Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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20. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the measures he is taking to reduce household energy bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17835/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein these markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive and are overseen by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Price setting by energy suppliers is a commercial and operational matter for the companies concerned.

However, I am deeply aware of the impact which rising energy prices, driven by an unprecedented increase in wholesale prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have had on Irish consumers and businesses. Government has introduced the Electricity Credit Emergency Benefit Scheme IV to distribute €250 across two payments to each domestic electricity customer in Ireland. To date €3.3 billion has been transferred through the four electricity credit schemes to nearly 2.3 million domestic households. More recently, Government approved to an extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity by a further six months at an estimated cost of €85 million.

The Government has put in place a range of improved supports as part of the delivery of Ireland’s residential retrofit programme. These measures are aimed at making it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades, for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills.

In 2025, a record capital budget of almost €550 million is allocated for SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the Solar PV Scheme, to support over 64,500 home energy upgrades. Of this amount, a record €280 million has been allocated to the Warmer Homes Scheme to provide fully funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty. This represents an 11-fold increase over the spend on the scheme in 2020 and underlines the Government’s commitment to addressing energy poverty.

Government has made a number of important commitments in respect of addressing the continued high cost of energy. The Programme for Government acknowledges the increased energy cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward taxation measures to help contain energy costs, including with regard to VAT. Officials from my Department are in the process of establishing a cross-Government Energy Affordability Taskforce to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses.