead, it allowed profiteering to continue unchecked. It continues to do that. Decades of Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have left us over-reliant on dirty, expensive fossil fuel imports. They failed to invest in renewables, leaving Ireland energy insecure and exposed to volatile international markets. Now, they want to lecture people about the environment.

The truth is simple. Government inaction is at the heart of Ireland's rip-off prices. Profit maximisation has been prioritised over affordable energy for ordinary families, and this must change. Sinn Féin has long set out a suite of fundamental regulatory and structural reforms that are clear and deliverable and that would significantly reduce energy costs to businesses and households. We are calling for an overhaul of the electricity markets regulatory regime. The energy regulator needs to be given new powers to monitor standing charges, hedging practices and anti-competitive behaviour, alongside stronger transparency and accountability. We want a reformed CRU mandate that prioritises affordability. We will break the link between wholesale gas and electricity prices.

Sinn Féin would make the transition fairer by restructuring network charges, expanding community and domestic ownership of renewables and introducing a fairer retrofit plan, with increased funding and accessible, area-based schemes targeting those most in need. We will end the punitive carbon tax approach that locks families out of benefits. We will commit to no further hikes. We will significantly increase investment in renewables to transform Ireland's vast natural resources into national wealth. This is about fairness, affordability and energy security for all. Families cannot afford the Government's dithering incompetence any longer. Go raibh maith agat.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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Numbers speak of a harsh reality facing so many Irish households. Ireland has the third most expensive electricity prices in the entire EU. This has been no gentle increase. It has been a shock to the system. In just five years, the average price has rocketed from €37/MWh to a staggering €114/MWh. This statistic is not abstract; it is the grim reality for tens of thousands of households struggling to pay their bills and for the 300,000 households currently in arrears. What was the Government's response? It was to scrap energy credits despite official advice. This was a cruel and harsh decision. Time and again, this Government turns its back, but to ignore official expert advice in doing so is utter neglect.

This Government has not only failed to bring prices down but has actively created the conditions that keep them high. Under its watch, our national grid has been dangerously neglected. We have not invested adequately in the capacity to harness the increase in renewable energy. Wind turbines are going up at such a rate that the grid cannot cope. Why? It is because the sole focus seems to be on hitting 2030 targets, with little to no regard for the real cost. The result of this failure is a scandal in plain sight. Since 2017, over €2.5 billion has been paid in curtailment payments. This is money handed to profit-driven projects to stop them producing energy. Who foots the bill? It is the public. The cost is added euro by euro onto every household's energy bill. What we are seeing is that the roll-out of solar and wind farms has begun to move beyond the green strategy. It has been designed to ensure high profits for profit investors and not for the benefit of customers or the public good.

While they cash in, this comes so very often at the expense of our rural communities, like my own in Carlow-Kilkenny. For almost 20 years, people there have waited for the updated planning guidelines for wind turbines. Successive Governments have kicked that can down the road. This delay has given developers free rein, while communities are left alone to navigate these massive landscape-altering developments that impact them for generations. It is time for the neglect to end. We need a national grid that does not waste renewable energy, policies that put people before profit and guidelines that protect our communities. Go raibh maith agat.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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For the past number of years under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments we have seen what feels like a permanent cost-of-living crisis. People are being squeezed from every angle, be it grocery price inflation, the cost of renting or buying a home or childcare costs, something the Government has been conspicuously silent on since the promise of it costing €200 a month. We know student fees are going to be increasing. Compounding it all, we have the matter at hand, which is energy bills.

The Barnardos report during the summer was really eye-opening in terms of just how stark the picture really is for families, especially vulnerable ones.

Some 40% of parents have been forced into borrowing money to help pay for essentials for their children, while lone parents were disproportionately more likely to cut back on those essentials. We are seeing parents going hungry so that their children are fed and others are going without heating in their homes, or taking on debt to keep the lights on.

The Government had the chance to alleviate some of that burden in the recent budget but against the advice of officials chose not to – a conscious choice. It was a conscious choice not to support some of the most vulnerable households with targeted energy credits that I and the Labour Party had been calling for. There was a conscious choice to instead give a needless tax cut to the likes of McDonald's and big property developers. The cost-of-living crisis has perhaps never been so acute but now that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have bought the votes they needed to get back into Government, we now cannot afford to give people the little bit of support they need to get through. We can, though, hand over more than €630 million in VAT cuts to the hospitality sector. It is ridiculous and offensive. We should have seen targeted energy credits in the budget, not the pre-election sweeteners that were given out to everyone by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the previous couple of budgets, but actual supports given to those who need it most. There are 300,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills and 185,000 are in arrears on their gas bills. They are the people who should have been supported with meaningful and targeted measures in the budget but they were let down by this Government.

It is three years since the first universal energy credits were paid out. This Government is, with a few exceptions, broadly the same as the previous one. Three years should have provided more than enough time to have devised a way to target the credits more effectively. Either the Government could not do it or it would not. As I have said before in this House, if we are talking about energy costs we need to talk about the energy companies themselves as well, and the profiteering and the outright greed that has been on display over the last few months. I will give a few examples. Flogas has hiked its prices by 7% after its parent company, DCC, recorded operating profits of €820 million in its most recent accounts. Bord Gáis Energy, after a year in which it made €75 million in profits, raised its prices by 13.5%, adding €218 a year to the average bill. Pinergy went up almost 10% after having increased its revenues by nearly 40% in 2024. Energia increased electricity prices by more than 12% after making a very healthy €154 million in profits last year. SSE Airtricity had a 9.5% increase in electricity prices, its second hike this year after a 10.5% increase in electricity in April, alongside an 8.4% rise in gas prices. SSE Airtricity's most recent accounts show a €111 million operating profit.

It is hard to see this as anything other than blatant greed and ordinary families, many of whom are already struggling, are paying for it. How are they supposed to cope? The energy credits, as imperfect as they were, were a lifeline for so many people but the bigger picture is that these energy companies need to be reined in. The gross profiteering in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, which is almost capitalising on the cost-of-living crisis, needs to be called out. The energy market is supposed to be competitive but these companies are carrying on more like cartels, like an oligarchy. As I have called for again in this House, the Minister needs to start looking-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Gabh mo leithscéal, Deputy. Just be careful with naming specific companies.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Okay.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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They are not here to defend themselves.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Understood. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. However, this needs to be called out and I have asked the Minister before to start looking seriously at ways we can reintroduce some level of regulation of energy prices beyond network tariffs. I am not suggesting that is easy but there are carve-outs in EU competition law that allow for price regulation in order to protect customers. We should be exploring these options and I will provide some context for this request.

Under EU energy market rules, our electricity and gas markets have been fully liberalised. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, judged competition to be effective in the electricity market in 2011 and in the gas market in 2014. The ESB, via Electric Ireland, still holds a large market share by virtue of its once-monopolised position but some time ago the CRU deemed that competition had developed to an extent that it judged that it was effective enough to protect consumers and keep prices down. Once that happened, EU rules meant it could no longer justify blanket price regulation and so regulations were lifted. If we look to the North, however, Power NI is a former monopoly provider, similar to how the ESB was here in the South. As Power NI still holds a very large share of the domestic market, its tariffs are regulated by the Utility Regulator to ensure that customers are protected and that prices remain fair. That was true even prior to Brexit, when EU competition law applied in the North, because the European Commission accepted the case that there were less competitive dynamics in the North and regulation of Power NI’s tariffs were continued as a public service measure.

This poses a question for us. Have the competitive dynamics that enabled the liberalisation of our energy markets back in the 2010s been a success? Have they delivered better prices and a better service for households? I would find it hard to argue that they have. Competition has not delivered better and fair prices for consumers. Instead, it seems that energy companies have given up on the idea of competing with each other, and a price hike by one gives an excuse for a price hike to the rest. All of these matters I am raising are on the public record. The profits of these energy companies are on the public record. There is nothing wrong with calling them out here. As I have said, it appears to be much more than a coincidence that they are all raising their prices at the same time, or one after another. They are almost using it as an excuse. When one raises their prices, another uses that as an excuse to also raise their prices. This is hardly the sign of a well-functioning and competitive market.

