I move: That Dáil Eireann: notes that: — Ireland is an outlier regarding the spiralling cost of living, and a Eurostat report this week showed we are the most expensive country for housing, health, energy and alcohol, overall prices are 36 per cent above the European Union average, with health costs in Ireland being 85 per cent higher than the European average; — a study by Barnardos found that more than one-third of households went into arrears on energy bills in the last 12 months, with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities showing half a million people are behind on gas and electricity payments, and electricity prices are to rise from next week by 8 per cent, while gas goes up by 7.7 per cent; — rents are also at record levels, as are evictions, in the wake of the Government's rent reforms, and a two-bed accommodation in Dublin is now almost €2,700 a month, while nationwide it is €2,176, which means it costs approximately €30,000 a year to rent here; — the cost-of-living crisis is now mainstream, and families with two incomes are finding it hard to cope, with very little left over for emergencies; — in the past five years grocery bills increased by 40 per cent, and that adds up to approximately €3,000 extra a year, for the same goods; — since 2021, energy costs are up 57 per cent, diesel is up 60 per cent, a pint of stout is up 28 per cent, beef cuts for home-cooked stew are up 50 per cent, butter has risen 42 per cent, chicken breasts that were €5 in 2022 are now €12.98, steak has doubled in that time and eggs have gone up 35 per cent; — this year, the Nevin Economic Research Institute found that Irish households pay around €360 more per year than the western European average for electricity, and it identified Ireland as a significant "cost growth outlier", as overall consumer prices have risen by 24 per cent over the past four years; and — families across the country are working hard, yet barely keeping their heads above water; recognises that: — the Government has implemented measures that add to inflation and household bills; — the Government refuses to halt the punitive increases in carbon tax and the M50 tolls; — the Government collected €1.17 billion in carbon tax last year, the highest ever; — carbon tax was supposed to be ringfenced for climate projects, but Aontú parliamentary questions found that a quarter of a billion euro of carbon tax revenue, nearly one fifth of it, went back into the State coffers in three years; — 39 per cent of the carbon tax either was directed to other non-climate projects, or went back to the Exchequer, proving it is not needed for its stated purpose; — the National Oil Reserves Agency levy for the climate action fund found that €278 million, 70 per cent of it, was left sitting in the Government's bank account from 2020 to 2024; — the Government took in €4.3 billion in fuel taxes last year alone; — the Government seeks to increase diesel prices by 32 cents, and petrol by 27 cents, a litre on the 1st August; — Irene Tinagli, Italian MEP, Economist and Chair of the European Parliament's Special Committee on the Housing Crisis, categorised Ireland's housing crisis as the "most severe and complicated in Europe"; — this year, the Government removed the rent cap for new builds and new tenancies for the objective of making the housing market more lucrative to investors, and the move failed to increase supply, but it resulted in increased rents and record evictions; — the M50 has paid for itself 30 times over, yet toll fees were still increased this year, as it has taken in over €2.2 billion in revenue since 2008, and is now a tax on work; — there is no reprieve for burdened customers with the ESB, as despite the semi-State company making supernormal profits of €650 million last year, half a million people are in energy arrears; — the Deposit Re-turn Scheme was introduced in 2024, adding 25 cent and 15 cent per can and bottle onto consumers' shopping bills upfront at the till, and it is an amount in excess of most other European countries who have the same scheme; — the scheme has put extra costs on the taxpayer since its inception, such as the half a million-euro cost of cleaning up Dublin from the scavenging it has caused, while the introduction of bottle holders around the bins to try and stop it cost €155,000 before being scrapped; — the Government's waste is at levels never seen before, including the Iarnród Éireann €50 million Information Technology system failure that was written off, the recent €127,000 Health Service Executive (HSE) Kerry bike shed, following on from the infamous €336,000 Oireachtas bike shed, and another cost overrun is the National Children's Hospital that has seen its original estimate of €650 million increase to €2.24 billion and counting for the hospital, with no opening date; — there is the €10 million being spent on Dublin City Council's Wood Quay offices, which are planned to be bulldozed in three years' time; — the Metrolink, that started in the mid-2000s, should have cost €2 billion but is projected to cost €15.8 billion, and Ireland is the world leader when it comes to squandering public money, bad budgeting and bad planning; — Government spending overruns have averaged €5 billion each year since 2023, and the International Federation of Accountants has strongly criticised the State for year-to-year budgeting, using unrealistic forecasts, and ignoring these overruns; and — health accounts for more than 40 per cent of total current spending overruns, and capital infrastructure overruns hit €1.6 billion in one year; and calls on the Government to: — cancel the planned increase in fuel taxes on diesel of 32 cents, petrol of 27 cents, and green diesel of 2.4 cents per litre; — remove the Value-Added Tax (VAT) from construction for a three-year period, as removing VAT from construction would reduce the average price of a house by an estimated €50,000 per house, and this is also a market activation initiative, as it would improve viability; — reduce profits at semi-State ESB to zero, allow it to wash its face, cover its costs and invest, as this would save every household €300; — reform the Deposit Re-turn Scheme, as the not-for-profit company running it has €103 million in unredeemed deposits in its accounts; — bring in a solar panel grant scheme that is accessible for all, increase the grants for solar panels to 50 per cent for low-income families, and reduce it on a sliding scale to the current grant level for high income families; — reintroduce the rent caps for new build and new tenancies, as rent caps should be set at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent; — scrap the M50 toll; — end increases in carbon tax; — publish the profits in the grocery sector, as mandating the biggest supermarkets to publish their profits would not interfere with the market, but would bring transparency to the industry and benefit customer choice; — introduce a "heads will roll" clause for senior civil servants, if they spend money in an irresponsible fashion, as there has to be a cost to their careers, up to and including losing their job; — appoint a Minister of State in the Department of the Taoiseach, whose responsibility is to make sure, in real time, that capital projects are not overrunning in cost; — audit non-governmental organisations that are being funded by the State, to ascertain if they are providing a benefit for citizens, and cut Government funding to those who are not providing a benefit for citizens; — end the €5 billion of Government budget spending overruns; — reduce the processing time for International Protection Accommodation Services applications, to reduce accommodation costs; — introduce a 2-year recruitment moratorium in administration within the HSE, to rebalance staff numbers towards the front line; — introduce output payments within the HSE, to ensure that the health service gets paid for the consultations, treatments, engagements and operations that are delivered to patients, as this would save money, incentivise hospitals to reduce the length of hospital waiting lists and reorientate staff numbers towards the front line; and — increase the price of electricity to new data centres, as this would reduce household electricity prices. Today, we in Aontú are using our Private Members' time to try to ease the burden on families throughout the country and make life affordable for them again. The primary aim of our motion is to stop the Government from increasing the price of petrol by 27 cent and the price of diesel by 32 cent between now and 1 December. Incredibly, it is the Government's plan to increase the price of petrol and diesel five times before the end of the year. It is a startling plan for any government to implement in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when so many families are to the pin of their collar. One of those increases will be a carbon tax increase, which will likely be imposed after the budget. Aontú's motion seeks to stop the Government from increasing carbon tax. It is absolutely incredible that any government would raise fuel prices by so much during a cost-of-living crisis. Much of the increased prices we pay in this country are as a result of Government actions. The Government is an architect of the cost-of-living crisis. It is implementing measures that are adding to inflation and household bills. I will give examples. The Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independents Government collected €1.17 billion in carbon tax last year, which is the highest ever, in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis. This tax, which is now the biggest fuel tax in the country, hardly existed five years ago. The Government took €4.3 billion in fuel taxes alone last year. It is eye-watering stuff. The citizens of this country are being shaken down by way of these taxes. Carbon tax was supposed to be ring-fenced for climate change projects. However, replies to parliamentary questions from Aontú show that in a three-year period, €250 million of carbon tax revenue, or nearly a fifth of the total, went back into the State's coffers. Over those three years, that amount of carbon tax money was directed to non-climate projects or went back to the Exchequer because it was not needed for the stated purpose. The National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy is another example of the Government assaulting consumers. Aontú has found out that €278 million, or 70% of the total revenue from the levy, was simply left sitting in a Government bank account between 2020 and 2024. The Government was collecting hundreds of millions of euro from hard-pressed consumers in this country for four years and simply could not find anything to do with the money. It is an incredible admission. The M50 toll is another tax on workers. The bridges cost €53 million to build and the Government has collected billions of euro in tolls from drivers. The M50 has paid for itself 30 times over, yet the Government seeks to increase toll fees year on year. Before the current excise cuts, the Government was collecting 60% of the price of petrol and diesel by way of taxes. It was collecting more in taxes than the total cost of drilling for that oil, extracting it and pumping it to the surface, taking it from the North Sea to a refinery, refining it and then taking it on a ship to Ireland, transporting it to a petrol station and selling it to consumers. All of that cost less than the Government was extracting by way of taxes on that fuel. We have a rip-off model in terms of the Government's approach to this issue, and it is wrong. The plan announced yesterday is simply to return to that rip-off model in the form of high levels of fuel taxes. The Government is tax-gouging families throughout the country, especially those in poverty and in energy arrears. In relation to electric vehicles, EVs, the ESB, a semi-State company, is hiking up the price of charging at public charging spots. The figures are eye-watering. It will cost 73 cent per kWh to charge an EV in a public space, while drivers can charge their vehicle overnight for 7 cent per kWh. It will cost one tenth of the price to charge an EV at home. The Government says these taxes are designed to move people away from carbon usage and into sustainable types of transport systems. In this case, however, the ESB is incentivising petrol and diesel as fuel sources for travel. It is incredible. Ireland is an outlier in terms of the spiralling cost of living. This week's Eurostat report showed we are the most expensive country for housing, health and energy in the EU. That damning finding is worth repeating: Ireland the most expensive country in the EU for housing, health and energy. Overall prices here are now 36% higher than the EU average. Health costs are 85% more than the European average. Indeed, Ireland now has the second most expensive electricity market on the planet for domestic users. The Government is achieving world records for all the wrong reasons in terms of the price of electricity. Barnardos has found that one third of Irish households went into arrears on energy bills in the past 12 months. That is astounding. According to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, 500,000 Irish households are in arrears on gas and electricity bills. What is the answer from the Government? It is to put electricity prices up today. A total of 1 million householders will pay €300 more on their annual electricity bills because of today's rise. The Government might say that ESB, including its Electric Ireland division, is a semi-State body. However, semi-State organisations operate on the basis of Government policy. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, this semi-State body is putting up the price of electricity today. The Nevin Economic Research Institute has stated that the average household in Ireland is paying €360 more for electricity than householders in other western European countries. That is because of the Government. The ESB is a semi-State body that operates on the basis of Government policy. Last year, it made €650 million in profits. Can the Minister of State see the disconnect here? A semi-State body operating under Government policy made a profit of €650 million during a cost-of-living crisis that has seen 500,000 families go into arrears on their electricity bills. Does he not understand how morally wrong it is for a Government to operate on that basis? The situation is getting worse. Despite the extent of arrears, the electricity companies are raising their prices today. Tone-deaf semi-State bodies, blind to the hardship of customers, are operating on the basis of Government policy. The ESB is making a €300 profit per household, which is roughly the same as the difference between average electricity prices in Ireland and those in the rest of Europe. The whole electricity market is a mess. The grid is creaking and unable to deal with the levels of renewables coming online at the moment. The data centres the Government is incentivising are sucking up all available electricity. We have bottlenecks, constraints and dispatch down notices, which mean we are now actually paying for wind farms in Ireland to switch off electricity output. It is mind-bending stuff. We are paying for electricity companies not to produce electricity at certain times of day every single day. Grocery bills are up 40%. It adds approximately €3,000 extra per family per year for exactly the same goods they were purchasing ten years ago. Families are