Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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90. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the publication date for the Energy Poverty Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63941/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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On 13 December Government approved a new Energy Poverty Action Plan. The Plan was published that week and is available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/159cb-energy-poverty-action-plan/.

Building on the 2016 Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty, and in response to rising energy prices, the actions in the Plan fall into two overarching categories – near and medium term measures with income, social protection and consumer protection supports to help consumers manage this winter, and increased funding for energy efficiency upgrades in 2023 and beyond to tackle the root causes of energy poverty. Many near term actions in this plan are already in place and their impact will be closely monitored through Quarter 1 of 2023.

An important purpose of this Plan is to capture all of the measures that are being implemented right across Government over the 2022/23 winter and to provide a source of clear information for consumers and stakeholders. These measures include:

- the three €200 electricity emergency benefit payments, totalling €1.2 billion in supports, which will be made to all domestic electricity accounts by the end of April 2023

- the additional lump sum Fuel Allowance Payment of €400, bringing the total allowance for winter 2022/2023 to €1,324

- strengthened consumer-protection measures mandated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), including an extension of the annual moratorium on disconnections

The plan also includes two additional safeguards: the establishment of a €10 million fund to provide a further safeguard for people struggling to pay their energy bills (in addition to supports from suppliers and the Additional Needs Payment operated by the Department of Social Protection); and an extension to the definition of vulnerable customer to include financial vulnerability, which will extend the protection against disconnection for non-payment of account for a longer period over the winter.