Under EU electricity and gas directives, price regulation is allowed in exceptional circumstances, such as when competition is not working, or indeed, in order to protect vulnerable customers. We are very much approaching the point where we can claim on the basis of the evidence we are seeing at the moment that competition in the Irish energy markets has failed. The Minister should be looking to exploit those exceptional circumstances provisions in the EU rules in order to rein in energy companies and making the case for this to the European Commission.

I would also like to briefly raise the CRU’s draft price review six. It is pretty outrageous that it is proposing that we increase costs on households while giving a discount on energy prices to data centres, the same data centres putting our energy system under enormous pressure – a 412% increase in electricity usage in the past ten years – leading to increases in costs for ordinary households. The Government knows this. The Secretary General in the Department of public expenditure has said that soaring electricity demand is largely attributable to data centres. We know that demand is expected to grow to 30% of our national energy use by 2030. This follows the Secretary General in the Minister’s own Department of energy saying that the Government must choose between the power demands of data centres and building homes.

Ordinary, working families are paying for this and, quite simply, it is wrong. The billions of euro now thankfully being poured into updating and upgrading our grid are being used to accommodate these large energy users like data centres. It is being paid for by households. I introduced a Bill last week, the Electricity Regulations (Climate Action and Connection to Distribution and Transmission Systems) Bill 2025, which attempts to deal with part of this issue. It would give the CRU the power to ensure that data centres generate their own on-site renewable energy, which would compliment draft proposals on regulation published by the CRU earlier in the year. Essentially, this will mean that for every megawatt that data centres take from the grid, they have to give back a megawatt of clean, renewable energy that they have generated themselves - in effect, neutralising their energy demands.

Of course, there is also the climate element and the impact data centres have on our emissions. The massive energy demands of these data centres means that they guzzle through fossil fuels and they are taking basically all of the relatively small amount of renewable energy we are currently producing. That is renewable energy that could be used to decarbonise our homes, reduce bills or electrify our public transport. My Bill would ensure that ends, and that data centres cannot build any new fossil-fuel infrastructure, but rather provide their own renewable energy and contribute towards our efforts to decarbonise our economy and our public services.

I will conclude by reiterating that this issue – alleviating the struggle that people are facing with soaring energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis more generally – is about political choices. It was a political choice to give a massive VAT cut to burger barons and big developers while denying vulnerable households supports like the energy credits they have desperately relied on over the past couple of years. It is a political choice to allow energy companies to run riot and I ask the Minister to seriously consider my proposal today.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Ahern and Members of this House are absolutely correct to call out the energy companies and we should call them out every single day where we believe it is necessary. There is no doubt that they are having a very negative effect on people in their own homes and indeed small businesses. Every small business I go to to discuss their circumstances in Carlow and Kilkenny will, first, highlight the cost of energy to them. I looked at a man's budget, Mr. Paudie O'Neill in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, regarding the running of his business.

Because I was involved with that kind of business previously, I was absolutely astounded by the level of cost of energy. He had solar panels as well. He was making every effort to meet every cost that he could, but he could not deal with the energy companies. It is absolutely impossible for people in their senior years to deal with energy providers or service providers. They cannot get through on the phone. They are left waiting. The companies will not correspond by email and they take a very hard-nosed approach to collecting their money. They refuse to deal with the queries people have. If only they would do that, they might resolve some of the issues and fewer people might owe the amount of money they owe or be indebted to these companies.

I listened carefully to the Minister of State set aside everything that was done in the past including the relief for businesses and householders. I listened to what he said about the future. The past is the past; what people are worried about is the here and now. The stories I am hearing about the cost of energy would frighten you, such as older people trying to heat their homes or people who are trying to do the best they can with the money they have but who simply cannot cope. The price of a bag of coal has increased significantly, as has the price of a bottle of gas. Older people, the people I am making a case for, are reaching out for the help they need just to survive. I ask the Minister of State to deal with today, the immediate future, the immediate problems people have, and do something to stop the price gouging that is going on by every single company in the State.

We should be looking at nuclear power. We should not be afraid to debate that. There are huge problems with the legislation regarding wind farms.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome today's statements. Households and businesses have been through a brutal energy shock. Russia's invasion of Ukraine weaponised gas, drove up wholesale prices and exposed how dependent Europe had become on imported fossil fuels. Prices have come down from the 2022 peak but nobody at home feels as if the crisis is over. Prices are still too high and people are anxious opening their emails or the envelope with the latest bill. To be fair, the Government did not stand idly by and this must be acknowledged. It put in place four rounds of electricity credits, worth €3.3 billion, cut VAT on energy and gas to 9%, expanded and increased the fuel allowance and targeted extra protections for vulnerable customers, including the disconnection moratorium over winter months. It is now putting significant resources behind long-term solutions, such as record funding for retrofitting, a major expansion of the warmer homes scheme and billions in planned investment in the grid and offshore renewables.

We have to be honest about the structural problems. For far too long, we relied on cheap imported gas and assumed the market would always deliver. At European level, the marginal pricing system meant that when gas prices went crazy, everything did. Here at home, political choices in recent years, especially by the last Minister, did not give security of supply the priority it deserved. There was a failure to deliver properly on storage, on flexible backup and on planning the grid we actually need. The breathing space brought by the rounds of energy credits was not used effectively, in my opinion, to deliver the necessary structural change. However, the opportunity now is to move from a politics of scarcity to the politics of abundance. As a nation, we must embrace this change. Off the west coast, for example, we have the potential for almost limitless clean power if we can get the planning, the grid and investment prices right. Cheap, abundant renewable energy is the single best industrial policy, climate policy and cost-of-living policy we can pursue as a country. That means acting in the common good. Communities that host wind farms or live beside data centres, especially large ones, must see tangible benefits, from district heating schemes to local amenities and community dividends. In return, though, the State must be willing to defend the common good against the narrow and vested interests that try to block every project. If every project is blocked, nothing changes. Like some other unnecessary interventions I have highlighted in this House before, this ultimately undermines public support for the transition away from fossil fuels and is deeply counterproductive. If we get this right, Ireland can move from being a price-taker at the end of a gas pipeline to being a clean energy powerhouse, cutting bills and emissions and strengthening our energy sovereignty.

I thank the Minister of State and acknowledge his work since taking office. I encourage him and his colleagues to accelerate efforts to take the necessary action in the common good to deliver clean, abundant and cheap energy for Irish consumers and businesses.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The Celtic interconnector will connect the Irish electricity grid from France. The cable will have enough capacity to power up to 500,000 homes. Within the next three years, we will be importing from France and Britain. Indeed, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said this year that the interconnector is a major strategic infrastructure project that will play an important role in Ireland's energy security, which is expected to be operational by 2028. This is absolutely great news, but is it not time that the grown ups had a conversation about developing our own nuclear capacity? Nuclear fusion energy is still in the early stages, but it could be an energy source of the future. It is important that Ireland be prepared to incorporate nuclear energy early so that it can potentially transition to fusion reactors in the future.

For a moment, let us acknowledge, perhaps, the negative aspects of nuclear energy. I believe that is essentially fear of what people thought about nuclear energy in the past. Let me also point out the reasons for nuclear energy. The fluctuations of energy production are a key issue for renewables. In order to keep a steady power flow, grid operators currently have to turn to other sources such as fossil fuels when demand exceeds the supply generated by renewables. Small modular reactors could indeed be our future. The average SMR is designed to operate for 60 years, with minimal maintenance, which means fewer disruptions and a stable energy output. The Irish Academy of Engineers has called for nuclear energy through SMRs in the future to ensure we can cope with our growing energy dependence and our goals of reducing to net zero carbon emissions.

The programme for Government commits to exploring funding models for the renewable electricity support scheme and the public service obligation levy, which would help reduce electricity bills for households and businesses. There are opportunities we cannot ignore. Therefore, we must explore nuclear energy as our future.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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In County Louth?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin is next.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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When we are dealing with energy costs, we can start at a fairly obvious place. There are 180,000 in arrears on their gas bills and 300,000 homes in arrears on their electricity bills. That is 13% of households who cannot afford electricity and 26% who cannot afford gas. That is the reality. It would not be difficult for anyone to find out that people are facing severe issues related to this. It is not really shocking that the Government had information indicating people were facing into even greater costs than they were last year. We have all heard the figure of €321. That is a hell of a lot of money per year if you do not have it. We know where the State has absolutely failed. Energy credits were used and people understand how they work. The argument for them was much stronger on the basis of the information the Government had, which was received through freedom of information by Lynn Boylan MEP. We would all prefer if this was not the way we had to get information. I would like to get a bit more information about the targeted energy scheme plan the Government was looking at, but there is no sign of it.

I believe the terminology that has been used is that it would not be in the public interest to share this information. The people who cannot afford to pay their bills and those who are suffering even more as it gets colder are not going to be too impressed with that. We have to deal with the reality. In fairness, many have spoken about some of the issues that could be dealt with around why we have such huge energy costs. We have a Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, that does not have the powers it should have. We need to make sure we get all the information in relation to energy companies and that we do not just hear about hedging in a very generalised way. We need to get greater detail. The powers need to be provided. We need to deal with the issues of standing costs and network costs, and we really need to put pressure on energy companies that have absolutely gouged. This should not be a shock, however. As Deputy O'Rourke said, we absolutely failed to bring in windfall taxes when we had the crisis three years ago. It should have happened there and then.

We are going to talk about new energy sources. I have no problem in relation to having conversations on whatever technology. I would find it very difficult to talk about nuclear power without dealing with the issues of nuclear waste and talking about Chernobyl and Sellafield. However, we should be a wind power superpower at this stage rather than just using the term in this building. That has not happened and the reason it has not happened is that we have not got to grips with infrastructure, and the proposals today are just proposals. We will see how long it takes in relation to legislation but we need to see huge moves. People are suffering and we need to see delivery rather than just conversation.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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It is freezing outside and, as we sit in this Chamber, there will be people sitting at home - elderly people and people experiencing energy poverty - who will be afraid to turn on their heating because they know they simply cannot afford to. They will leave it as long as possible before they can make themselves comfortable, and that is not right in a wealthy country like Ireland.

We are at a situation now where prices for electricity have almost doubled in the past five years. It has gone from €976 for an average bill to €1,817. The pressures being put on individuals and businesses are astronomical. Many retailers have increased their prices by 10% to 12%, adding an extra €150 or €200 on to a Bill. That is while their own costs are going down. They are hiking up their prices and they are paying less for the wholesale energy they are purchasing.

There are 300,000 homes in electricity arrears at the moment, and 180,000 in gas arrears. The average electricity arrear per household is €436. That is a lot of money to have sitting as a bill a person is not able to pay. For gas, the average is €186. There are 187,000 customers who are in long-term arrears for electricity. That shows the Minister of State the extent of the problem. That is a red flag. If 190,000 electricity customers have not been able to pay their bills for over 90 days, that is a warning signal to which the Government needs to listen.

We heard earlier from both sides of the House that it is now time to call out the energy companies. What I would say to that is that it is way past time that energy companies were called out. Now it is time to call out the Government for its inaction on this issue. Energy companies are in the business to make money and make profit. That is their financial and legal responsibility. It is the Government's responsibility to regulate them and ensure vulnerable people, families and businesses across this country can actually pay their electricity bills and that there is not gouging happening. We all know in this Chamber, and even the Taoiseach mentioned it, that there is gouging happening with electricity prices. However, rather than the Government actually sitting down and going through the analysis and examining exactly, bit by bit, where that gouging is happening and who is gouging, it is not taking that action. It is just calling them out.

The Minister met with the energy companies a month ago and sat down with them and had a chat. He came back in here and said that it was great, and that the energy companies are going to put in hardship funds. Hardship funds will do nothing to drive the price of electricity or gas down. They will do absolutely nothing to address those systemic problems that we have in our market at the moment. What I would also say to the Minister of State is to go on to any of those retailers' websites, because we did it this afternoon, and search for "hardship fund" and come back and tell me how many of those websites are making it easy to find if someone is in trouble. We could not find any information about how much is available, how to access it or what is there. If we could not find it via all these retailers' websites, I do not think he could say it is clearly available for anyone who is actually struggling to pay their bills at the moment. The Minister was really sold a pup with those hardship funds.

We have also heard an awful lot over the past number of weeks since the budget about why we should have energy credits. The Social Democrats will maintain our position on this. It is the same position we had last year and the year before when it comes to energy credits. Energy credits should be targeted. We are not calling for energy credits for holiday homes. We are not calling for energy credits for wealthy people who can afford to pay their bills. We are calling for energy credits to be targeted at those people who cannot pay their bills and who are really struggling. That is where the money, support and assistance should go. We do not want to see €100 million wasted on holiday home electricity meters because that is what happened previously. It was a huge waste of money by this Government. We want that money in the pockets of the people who actually need it.

We heard the Minister mention a disconnection moratorium for registered vulnerable customers between 1 November and 31 March and that there is a winter disconnection moratorium for all other customers between 8 December and 16 January. That is a measly four weeks. When we talk about vulnerable customers, that means medically vulnerable customers. That does not mean financially vulnerable customers. I brought a Bill forward in the previous term to address that and include financially vulnerable customers in that moratorium and in that definition. The Government did nothing on it and has continued to ignore it.

One of the recommendations of the energy affordability task force was that an analysis of the price differentials should be done to see whether there is gouging happening. That action has to take place immediately. The task force was set up in June. The interim report was reported last month, and it is now going to be next year before we get any actual tangible measures. That is not acceptable when we are in the teeth of an energy crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. The number of people who are going to fall through those gaps over the winter is enormous. I ask the Minister of State to move on whatever measures he can to ensure that those people who are struggling are assisted and do not fall further into debt because that is exactly what is going to happen.

Next year, when we have this disconnection on arrears data, there is going to be a huge increase in the number of people who cannot afford to pay their bills. What I would say to the Minister of State is to please, as a Government, be proactive. It should help those people now. Do not let them go through a winter where they are cold, stressed and worried about turning their heating on and feeding their children. The Government should support them now with the targeted energy credits the Social Democrats have been calling for because this problem is not going to go away. It will get worse. The Government should please deal with it now before that happens.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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I really like numbers. I look at numbers all the time. There are approximately 750,000 people who are about to go on auto-enrolment in January, approximately 1.5 million recipients of social protection payments and zero offshore wind farms in this country that are operational. A magic number I just discovered is minus €250. The reason I really like numbers is that they often bring clarity. Politics is too often the opposite of mathematics. It is often too much about obscurity and opaqueness; telling people we are doing one thing and then the Government doing the other. Therefore, I thought I would run some numbers and seek some clarity. In the most recent budget, there were no energy credits like there were last year but there were increases to the fuel allowance, which I welcome. Yet, at the same time, the energy companies have put up their prices to €1,877 per year on average, according to the figures released from the Minister of State's Department that were covered in the Irish Independent.

I want to know where this leaves a typical pensioner, a typical person on disability allowance and a typical carer, who are all reliant on this fuel allowance increase. To be clear, more than 400,000 households are in receipt of the fuel allowance. This is approximately 25% of all households in this country. This is not a niche issue. It turns out that despite all the hot air from the Government and the weak efforts on fuel allowance, each of these people will be €250 worse off in the next 12 months than they were in the past 12 months. This means they will need to shut off their energy supply for a month next year or make ends meet and cut their budgets somewhere else. If they dip into the social welfare payments that were announced in the budget, it will mean they will spend nearly 50% of these budget increases on energy over the next year. This is despite the supposed increase in fuel allowance, which it turns out does not make a dent in these massive increased bills. They will still be €250 worse off.

