I congratulate the Minister of State on her new post. I alert her that the Government continues to fail the ordinary people struggling to keep the lights on and their homes warm. A new record of more than 500,000 are now in arrears on their gas and electricity bills. The most impactful action by this Government was to pull the plug, withdrawing energy credits that were for many people just keeping their heads above water. There are an additional 200,000 households in arrears since the Government made that cruel choice. Even that does not take into account those who cannot afford to top up their pay-as-you-go meters or reflect those who cannot afford to keep their homes warm with home heating oil because not one cent was reduced. The Government imposes a carbon tax on the people yet at the same time it stands aside and allows our constituents to be hammered on energy costs. It takes a light-touch approach to energy companies especially data centres which now consume 22% of all electricity. Government is not responsible for the root cause of this crisis but it is utterly shameful that its policy choices are responsible for the scale of the impact on ordinary households. The Government needs to act for the people. Action needs to be taken to end the practice of ordinary households subsidising energy bills for big tech companies and for households in need of relief through the restoration of energy costs. I ask Deputy Ardagh as a new Minister of State to stand up to this supposed Government, stand by the consumers and make the big tech companies pay for their electricity.

Sentiment score: 0.02