Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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As I said earlier this week, people understand that the Government is not responsible for the international energy crisis that has emerged. What people hold the Government responsible for in the first instance is the framework it had in place in advance of the crisis. In the second instance, they hold it responsible for its response. I contend that said response has been delayed, minimal and not of sufficient substance to meaningfully protect, as best we can, the people in our communities who need support.

Ordinary families, workers, businesses and farmers have been struggling with out-of-control energy prices. More than 320,000 households are in arrears with their electricity bills. One in four households are in arrears with gas bills. When the Government withdrew the energy credit supports as part of budget 2026, it justified its action on the basis of a projected inflation rate. That rate has proven to be 50% lower than projected. The decision it made was based on fundamentally wrong information. As a result, I contend that the Government made a clearly and undeniably the fundamentally wrong decision. Does the Minister of State dispute that inflation projections were wrong and that the Government’s decision to withdraw energy credits was fundamentally flawed? If so, what is the Government going to do to redress the terrible impact of its clearly ham-fisted decision?

I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could give an explanation as to why nothing seems to have been done more than 400 days after the Government gave a commitment to divert surplus renewable energy to households living in energy poverty. In that period, the Government has allowed surplus renewable energy valued at €560 million, or €1.3 million, to go to waste every day. This is equivalent to 512 million tanks of hot water that could have been used by households.

The Government has been very prone to saying that it would welcome constructive ideas from the Opposition. My party colleague Deputy Pa Daly, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on climate, introduced legislation to enhance the power of the energy regulator to hold energy companies to account and to tackle price gouging. Will the Government commit to supporting that legislation? Sinn Féin has brought forward proposals to ensure that data centres pay their fair share through a restructuring of the PSO levy. Is the Government content that households pay six to eight times more than data centres? If the Government is not content with it, will it agree to support the Sinn Féin proposal? I ask this because, to date, it seems that the Government’s policy on energy is predicated on supporting data centres at all costs while ensuring that any measures to support ordinary families are minimal and as temporary in nature as it thinks it can get away with.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. The irony here is that Sinn Féin voted against yesterday’s cut in excise duty, which will make the cost of fuel at the pumps cheaper and reduce the cost of energy and fuel for households and families. The Deputy is about blaming the Government for its lack of action, when we actually took action. Sinn Féin was the only Opposition party to vote against the cut.

It looks like Sinn Féin is making it up as it goes along every single day. Even the Private Members' Bill it brought forward last week had no mention at all of the fuel allowance with regard to the 470,000 households impacted, or the measures we have introduced which are targeted and supportive of those who are at risk of fuel poverty and on the lowest income deciles.

Energy affordability is a priority for this Government. The increase in energy prices in recent weeks is a real concern. What we have seen are not just normal price fluctuations, but a real geopolitical shock that has immediate consequences across the world. Military action in the Gulf is impacting crude oil prices significantly, and market volatility is certainly causing a risk of supply and huge disruption. The energy security group met on 8 March to assess the implications of the conflict, and that ensured the Government is fully informed of the ongoing developments as regards global energy markets. The group reviewed the current supply and price conditions across oil, gas and electricity, and heard from fuel industry representatives. On 11 March, Ireland agreed to participate in the International Energy Agency to release international strategic reserves to address any supply issues which may result from the conflict. Indeed, Ireland has contributed to the IEA 400 million-barrel release, with 1.6 million barrels in place. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is also liaising with the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, on the operational element of that release.

The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, chaired a meeting of the national energy affordability task force on 15 March. That focus was very much on ensuring that the Government is informed of the ongoing developments. We also had a subsequent meeting on 26 March, this afternoon, with regard to the Government taking action to help households and businesses in respect of the fuel and energy crisis. Earlier this week, the Government introduced temporary and targeted measures, as I outlined earlier, cutting diesel by 22 cent, petrol by 17 cent and marked oil by 5 cent. These measures will have a significant impact in terms of the diesel tax rebate scheme, supporting the haulage and bus passenger operators who are also exposed. We are very worried about heating oil and have extended the fuel allowance for those who would have seen an end to it at the end of this month. That has been extended by an extra four weeks, with an additional €152 to support those in receipt of it. We have allowed those on the family working payment to be included in the fuel allowance, which affects an additional 50,000 households. Overall, the Government will continue to actively monitor the geopolitical situation and continue to make adjustments as we see fit over the weeks and months ahead.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin voted against Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s tax reduction-----

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Sinn Féin voted against the cut.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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-----because it did not do enough. The Minister of State knows it did not do enough. He is fooling nobody; not the families, farmers or haulage workers. Everybody knows.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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People will see.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The limited resources the Government did introduce via the National Oil Reserves Agency will see the cost of home heating oil reduced by only two cents per litre. Is that a joke? This was wholly inadequate in terms of households reliant on home heating oil in and of itself, but it will also be negatively affected by the Government’s planned increase in carbon tax on 1 May. Why in the name of God does the Minister of State think it is a good idea to increase the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil in the midst of an energy crisis? Government Ministers are fond of saying it is funding needed for farmers, but I suggest the Minister of State go back to the Comptroller and Auditor General who makes it patently clear it is not farmers who are getting paid from that fund.

The carbon tax was meant to be a behavioural tax to encourage people to change behaviours, but people do not have the choice of public transport or any alternatives to using their car to drop their kids to school, go to work and about their daily life like many others. Many people in my constituency of Cavan and Monaghan do not have choices and cannot change behaviour. All this tax can do is screw over people who are already struggling. My final question to the Minister of State - I appeal to him to answer this - is will he postpone further planned increases in carbon taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil while the energy crisis persists? He said that tax is to happen on 1 May. I hope the Government is not going to do it.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the points she has. On this side of the House, we do not agree with them. The carbon tax has been one of the most progressive taxes we have introduced. It has contributed-----

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Farmers have not seen it.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----more than €4.7 billion to the Exchequer.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I asked the Committee of Public Accounts. Farmers have not seen it.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Deputy to let the Minister of State respond.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It has allocated more than €170 million-----

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It was not used for farmers. It was put into the central pot.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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------to the ACRES scheme. That is a programme that has a direct impact on rural communities across the country. It is the Sinn Féin model to spend fast, wide and worry later. How would we replace the revenue streams that support these vital programmes-----

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Look after the most vulnerable.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----not just ACRES but also the fuel allowance and the expansion of the fuel allowance? It supports the fuel allowance. How would we generate the revenue that supports 470,000 households and indeed the likes of the home retrofitting programme? It has made a substantial difference. That is why we have expanded it for four weeks. It is targeted to those who are most impacted. We have also put in measures to reduce the cost and we have been very upfront that we cannot cover all sectors and households-----

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Cover the data centres.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----but the €250 million package announced on Wednesday will be of enormous benefit by any yardstick.

If we look at what Sinn Féin is doing up the North, it is introducing a measly €30 that will not be introduced until 1 July. Its hypocrisy in telling us down here when it stands still in the North when it has a Minister for the economy and finance doing absolutely zero, shines in the face of its lack of responsibility or urgency in regards to these needs. We have put the measures in place and legislated for them, and we will see that reduction at the pumps over the next 24 hours.