What is the Government's recommendation to this quarter of all households, to the grandmother, the disabled person or the carer in Kanturk? Should they shut off the heating for two months or spend less on Christmas presents this year? Should they go cold or should they go hungry? Should they believe the Government's spin or should they check their bank accounts? They will be €250 worse off. It is just maths and the Government is failing at it. Its numbers do not add up.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I like numbers too but I like when they are used in an appropriate way. To take the average amount spent on electricity according to figures in the Irish Independent, which came from the Department, and then apply them to a pensioner who is not necessarily paying the average amount is a little bit disingenuous and it does not reflect the reality of the situation.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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Households.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Households are not unitary things. They do not all look the same and they do not all pay the same for electricity. If we take the average, it will be above what the average pensioner is paying because the average pensioner is in a household that is smaller and, therefore, has fewer energy demands. It is comparing apples and oranges, which is not to say I am happy with the cost of electricity because I am not. Everyone of us in the House acknowledges that electricity and energy costs in this country are way too high. They are inexplicably high. This is something I have raised in the Chamber previously.

We have put in place a regulator to ensure the cost of energy in this country is managed yet we have seen huge spikes in the cost of electricity in circumstances where 40% of our electricity is generated from renewables. How can this be? They are not affected by the increase in the wholesale price of oil and gas.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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They are tied to it.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I understand in the context of the Ukraine war why this happened. I also understand why we put in place measures to protect people with the exceptional measures put in place in the previous two budgets. However, prices have remained high and there is no justification for it. Nobody can give me a reason I am satisfied with as to why they remain so stubbornly high. It is grossly unfair on the people of this country that we pay among the highest rates for energy in the European Union and without any good reason for it. Let us address this.

One of the ways we can address this, and reference has also been made to the renewables issue, is by bringing onstream renewable energy in this country. Offshore wind farms are an absolute obvious ask. It is shocking that we are not taking more energy from the wind and the waves that crash against the shores of this country. It is a crime we are not doing it. I welcome the infrastructure measures the Government announced today, which will reduce the opportunity for people to object to such plans. This is the right way to go about it. It should not be the case that someone can live in County Donegal and object to a wind farm off the coast of County Waterford when they have no locus standi and no basis to object to it. It is right that we change this. We need to do it even faster than what is proposed.

We need to have a situation where we are bringing onstream all of the renewables that are available to us and we need to speed up the work being done on the Celtic interconnector with Franc, so we can plug into a European energy market that will finally bring a little bit of competition to those people in this country who are running utility companies and who are, at the moment, as far as I can see, fleecing the ordinary consumer in Ireland. It is not acceptable and we need to change it. Yes, we need to put in place the infrastructure but the CRU needs to take responsibility for doing what it can in the short term and not hang around until the prices go up again, without any explanation or justification as to why that is.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the cost of energy, an issue that continues to weigh heavily on households and businesses throughout the country. While the worst of the crisis has passed, the reality is that energy prices remain stubbornly above pre-pandemic levels. I firmly believe responsibility now falls on us to take the next steps not only to protect people this winter but to reshape the system so energy in Ireland becomes predictably affordable for the long term. Yes, the Government acted decisively during the crisis, with €3.3 billion in energy credits, the VAT cut to 9% and hardship supports that kept families afloat but if we are serious about long-term affordability, the response must shift from crisis management to structural reform.

We must ensure general transparency in the price setting system. Price decisions may technically be commercial matters but when households continue to feel squeezed while wholesale prices fall, we need quicker and more honest path through. The programme for Government commits to an independent review of this and this review not only must happen but also has to be acted on. Consumers deserve clarity and not lag times, leaving them paying more than they should.

We must push forward aggressively on grid investment. The €3.5 billion earmarked for 2026 to 2030 is welcome but grid delays are driving up costs, slowing renewable projects and undermining energy security. This investment should be front-loaded where possible because every year of delay keeps Ireland dependent on volatile global energy markets.

We need to accelerate retrofitting at scale. I raised this with the Taoiseach earlier. The speed at which the SEAI is reviewing people's homes and then ultimately giving them grants is far too slow. I have many constituents in Galway East who are trying to retrofit their homes because it is the most effective way to reduce energy costs for their homes but they are being left on the long finger with the SEAI and they are not seeing any progress in their applications. Even getting a BER review takes months. This is something we should allow constituents to do themselves and we would fund it on approval.

We need to strengthen protections for vulnerable customers. The increased fuel allowance, expanded eligibility and a moratorium for vulnerable customers are positive steps but too many families just above the thresholds continue to struggle. We need more flexible criteria that reflect the real cost of living and not rigid income cut-offs that ignore mortgages, childcare and disability-related costs.

The new national energy affordability task force is an opportunity but only if we use it ambitiously. It must not be another report that sits on a shelf. The task force should deliver a clear actionable plan in 2026 to structurally lower energy prices, speed up renewable integration, reduce dependence on gas and ensure fairness for every household and business. Affordability must be the test of our energy policy; not headlines or targets but the ability of a family to heat their home without fear of the next bill. We have acted strongly during the crisis and now we must act strategically for the next decade. This is what the public expects and what we must deliver.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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It is important that we discuss this and that we do so thoroughly. At this time of the year we are more conscious than ever of this issue. Many of us are homeowners and we live in our homes. A lot of us here also rent. We have bills during the summer but as we face the winter a different set of costs often come onstream from a gas perspective, and this puts it back on homeowners. In recent years we have had the energy credits and they have made it easier for a number of people as prices reach their highest levels in the history of the State due to what happened in Ukraine. The previous Government looked to provide support but the theme of the budget was that we needed to move away from one-off payments and to invest in our future. Each week we see plans announced to invest in the coming years and energy is no different.

I am a member of the infrastructure committee and we have had various groups in. We had Gas Networks Ireland and ESB Networks before us last week, and today we had the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. All of these bodies are there to be pushed and we have to ask them whether they are delivering on behalf of the State. The utilities tell us they have the money, the funding and the ability to deliver on behalf of the people. I have come from a committee meeting where I pushed the CRU on whether it was delivering on behalf of the people. We know it has increased its staff numbers from 113 to 180 in the past year or two. This has been done so it can put pressure on the utilities to ensure we can get the prices down.

We have not spoken enough about investment in individual houses and this is something we need to discuss.

The one sure fire way for people to reduce energy costs is by looking at their own houses, whether through the landlord or homeowner. That is key.

In my previous role, I was CFO for a solar company that grew, developed and built. You could see the importance of solar energy in the houses and the pay off. If you invested, you would have it paid off in six or seven years and after that, you would benefit into the future. We saw the effectiveness of TAMS on farms and the benefits for commercial companies. We need to keep pushing forward on that.

Previous speakers spoke about the need for infrastructure improvements and that is a key focus. The demand is there but roofs are still not covered in the way they need to be. We need to place a strong emphasis on that and continue to push that in the years ahead. Ultimately, energy is going to be the key demand for the rest of this century and into the future. The demands on energy will not come down and there will be key demands from a commercial energy perspective.

I asked the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, why prices were as they were. It said 30% of the prices are set but the other 70% are set by the wholesale. The excuse for this was that we are in the position of last supply. We have to take the price from the UK or wherever else we get it. Ultimately, that is not good enough. We need to deliver our own energy and invest in our own infrastructure, whether wind farms or solar, but we need to do it quickly.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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We are seriously reaching a crisis point with the cost of electricity and energy. Sinn Féin asked in September in the lead up to the budget to extend the energy credits introduced in 2022 at a time when the cost-of-living crisis was at its worst with fuel and food costs, with electricity companies announcing price hikes to customer bills and with more than 300,000 people - and growing - already in arrears with their electricity bills. We warned the Government this was going be a particularly difficult winter for people. The energy credits are needed now more than ever to get people through a dark and very cold winter.

