Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank him for setting out the ten sections in this Bill and the rationale behind the legislation. I recognise this comes as a Government response to the rising costs of energy. Unfortunately, some would say it is not enough, while others would say it is not specifically targeted. Indeed, I find myself wondering why I am getting a payment when I am well paid, have a good job and do not need it. I do not wish to be flippant about this, but I do want to be honest. Frankly, I do not know why any Oireachtas Member should benefit from a €200 package. It is not targeted and it is not the right thing. That is a criticism of the system, and not of the Minister.

I understand that the Government wishes to roll this out fast and that it must be simple and simple to administer. Given our incomes, however, I have a serious issue, frankly, with the elected Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas benefiting from €200. That is one of my concerns about this measure. I do not have the option to pass it on, other than writing a cheque and passing that on to a charity or to someone who needs it. I must say that, because I am uncomfortable that I, as an representative in the Oireachtas, am getting some sort of subsidy when, quite frankly, I do not need it. I suggest many other people do not need it either, but that is not for me to say because people have different circumstances. That is my concern.

I thank the Minister for setting out the context of this legislation and its provisions. I acknowledge that the package of measures is clearly an attempt to sort out the issue of rising costs. The Government has said that it is committed to protecting the most vulnerable. I know where it is coming from in that regard. Too many of the people in the squeezed middle, however, are telling me they have difficulties paying their rent or mortgage; it is a question of affording food or heat or the rent or mortgage. These are tough times, and the Minister accepts and understands this.

The Bill establishes a scheme to make the electricity cost emergency benefit payment of €200 in 2022. I also understand, and this point has been raised with me by people who are tenants, that there are approximately 300,000 tenancies registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. The Minister will be familiar with the work of that organisation. Most of these tenants either hold their own electricity accounts or pay their landlords for the cost of their electricity based on a bill. There are questions concerning who can receive this electricity cost emergency benefit payment. It is clearly intended for the consumers of electricity in a residence and not the landlord. This initiative, though, must be administered and I do not know if thought has been given to this aspect. I ask the Minister to elaborate on this aspect of the scheme.

I have several concerns regarding this Bill and I will flag them now. We are talking about the need and importance of insulating customers from further electricity price rises. It will be a long-term process, while this is a short-term measure. In his contribution, the Minister stated, "The fuel allowance is one of a range of income supports paid by the Department of Social Protection, which also includes general social welfare schemes". Not everyone receives those payments. There are people on low incomes not receiving some of these payments.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, indicated that there are plans to invest €85 million as part of the local authorities' retrofitting programme for 2022. I welcome that as a positive initiative. These things take a long time to come through. I am not sure if the Minister is that familiar with the detail of the scheme, but he might share what information he may have with us. These are positive things that are happening and I welcome them. In theory, this funding would allow for the retrofitting of more than 2,000 local authority homes and increase their energy ratings, and that is a plus. Ideally, we should have a rolling programme to set this initiative in motion.

The Minister understands, as I do, that alleviating energy poverty must be a key consideration in any successful national retrofitting plan. This is the problem. The programme must be cost effective, but the current loan structure is unaffordable for many people. This is the reality of the situation. I asked a woman recently whether she would apply for this scheme and her reply was that she would get a lot of electricity for €27,000. I suppose she had a point. The cost of retrofitting is prohibitive for many people on limited incomes.

I understand what the Minister is doing and I am supportive of what is being done. It is a short-term undertaking. There is a bigger strategic plan for the long term and we must go in that direction. We have people who are cold in their homes, as I said, and who simply cannot afford to pay their bills. Many of those people are working and on low incomes. We must acknowledge that important point. I spoke to a woman from County Galway and she told me she was thinking about removing her landline telephone connection because she can no longer afford it. A landline is critical in rural Ireland, especially if there is a power cut and it is not possible to charge a mobile phone. Taking out her landline will result in that woman becoming more isolated. That is just an example of one personal experience. I also received a letter recently, as many of us did, from the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, a voice of older people. The letter crystallises what I am trying to say to the Minister. It refers to retrofitting being worthwhile and beneficial, but also states that the scheme excludes many older people who do have the savings base to secure a loan to do the work. This point was made by an important and active organisation representing Irish senior citizens.

I am not going to dwell on this. I am of course going to support this legislation. I understand where the Government is coming from and what it is attempting to do, but we have a real energy cost crisis. I would particularly like to hear about the Government's plans for retrofitting our social housing stock. It is one area where we know people are suffering disadvantage. Many of them are on low incomes, and that is why many of those people are in social housing. It is a target area we could focus on. If we are going to support people, let us target those supports to the really vulnerable people in need.