Before I turn to energy costs, I welcome the release this morning of Irish citizens who were illegally detained on the Gaza aid flotilla. Their illegal detention and treatment by Israeli forces was disgraceful, as were the actions and rhetoric of Israeli Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. They were utterly unacceptable and completely sickening. If the Minister's comments this morning, that the time for words has passed and now it is time for action, are to mean anything, what we need is more than progress on the occupied territories Bill. I hope she will join our call for the decks to be cleared next week and that we pass the legislation and sanction Israel.
Sentiment score: -0.01
Ag buaic na ghéarchéime costais fuinnimh, tá €178 milliún á choinneáil ag an Rialtas ar leataobh. Bailíodh an t-airgead seo ó chomhlachtaí fuinnimh agus bhí sé i gceist é seo a thabhairt do ghnáthdhaoine le linn na géarchéime costais maireachtála. Ba é sin an cuspóir iomlán leis an scéim seo agus bhí sé i gceist cuidiú éigeandála tapa a chur ar fáil do theaghlaigh a bhí faoi bhrú ollmhór de bharr praghsanna leictreachais a bhí ag dul i méid go géar agus do dhaoine a bhí ag titim i riaráistí agus i bhfiacha. Ach ní mar sin a tharla. At the very height of a cost-of-energy crisis, the Government is hoarding €178 million of taxpayers' money that was specifically intended to help struggling households pay their electricity bills. This money was collected under an EU emergency intervention designed to claw back excess profits from energy companies and return that money to ordinary people during the cost-of-living crisis. That was the entire purpose of the scheme. It was supposed to provide rapid emergency relief for families who were being hammered over and over again by soaring electricity costs and were falling into arrears and debt. Yet, almost three years on, €178 million remains untouched in that fund. While the Government sits on the money, families are being absolutely crushed. Workers who never previously struggled are now under unrelenting pressure and they are being stretched too far. Workers and pensioners need direct relief. Families trapped in arrears need immediate support. Households facing disconnection need help to keep the lights on. Almost 320,000 families right across the State cannot pay their electricity bill, right here, right now, at this moment. It is the second highest level ever recorded in the history of the State, and it has gone up by 58,000 families in one year alone. In the first two months of this year, electricity disconnections went up by a shocking 64% when compared to the same period last year. That is what is happening under the Government's watch, yet the €178 million goes untouched. Ireland has some of the most expensive electricity prices in Europe. Families are rationing heat and electricity because they simply cannot afford the bills. While all this is happening, the Government continues to refuse point-blank to introduce energy credits for struggling households. Families across the State will conclude that the Government moved faster to protect the money than to protect the people the money was intended for. This is not an administrative delay. That is not what we are talking about here. This is a cold, hard political choice by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. I am going to ask the Minister directly, on behalf of all of the people out there who are finding it really tough to pay these sky-high bills, why, under God, does the Government not use the fund for what it was intended, namely, to help these families pay the bills? How can it possibly justify hoarding this money when workers, families and pensioners are sinking deeper and deeper into energy poverty? Will the Government finally commit to using this fund for the purpose for which it was intended, that is, direct emergency energy credits and a cost-of-living support for struggling households?
Sentiment score: -0.06
That is not true.
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We will be writing to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. Next week the decks should be cleared and we should pass the occupied territories Bill. We should not be talking about progress. There should be no more delays. We need action. This has been going on for years. In terms of the cost of energy, the Minister is missing the point and is trying to dress it up in a way that supports the Government's narrative but the fundamental facts remained unchanged. While families are struggling to keep the lights on, the Government is sitting on a fund of €178 million that was specifically designed to help these very same families to pay their electricity bills. Almost 325,000 households cannot pay their electricity right here, right now. Electricity disconnections are rising sharply, up 64% compared to this time last year, and many working families are now falling into debt by simply trying to pay basic electricity bills. The resources are there. The fund is there but the Government has chosen not to use it in the way that it is supposed to be used. Instead of putting money back into the pockets of workers who are struggling, the Government has allowed this fund to go largely untouched while energy poverty is increasing. Why under God is the Government not using the €178 million that has been sitting there for the past three years and was specifically designed to be put back into pockets of ordinary people to help them pay their electricity bills? Does the Government not understand what is happening out there in the real world?
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What about this fund?
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What about the fund?
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When is the Government going to use the fund?
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Does the Minister know that there is money in the fund?
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Does the Minister's Government know?
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Does the Government know that the money is sitting in the fund? Does it actually know that millions of euro is sitting there that should be in the pockets of workers?
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