However, the Government did not listen to us. It did not listen to its own officials in the Department of energy either who warned Government electricity and gas prices were rising for the first time in years. According to information found by my party colleague, Lynn Boylan MEP, officials claimed that without government supports, average households would be hit by an extra €321 in electricity costs but it ignored them. The pre-election giveaway budget of the past year is firmly in the rear view mirror of this Government and it has now resorted to austerity when people are at their most vulnerable.

Not only has Government cut those vital lifelines for people this winter, it has refused to do anything substantial to stop electricity companies from price gouging. Price review 6 is ultimately going to see another increase in electricity charges for ordinary people, with a 21% hike for households with the annual cost rising by almost €500. Large energy users, on the other hand, such as data centres will see their bills fall by 3% to 18% under Price review 6. We know data centres are already consuming about 22% of all our electricity in 2024. This is set to rise to 30% in 2030, the equivalent of 2 million Irish homes, which we are not going to get under this Government. What is worse is new data centres are in direct competition for electricity connections with new homes. The first-come first-served policy does not and cannot work. We saw it in Grange Castle in west Dublin, where the houses meant to be connected to the grid did not get it because the data centre did. Why are data centre energy costs going down while ordinary people's energy prices are going up?

We have to invest in the grid in the coming years but these charges need to be distributed fairly. People cannot afford to pay the bills they are getting while they see data centres and other large energy users getting a reduction. We need immediate and tangible action from this Government to ensure people can keep the lights on this winter and ensure data centres are not allowed free reign over our grid capacity in the future.

Government really has to get to grips with the energy costs. We are going to see it in all our constituencies. The cafes, hairdressers and restaurants will have to pay increased electricity costs. The worst thing is customers are also seeing less money in their spendable pay and will not be able sustain these small ordinary companies because this Government give favourable treatment to data centres. It is not fair.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In the limited time I have, I will make one short point. So much of the debate on the cost of energy is focused only on today and what can the Government do today to alleviate increased cost on households. That is, of course, essential but what is the point if we are not also talking about how we get away from our dependency on expensive, shock-sensitive fossil fuels? Even though more should be done, there is a limit to what a Government can do in an emergency mitigation situation. It is expensive and is never going to cover everything that is needed.

That dual-track approach on energy of "helping today, saving tomorrow" is one the Green Party devoted much of its time to in the previous Government when external shocks, like the invasion of Ukraine hit. It was former Minister, Eamon Ryan, who led on developing energy credits to ease the massive burden on households. However, imagine the cost to the economy if we had not spent the two previous decades building our renewable energy capacity. Should we not be concerned with asking ourselves how the Irish people can afford another shock like that?

I hope the Minister of State agrees with what I am saying and that Government policy is focused on that but it does turn out to be a question of priorities. When the climate and nature fund, a large portion of which was set aside for the future focus piece on energy, especially offshore but also retrofit, is wiped out in one go, we are shown what the Government's priorities are.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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During the last budget, the then Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, claimed there was no need for cost-of-living payments in the budget because, "inflation has now returned to normal rates." He said inflation would be around 2% this year. What a load of rubbish, gaslighting people that the cost of living was actually becoming more affordable, when the dogs on the street know that it is not. He has now swanned off to Washington to be on €600,000 per year and is not bothered but ordinary people are left with the highest inflation in two years, with over 4% in food price inflation and 3.3% energy price inflation. It will be a cold, hard Christmas for many people.

Economists are saying this will last for six months. The cost of 1,000 litres of home heating oil has shot up by €80 in the past month alone, affecting nearly a million households. Last week, the Government voted down our People Before Profit Bill to retrofit private rented properties, condemning hundreds of thousands of households to drafty homes, high energy costs and high carbon emissions long into the future with the headline that inflation figures do not even account for housing costs. They are going up too, dramatically in some cases. If you are a Dublin City Council tenant or a HAP tenant, you are facing rent increases of up to 50% from April and the plan is to roll this out across the country. The Government knows that too but it does not care. After housing costs, 57% of HAP tenants and 43% of local authority tenants are already living below the poverty line, as are a third of private renters. Tenants are already protesting the rent hikes and they will show the political establishment what they think of it in next year's by-elections.

Disabled people and carers are also fighting back. The budget took upwards of €1,000 out of their pockets in nominal terms - worse in real terms - and they simply cannot afford it. They are calling for an emergency cost-of-living payment before Christmas so they can put food on the table and keep the heating and lights on. They will be protesting outside the Dáil next Tuesday to demand their rights.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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The cost of energy is putting huge pressure on households, with 300,000 households now in arrears with electricity bills. I was listening to Deputy Barry Ward complaining about the energy companies putting up the wholesale price - of course, they are doing it - and he wondered why electricity is getting so dear. Well, 25 years ago, it was 96% publicly owned. We had one of the cheapest electricity supplies in the European Union. Now, it is 25% publicly owned and 75% private. That is because of all the renewables owned by private companies, except the Bord na Móna ones which I have no problem with. We have the third to fourth most expensive electricity in Europe. That is the first thing Government TDs need to take on board, instead of coming in here and complaining about private companies. Of course, they are going to do what they do; they are set up to make profit. They are going to get as much as they can out of it.

Government is increasing carbon taxes not once but twice a year and these hikes are having a huge impact on householders, small businesses and motorists, adding to the cost of living by putting up fuel prices. Of course, if fuel prices go up, everything else goes up.

It has turned out that the carbon tax is benefitting those who can afford to buy a new electric car and get the grant, or those who can do a major retrofit in their home. However, low income households, often rural dwellers, are not getting the benefits from the carbon tax that is being collected. I want the Minister of State to take that on board.

We need energy credits, which was recommended by Department officials. There has been a sharp increase in prices but it should only be done in a targeted way. Do not give energy credits to millionaires as was done last year. That was okay. The Government did that before the election and I know why it did so, and members of the Government know as well. Do not do it this year. Do it in a targeted way for low- and middle-income households who are facing another long cold winter.

I want the Minister of State to address the fact the housing aid for older people grant cannot be given to people to replace a gas boiler. I am not sure if it was the Department officials or one of the Ministers who decided this. I have a case of a woman who I will call Sheila. She is 67 years old and a cancer patient. She is living alone and is on non-contributory pension. She has a 20 year-old house. Her gas boiler has stopped working. She cannot get the €3,000 grant from the council to replace it. She cannot get it from the community welfare officer because he says it is the job of the council and she cannot get it from the SEAI because there is a 25-month wait. The rule from the Department says that it cannot be replaced with gas because it is fossil fuel.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You should conclude, Deputy.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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That needs to change and I would ask the Minister of State to bring that back to the senior Minister.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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In the short time available to me, I want to call for the payments of an emergency winter energy credit of at least €500. Households, especially those with children, are under huge pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, which is pushing more and more families into poverty. There are already 630,000 people living below the poverty line and 190,000 of those are children. We have almost 17,000 homeless, with almost 5,500 of these being children. Yesterday, figures showed that the inflation rate here is now at 3.2% as against 2.1% in the eurozone, so we are 50% higher than the eurozone. This inflation is driven by higher energy prices and higher food prices. Food prices are up by 6% and food prices for family over the year are now costing over €3,000 more than they did a few years ago.

Our energy costs are among the highest in Europe. On top of that, the energy companies have announced increases recently: SSE Airtricity, a 9.5% increase, an extra €150; Bord Gáis Energy, a 13.5% increase, an extra €218; Pinergy, an increase of 9.8%, an extra €199; Energia, an increase of 12.1%, up €200; and Flogas Electricity up 7%, an increase of €126. We have over 300,000 households in arrears on their electricity bills, which is an increase of over 85,000 on the same period last year, and 176,000 households are in arrears on their gas bills, which is also an increase on last year.

People with disabilities are particularly badly hit by this cost-of-living crisis, having lost out on about €1,400 in the recent budget. The measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable. Thousands of families will face the coming Christmas with difficulty and it is very worrisome. The least we can do is ease that worry by at least the payment of an emergency bonus this Christmas.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Energy is not just a commodity; it is the lifeblood of every home and business in Ireland. While the worst of the global energy shock may have passed, its legacy remains deeply felt in Irish households. Rising bills have eroded disposable income, pushed more families into arrears and amplified the sense of insecurity that began during the pandemic and worsened with the war in Ukraine. It is not an abstract problem. When parents are rationing heating or skipping meals to keep the lights on, we are failing in our duty to protect the most basic standard of living. That is why we must look at the figures with honesty, acknowledge what has been done and commit to more work that needs to be done. The current situation is grim for some. Despite some stabilisation, Ireland still ranks among the most expensive countries in Europe for electricity. The average household now pays 36.34 cent per kilowatt hour, compared to EU average closer to 28 cent. This translates into an annual bill of €1,817, roughly €350 more than European norm.

Energy inflation has slowed but it has not disappeared. Prices have risen again by 3.3% this year, keeping pressure on household budgets. Behind these percentages are real people. Some 176,000 households are now over 90 days in arrears, with an average debt of €500 per account. That means thousands of families are living under the constant threat of disconnection. It is not just about electricity. Gas prices remain volatile, and network charges account for nearly one third of every bill, at over €500 annually to costs. These structural factors make Ireland uniquely vulnerable and unless addressed they will keep energy poverty entrenched.

The Government has done some good work and made some positive steps, including the electricity credits. We had two credits of €125, totalling €250, which were applied to domestic electricity accounts last winter, benefitting over 2 million households. Since 2022 with the energy action poverty plan, emergency schemes have delivered €1,450 worth of credits to households at a cost of €3.3 billion. Regarding home energy upgrades, there has been record funding of €469 million for retrofitting and solar PV in budget 2025, including €240 million for the warmer homes scheme, which provides free upgrades to low-budget households. The fuel allowance will be increased to €38 per week from January. I also note the VAT reduction to 9% on heat pumps, which will help to make efficient heating more affordable. These measures have helped but they are short term relief.

The structural problems remain. These include Ireland's dispersed housing, high network costs and reliance on imported energy, which keeps bills stubbornly high. We can and need to do more. We need to accelerate energy efficiency, expand the retrofitting schemes and simplify application processes. We need to reform market structures, review the network charges and capacity payments to ensure fairness. We need to target support for vulnerable households, move beyond universal credits to income-based supports and flexible payment plans.

Finally, we must future-proof affordability by investing in renewables and storage to break the link with volatile global gas prices. The Government's commitment to 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is welcome but delivery must accelerate.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome these statements on this very important topic. Addressing energy affordability is a priority. It is time to focus on long-term affordability and ensure that every household across the country can access secure affordable and clean energy. I want to talk in particular about retrofitting. A deep retrofit can save a household approximately €1,100 per year in energy costs, which is a significant saving. In 2025, €280 million was allocated to the warmer homes scheme, which provides free retrofits to households in energy poverty. In 2024, this scheme facilitated nearly 8,000 energy upgrades in low-income households. Some 257 of these were in Carlow and 304 in Kilkenny but it is too slow. The average waiting time is 20 months, which is ridiculous. It has to be speeded up to give long-needed solace to these vulnerable families around Carlow and Kilkenny.

I acknowledge that the average cost of an upgrade in 2015 was €2,600 and that the average cost has increased significantly. This year the average cost of a deep retrofit upgrade is €29,000. Huge work has been done on the funding side of things but the speed is an issue that has to be addressed as soon as possible. Record funding of €558 million is allocated for SEAI, residential and community energy upgrade schemes next year. This is an increase of €89 million on the budget 2025 allocation, which is to be welcomed. The funding is expected to be supplemented by additional funding, such as an allocation from the ERDF, which will provide for an increase in the allocation for the warmer homes scheme. Continued support is also provided for the home energy upgrade loan scheme, which provides low cost-retrofit loans with interest rates available from 3%.

What I can say is that the hundreds of families in Carlow and Kilkenny I have spoken to, who got their properties retrofitted, could not speak highly enough of the scheme once the work was completed and the savings to them and their families have been fantastic. However, once again I have to really make this the biggest point here. It is too slow. The finance is there but the speed of delivery is too slow and it has to be tackled with a bit of purpose.

I also acknowledge what previous speakers said in relation to the fuel allowance. The payment will increase by €5 from €33 to €38 per week from January 2026. That is to be acknowledged because that money is going to help vulnerable people right across the country and in particular in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. It is an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. That has to be welcomed, along with the reduction of VAT on electricity and gas to 9%, which has been extended until 31 December 2030. This measure will help to reduce household energy costs by up to €100 per annum for the next five years. For those aged under 66, the means limit on the fuel allowance is linked to the rate of the State contributory pension plus €200. It therefore increases automatically if there is an increase in the rate of the State contributory pension.

Given that there are many vulnerable customers out there, it is important to acknowledge that extra consumer protection measures are in place for registered vulnerable customers, including priority reconnection after outages. A disconnection moratorium for reasons of non-payment of account for registered vulnerable customers will remain in place from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026.

I acknowledge the significant investment the Government is making through the warmer homes scheme and the SEAI. It is making an impact in terms of the funding being available, but I cannot harp on enough about the need for speed in getting these cases over the line. There are thousands of families waiting ten, 12, 15, 18 or 24 months in some instances and it is not good enough. The last thing they want is to face into another winter of excessive costs when they are ready to go with their retrofitting. We all know the funding is there. With the funding that is available, I implore the Minister to make it a priority to fast-track the speed with which applications are brought through the system.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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Energy costs are driving people into energy poverty. What does it look like? It is less for food, clothes and bills. It is the choice between eating or heating. For working families, older people and people with disabilities, it is about hesitating to turn on the heating for fear of the bills coming through. People on low incomes are the worst affected.

The Minister's Department said that people would be €321 worse off, yet incredibly the Government chose to give developers €230 million in tax breaks for apartments they are already building rather than helping people who are struggling. The Government has chosen to allow energy companies, in the words of the Taoiseach, to gouge our citizens. When prices around Europe started to fall, energy companies in Ireland increased prices and also recorded record massive profits. I can assure Members that their executives and shareholders have no fear about sticking on the heating today.

Sinn Féin has produced a number of proposals, including legislation to strengthen the energy regulator's power to do its job properly and hold energy companies to account. Fairness and affordability should be at the heart of Ireland's energy market rather than profiteering. Until such reforms are implemented to bring down prices for people, the Government should have continued to provide electricity energy credits.

Emergency supports should not have been withdrawn precisely as Ireland's energy crisis is deepening. Taking away support when prices are sky-rocketing is not only cruel, but it proves yet again how cynical many of the commitments made by the Government parties during the election were. People are quite rightly asking why the Government chose to end energy payments if its own experts said that people would be worse off? The answer to those people is quite simple: they were facing an election and that is what you do during elections, is it not?

Winter has started and there is no doubt that it is colder than it was last year. The Government can choose to help hundreds of thousands of people who are in energy poverty and many more who are going to be facing into energy poverty in 2026. It can choose to change its mind and bring back energy supports while planning for legislation to strengthen the energy regulator and tackle energy price gouging. That is the Government's choice over the coming weeks and months. I urge it to make that choice. Too many people are really struggling.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The recent documents obtained following a freedom of information request exposed a shocking truth about the Government's priorities. Officials from the Department of climate and energy strongly advised that energy credits should be continued in budget 2026. They warned that without these credits, households would face an extra €321 per year on their bills. That is not a minor increase; it is a devastating blow for families that are already struggling. These same officials highlighted that electricity and gas prices remain sky high compared to pre-2022 levels. Gas is up 90% and electricity is up 61%. Arrears have surged to record levels with over 300,000 households now behind on their bills. That is the reality in homes across the country.

Let us remember that we are in the lead-up to Christmas, a time that should be about family, not fear. Parents are wondering how they will keep the lights on and put food on the table. As we have heard already, pensioners are choosing between heating and eating. This Government's decision makes that struggle even harder, yet despite clear and urgent advice, the Government chose to scrap energy credits. What was its excuse? It wants to move away from so-called ad hoc supports and focus on long-term investments. Tell that to the family freezing in its home this winter. Long-term plans do not pay the bills today.