paying, for example, 50% more for beef cuts, butter has risen by 42%, chicken breasts, which were €5 in 2022, are now €12.98, the price of steak has doubled and eggs have gone up 35%. This might seem small beer to Ministers on big wages but for many families struggling to provide nutrition for the children, this is a major mountain they have to climb daily. The Government is simply adding to that. All of this cost-of-living crisis is happening at a time when the Government is incinerating money. This is the key point, in that we in Aontú have been very careful to show where the Government is wasting money and where money can be saved to pay for a reduction in certain taxes to make life easier for people. We have seen an incredible waste of money recently with the Re-turn scheme, which added 25 cent and 15 cent to cans and bottles. That is now leading to a €500,000 cost annually for clean-up in Dublin as a result of the scavenging from bins it is causing. Iarnród Éireann incinerated €50 million of taxpayers' money on an IT system that failed to work. In the second part of my contribution, I will list all of the places where this Government is wasting money, where that money can be saved and where there is a facility to then reduce the price of energy for hard-pressed customers. There is absolutely no way this Government should proceed with five petrol and diesel price increases before the end of the year.

Sentiment score: -0.07

The data centres are doing that.

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The Aontú Private Members' motion is designed to reduce the cost of living for families. It is designed to reduce the pressure on families across the country. The Minister of State is right to some extent. There is no doubt that the wars in Ukraine and in Iran, for example, have increased the cost of living for families. However, this Government is the main architect of the rip-off Ireland that is hurting this country at the moment. The Government can list a range of different supports it is giving to families, such as child benefit and fuel supports, but most people would rather it stopped taking the money out of their pockets just to give it back to them in another support. That is the key issue here. The Minister of State mentioned supports for energy costs. The truth is that most of middle-Ireland is considered too rich by the Government for those supports but they are actually too poor still to pay for electricity and fuel. As a result, half a million of those families are currently in energy arrears. We, too, want Ireland to decouple from fossil fuels. We want Ireland to become self-sufficient in terms of energy. Energy independence is as importance as fuel independence. Being dependent on the Middle East and on Russia is a major exposure for this country. However, the way to do it is with a carrot rather than a stick. I am the chair of the Meath on Track campaign. We have been campaigning since 1994 for a rail line. The earliest possible time that will arrive is 2036, that is, if nothing stops it, and there is likely to be another slip in relation to that. We want to see solar panels put on the roofs and increased supports for retrofitting in this country. Most families would give their right hand to get out of fossil fuel dependence and to have the public transport solutions they need but the Government will not provide it for them. This Government has also spoken about renewables. The biggest brake on renewables is this Government. We have been told for years that Ireland is going to become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy - of wind energy. Yet, in recent times, we have become a net importer of electricity. We are going in the opposite direction to the rhetoric that the Government is using in these terms. We have been told about offshore wind. Forgive me if I am cynical in relation to this. This Government has had six offshore wind conferences since 2021. We have no offshore wind energy generation. Not one turbine is operating in this country. The Government is brilliant at developing conferences, brochures, plans and policies. Sticking a turbine in the sea does not work for the Government though. That is the major problem with all of this. Dysfunction in the system is holding back renewable energy. We have, at the moment, marginal pricing in energy pricing in this country. That means the price of a unit of electricity is priced at the last unit that is added on to the system. If we keep adding data centres in this country, we are never going to get out of the grip of gas. We are never going to run fast enough to get free of gas being the marginal unit of electricity produced. The Government is going in the opposite direction in terms of freeing this country from renewable energy. The grid is creaking. It is grinding to a halt. Dispatch down, constraints and bottlenecks are all brakes to the addition of renewable energy. Every single turbine that is added has a diminishing return. We are paying €500 million a year to renewable energy providers to stop producing electricity. The dysfunctional system means the network costs and the stabilising costs of the network are actually now