Here is the hypocrisy: just before the last election, energy credits were handed out. Back then, the Government knew the value of helping households because it suited it politically. Now, when families need help most, it turns its back. This is not leadership; it is betrayal. The Government had the evidence and the warnings and it still chose to make life harder for ordinary families.

It is time it reversed this decision and put people first, not corporate profits. If this Government truly cared about families this Christmas, it could reinstate the energy credits. It is not rocket science; it requires Cabinet approval, a quick amendment to the existing legislation and a supplementary allocation of funds, just as was done before the last election. The ESB network and suppliers can deliver credits automatically, once instructed. The only barrier is political will. Families are facing record arrears and soaring bills. The Government has the tools, the authority and the money. What it lacks is the commitment. It should act now before Christmas becomes a crisis for thousands of households.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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Christmas is approaching. When we were growing up, we were told by our parents that if we were not good for Christmas, Santy would fill our stockings with coal. How many people in this country this year will be hoping that Santy brings them a bag of coal? How many? Have we not turned full circle? It is not that long ago that we heard it. We will now see people go cold in their houses this year.

I have been trying to figure out what is wrong. The Government has run out of ideas. The Minister's Department has absolutely run out of ideas. All it can look at is how it can get in a marginal tax from inflatable costs. It cannot fix the problems. Why? It looks at energy rates. For example, the Government announced that it is giving an extra 10% for costs relating to buildings with pyrite. However, I read out a letter yesterday showing that all of the manufacturers have put up their prices by 8%. The Government is a year behind.

I am in construction. The Department is looking at the SEAI grants and retrofitting houses. It takes so long for it to process people's applications that the costs have gone up by 30%. That is what is wrong. The bureaucratic bull that people have to go through to get a grant in the first place takes so long that the inflationary costs have already caught up to it and it is not affordable any more. That is what is wrong. The Government needs to speed the process up and get the funding out to people straight away to make sure that it helps. Let us hope that every child in this country has been bold so that Santy might bring their parents and grandparents, who cannot avail of the grants previously provided by the Government, a bit of coal this Christmas to keep them warm.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Twenty-nine per cent of Irish households are now living in fuel poverty. That is the highest number on record. The percentage of domestic electricity customers in arrears is heading towards 13%. Some 300,000 electricity customers and 183,000 gas customers are in arrears. Since 2021, electricity costs have increased by 69%. The cost of gas has increased by 102% in the same period. Electricity companies are still jacking up those prices. It is incredible.

The Minister and the Government always talk about the fact that we have high wholesale prices in Ireland. The fact of the matter is that we have the biggest gap between wholesale prices and retail prices practically throughout the EU. It is not the wholesale price that is the significant problem for so many people. It is the fact the Government allows these companies to price gouge.

It is not just private companies that are doing it. The ESB is a semi-State body that is meant to be delivering Government policy. It is one of the biggest players in the market and it made a profit of €706 million last year. A profit of €706 million made by a semi-State body during a cost-of-living crisis is absolutely wrong.

We then come to the level of taxation on fuel this Government is implementing. It is quite incredible. A reply to an Aontú parliamentary question showed that the Government took in €4.1 billion of taxes on fuel last year, which is the highest total ever, in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis. Last year, the Government took in €1 billion in carbon taxes, the most it has ever taken, in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis. In fact, the Government has increasing carbon taxes set in law for the next five years irrespective of the economic situation of families across the country. It has built in taxation on fuel irrespective of whether people are in fuel poverty. That is absolutely a sin. It is incredible. I do not think this Government actually cares. It has built a dysfunctional energy market, and that dysfunction is hitting customers in the pocket.

Deputy Barry Ward talked a few minutes ago about the fact the cost of renewables is lower than the price of gas, yet that is not being passed on to customers. The truth is that the Government's law has built in a link between the price of electricity and gas. Electricity is priced at the highest input costs in terms of electricity, and that is the Government's law.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has said that only 2.1% of the €190 million fund that was collected to help people in energy arrears has been paid out. It is only €3 million of €190 million that has been collected. The Government has the urgency of a half-cut snail when it comes to helping people with the difficulties with which they are dealing.

I have heard other TDs talk about advancements in renewable energy. Some of the information here is quite amazing. Does the Minister of State know how many biodigesters are linked to the gas grid at the moment? There is one. For all the talk over decades about biodigesters and the fact that they can bring in renewable gas and help farmers, only one biodigester is plugged in.

There were seven offshore wind turbines but they are being decommissioned. We now have no offshore wind turbines in the country. There have been more offshore wind conferences held by the Government than there are individual turbines in this country. The Government is worse than useless in the delivery of infrastructure that is necessary for people to survive and as a result, prices are spiking and families are being hurt.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Before I speak to this subject, I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle and the staff of Leinster House for the event yesterday. We have all seen the analysis of our distinguished guests, as has been well covered in the media, but it is important to pay tribute to the ushers, the administrative office and the office of the Ceann Comhairle. It was a special and historic day and it passed off quite well.

I am glad for the opportunity to speak on this debate. The debate takes on a whole new context in light of the front pages of today's newspapers where it is reported that there will be no energy credits this winter. Many people have emailed and phoned me throughout the day. Indeed, a few people called into my office but I am here in Dublin today. They had factored energy credits into their household budgets for the winter of 2025 and the spring of 2026 so that the shock of the bill landing in the post every eight weeks or so would not be as stinging as it was in previous years. I appreciate that energy prices peaked in 2022, largely due to the war in Ukraine, and there was a shortage of some supplies coming across continental Europe. We were trying to transition away from fossil fuels. As others have said in respect of our pathway to renewables, we are getting there but there is a long way to go. I appreciate that the peak season was in the winter of 2022, but three years on, we have gone from a period of relative stability to the energy companies raising prices again. It is the worst time for that support to be pulled.

I mentioned our distinguished guest, President Zelenskyy. It is right that Ireland shows solidarity and support, but I am being asked in emails how we can be giving €125 million to Ukraine and not be giving supports to our own people for the energy costs they will meet this winter. I have often seen people make unfair comparisons over the years and perhaps I can now be accused of doing that, but we must be cognisant that people had credits factored into their household budgets.

In winter 2022, the Government brought in a windfall tax where excessive profits were being made by energy companies and the Government was able to take some of those profits back as a deterrent to raising prices further. Something like that must be considered again.

I welcome the €3.5 billion plan to upgrade the national grid, but in the part of the country I am in, sections of power lines have only recently been fixed after Storm Éowyn. Huge work was undertaken by the ESB. It is a cause of hurt that the power was out for so long and it took so long for it to come back. People find it hard this year to see the rising costs on their bills.

During the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that followed, the previous Government was very agile. That was a term used often in the House. We were able to respond to the needs of households, families and businesses. I hope that this can stay under active review and that as we go through these tough winter months, this will be considered.

As all TDs do, I often make house calls in my constituency. You sometimes go into very cold houses. Sadly, they are usually the houses of older people. They do not want the heating on. They are trying to siphon off a few bob each week to leave something as a legacy to their children. That is very sad. I often visit households and tell the homeowners to, for God's sake, switch on the heating or throw a briquette on the fire to keep themselves warm. Those worries will be for another day, but on dark, cold nights such as this, everyone needs a warm house.

Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I add to Deputy Crowe's congratulations to the Ceann Comhairle on the manner in which she hosted the visit of President Zelenskyy and his entourage yesterday.

Rising energy costs in Ireland seem as if they are inexorable and progressive, without restraint or any hope of correction. They are punishing and unsustainable. They affect families, businesses, the economy and competitiveness. While I accept this is an international problem because of the rapid economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing investment in fossil fuel production in the past decade and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we must still be cognisant that households are opening bills with a sense of dread. Our electricity costs are among the highest in Europe. People do not need another index; they need fairness.

Something is deeply off about this market. Ordinary people cannot understand why electricity retail prices are 200% to 300% higher than wholesale prices. I can understanding hedging, but there is deep suspicion of profiteering. There is a moral hazard. Our energy suppliers are no less susceptible to this than anyone else. Try to explain hedging to ordinary people and families.

Ireland has vulnerabilities. We rely heavily on natural gas and an expensive grid. The drive to sustainable and clean solar and wind-generated energy takes time. Thankfully, 40% of our energy is already renewable and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has suggested we will get to 60% in the next couple of years. None of this, however, explains why the gap between wholesale and retail electricity prices is bigger here than almost anywhere else in Europe in spite of the assertions of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. People are not naive. They are asking who is watching the watchers. Right now, the State regulator cannot cap prices. It cannot directly stop unjustified price hikes or intervene when retail prices diverge far from reality. We need a market that works, not one that hides behind complexity because complexity reeks of anti-competitive behaviour.

Here is what I believe must happen. We need real transparency around pricing, not vague statements; strong regulatory powers that ensure competition; and a rapid transition to Irish-generated renewable energy. We must continue to protect the households with the least resources.

The Government has done that with targeted supports, such as increasing the fuel allowance and the maintenance of the 9% VAT rate.

I will paraphrase a recent successful election campaign: a country we can afford; running for office to lower the cost of living for working-class people; building affordable housing; childcare for all; reducing the cost of energy; ensuring affordable groceries. That was not in Ireland; it was in New York city. It went on: life does not have to be this hard, life can be more affordable and it is a government's job to deliver it. That was the campaign of Zohran Mamdani in New York city. These issues are international but we must solve our own problems by disruption of the status quoand with a meaningful, determined strategic development of affordable, clean, abundant, sustainable energy.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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This week, the Irish Examiner, noted that the number of people switching energy providers is at a record high. In one month, 48,216 people switched providers. Would anyone blame them when they are being gouged, as the Taoiseach himself has said? Consumers are searching desperately for cheaper energy costs as the Government will not act, despite the State experiencing a cost-of-living crisis that continues to hit hard. In recent months, Bord Gáis Energy, Flogas, SSE Airtricity, Pinergy and Energia have all increased their consumer prices, adding hundreds of euro to the annual energy bill of many consumers. Nearly 300,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills and almost two thirds of them have been in energy arrears for more than 90 days. This is an absolute crisis facing us. Arrears are being accumulated because the consumer price paid for energy utilities continues to increase. These increases come despite wholesale energy prices being 74% lower than in August 2022, not long after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A lot of people will not be aware that they are not getting an energy credit this year. A lot of older people have not realised it yet. They will be shocked when their bills come in and many will not be able to afford to pay them. In Sinn Féin's pre-budget submission, we provided for a €450 energy credit and something like that needs to be done. As we stand here tonight, it is freezing outside and, as other Deputies have said, some people will be afraid to put on the heat because they will not be able to afford the bill. We are supposed to be a wealthy country and a country that looks after the most vulnerable. We are abandoning them in this when we do not need to.

The average energy bill for a three-bedroom house now stands between €1,700 and €1,800 per year. Some home heating oil costs increased by €80 in one month. In addition, people have the cost of rent and groceries, meaning many families are barely hanging on financially. Consumers desperately need assistance, yet the recent €9.4 billion budget provided nothing to workers or families. The Government has compounded the cost-of-living crisis by failing to deliver cost-of-living supports and energy credits in the recent budget. It has further compounded this crisis by failing to tackle energy companies and failing to heed our calls to plug the regulatory gap in the energy market. Our recent legislative proposal would have allowed the CRU to oversee the hedging practices of many energy companies and would have allowed sanction to be applied to any profiteering or anti-competitive behaviour discovered.

In the short time I have left - I would go on much longer if I could - we must deal with the current reality of people struggling to pay their utility bills and particularly energy bills. People continue to struggle through this cost-of-living crisis while an inept, lethargic, out of touch and outdated Government sits on its hands, does nothing and abandons them to what will probably be the coldest winter we have experienced in years.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle on how yesterday was dealt with. Fair play to her. Bhí sé iontach.

We all know that families are struggling and I heard from across the House, when I was upstairs in my office listening to this debate, about the soaring energy costs and the thousands of people in arrears. I want to push something towards the Minister of State. I am on the climate and energy committee and EnergyCloud came before it. EnergyCloud will try to use the surplus or wasted renewable energy on the grid to heat up a boiler in a house for someone who is struggling. I ask the Department to look into this. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about this and the Department is looking at it, but it needs to be fast-tracked.

At the moment, every day, on average €2.7 million worth of unit cost of electricity is being wasted due to curtailment and dispatch down. I was at a solar farm recently where the owner told me he has to turn off his farm regularly due to the grid not having the capacity to take the energy being added. I do not understand why we cannot fast-track long-duration energy storage to tackle this, to add to the grid and store the energy so as to level out the efficiency when there is a lack of wind or sun. Gigawatts of wind energy could be added to this country but we do not the grid capacity right now. We have had the ESB and EirGrid in before us. I know they have a huge job ahead of them but I urge that this be done. The legislation proposed today might help them with that.

As everyone will know, private wires was a key priority for me in Government formation talks. I have heard Members of the House talking about this. It is not privatising our grid. It is not like when we changed out from telecoms. It is about removing the monopoly from the grid. It provides an alternative when grid constraints or inefficiency block renewable regeneration of energy. In the right context, they can be used to lower energy costs but it is crucial that private wires serve the public interest and eco-villages. If they are used for corporations, we must make sure they are not used as greenwashing tactics.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I was listening to the Minister when he delivered his speech earlier. I was in the Chair and I listened to him and heard what he said. The problem is that the Government has given up on ordinary families, totally and absolutely. The multinationals and oil companies are gouging the people. Every party in this House voted for carbon tax. Sinn Féin wanted more carbon tax a few years ago. The Rural Independent Group was the only group to oppose it. The Government then gives the nod to come in here.

I want to speak about part of the country this evening, Grange in Ardmore, the lovely round tower in Ardmore and Scart mountain and those areas where gigantic wind turbines are going up now. The round tower in Ardmore is 96 ft, the Spire in Dublin is 390 ft and these gigantic 605 ft tall wind turbines with a huge axis from the radius are being put up and the locals are just cast aside. It goes straight to An Bord Pleanála. The Government has no respect for ordinary people. That is what is wrong. It is all about big business, which has the Government in its pockets.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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For many people, the energy price crisis reflects a Government paralysed by inertia that is only now slowly turning away from the madness of the Green Party era when the tail wagged the dog and energy independence in the form of LNG or oil and gas exploration was considered almost a heresy. I acknowledge that things are turning in the right direction and the storage facility will now proceed but the problem is that it will take years. We should be self-sufficient for energy. I have always said that here. Many mistakes were made and the closure of the Shannonbridge power station was one of the huge mistakes made.

On electricity prices, many people, particularly elderly people, are struggling, as are small businesses. Many small businesses have closed and I have been made aware of that happening in my constituency in Offaly. I ask that the energy companies be called out; for an end to their profiteering; and for a message to go out from the Government that they need to respect people and be fair with prices. Ireland has some of the highest prices in Europe.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Every day since Bord na Móna was closed, the cost of electricity has gone up. There is no account whatsoever of a regulator keeping any track of what is going on. No one is saying "boo" to all these electricity companies. They are competing with one another to put up the price of electricity and no one is watching.

The other thing is carbon tax. When carbon tax was brought in, the cost of fuel - petrol and diesel - was €1.15 per litre. It was to discourage people from using petrol and diesel. God help us, the price has now gone above €1.80 per litre and that is way more than the carbon tax was at the start. Will the Government cut the carbon tax now because it has outserved its usefulness? It is not relevant any more because the price of the petrol, diesel and heating oil is driving up inflation and the cost of living.

Surely, the Government realises it by now. Cut out the carbon tax or as much as possible as it can.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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That concludes the debate. However, that is not the end of the debate. It has just concluded for this evening. I thank the Members and Minister of State.