more than the wholesale cost of producing electricity in Ireland, and that is adding to everybody's bill. I want to talk about Sinn Féin's contribution. Sinn Féin Members spent their time attacking Opposition TDs on this while letting the Government off the hook. Let us be clear about this. Aontú voted for the excise cuts that helped people over the past few months. Incredibly, Sinn Féin was the only Opposition party that voted against the excise cuts that helped people over the past few months. Incredibly, Sinn Féin is now arguing against those excise increases, having voted against them being cut in the first place. Deputy Guirke spoke about the fact that Aontú did not speak on the Finance Bill. That is rubbish. Incredibly, Deputy Guirke, the stone-thrower, did not speak on that Bill; we in Aontú did. In 2024, Deputy Guirke had the lowest speaking contribution in the Dáil. He spoke for one hour in a whole year in total. Deputy Guirke is the Fr. Stone of Irish politics and he thinks being a TD is a remote job. It is not. Those who turn up here make the decisions, and not turning up and staying silent does not help the people of Meath. It must also be said that the Government was pulled kicking and screaming to reduce these costs, and the reason for this was people power. It was because of ordinary people taking to the streets of this country and demanding help. Ordinary people, whose businesses, families and jobs were falling around them, took to the streets in desperation and this forced the Government's hands. If we are honest, the major reason this Government is not increasing excise until September is that it is fearful the protestors are going to come back onto the streets on this issue and it does not want these protesters to put bad luck on this EU Presidency. That is the biggest issue here. The frustrations people have about the level of tax on fuel at the moment is because the tax they are paying is ending up in waste. That is a major issue. Most people do not mind paying taxes as long as they get value for money in the services those taxes are producing. We can look at the level of Government waste that is happening. Some €50 million spent on an Iarnród Éireann IT system that never worked. When we asked the Taoiseach about it, he did not know the answers. Some €300 million has been spent on metro north and not a shovel has been put in the ground. When it was announced 20 years ago, the price of it was €2 billion but now the price is edging towards €16 billion. There is the 100 electric buses that were bought that never moved an inch because somebody forgot to provide an electricity charger for those buses. There is the recent €127,000 for the HSE Kerry bike shed, following on from the €336,000 Dáil bike shed, and the €10 million that is going to be spent on the Dublin City Council offices in Wood Quay that it plans to knock in three years' time. Then we have the €2.4 billion on the national children's hospital, which is basically a monument to Government waste at the moment. There are so many examples of taxpayers' money, which is extracted from their pockets, being incinerated by Government over and over again. One of the most insidious levels of Government waste that never gets looked at in this country are the overspends on an annual basis. From 2021, the Government has been overspending by €5 billion a year and it has come under pressure from IFAC in relation to it. Health accounts for 40% of that overspend and capital infrastructure overruns saw €1.6 billion in one year. At the heart of the cost-of-living crisis in this country is the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independents Government tax gauging the people of Ireland and allowing for dysfunction to reign in terms of the infrastructure and the spend in this country. Ireland has the highest electricity prices in the whole of Europe and the second highest in the world. Incredibly, ESB made a profit of €3 billion just in the past four years. ESB is a public company operating on the basis of Government policy and that company is now looking to increase electricity prices today. Does the Minister of State not see the problem here? How can he stand over a Government company making €3 billion profit in four years and then in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis jack up the cost of electricity? The fact the Government is allowing that to happen is a major problem. Last year there was €4.3 billion in fuel taxes and €1.2 billion in carbon tax, a tax that hardly existed five years ago. These are excruciating costs for families. They are hurting and damaging families. They are damaging businesses. These high energy costs are bad for the economy. That is never discussed here, that jobs are going abroad and businesses are closing because the Government is a high energy cost Government. The Government must gets to grips with that and realise what levers are in place. One of the levers is excise costs. Over the next six months, the Government wants to increase excise five times in a cost-of-living crisis. I am asking the Minister of State not to do that and to back the Aontú Private Members' motion.

Sentiment score: -0.03