I agree around the cost of living and particularly the cost of energy to households at the moment. That has obviously escalated further this week. We have one of the highest gas and electricity prices in the European Union. Added to this is the fact that householders are paying almost double the cost of electricity that data centres are paying. The average cost per household is 36 cent per unit while for data centres, it is 19 cent per unit. They are clearly using their financial clout to get their way but householders and small businesses are effectively subsidising them. Added to all of this now are the latest price hikes on oil and gas due to the illegal war by Israel and the United States in the Middle East. As an example of how much fuel has gone up in the past couple of days, one company in Laois was charging 99 cent on Monday morning and by yesterday morning it had gone to €1.57. For a litre of kerosene, some companies are charging up to €1.71. The number of households with arrears for electricity has hit a record high at 319,459, a jump of 20%. One of in four households is in arrears with gas. Workers and households on low and middle incomes are particularly hard hit. The fuel allowance has been extended but there is a cohort not being caught with that. The hikes in energy costs come on the back of higher rents, higher mortgages, higher insurance costs, higher college fees, higher grocery costs and it goes on and on. One group that is really struggling is people with disabilities. They have additional costs due to their additional needs. A Government report from 2020 found that the additional cost for people with disabilities was between €8,700 and €12,300 annually. They tend to need and use more energy because they are at home more. In the budget prior to the general election, they got cost-of-living measures, additional fuel allowance, living alone allowance and energy credits. When there is no election, they get zero. They got nothing this year. The budget came and went and they did not receive anything. Their representative group estimates their income is down by €1,000 per year on what they were getting in 2025 but the response so far from Government is that they should go to the community welfare officer for an exceptional needs payment. The vast majority of people on low and middle incomes would not qualify for that. What is needed now is a targeted single energy payment. I say targeted because I do not want money thrown all over the place. I got an energy credit a year and a half or 15 months ago from the Government. We should not be getting an energy credit. We need to target it at those who need it, such as those who are on the median income or on low incomes. They need to get it. Will the Government now move to assist these people and introduce a one-off payment for that? Will it also move in terms of the price-gouging? I heard the Tánaiste say the Minister is meeting the companies but he also needs to strengthen the powers of the CCPC.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He said the Government will make an informed evidence-based response. That is fine but the evidence is there. There are in excess of 320,000 households in serious arrears and we are only talking about electricity there. It is one in four is in arrears with gas. There is a real problem. I have constituents contacting me - people who are on middle incomes - who just cannot make it all go around. I am sure the rest of the Members are hearing this as well. I wish to highlight one extra factor. Progress is being made with retrofitting but it is slow enough. Some 75% of homes in the midlands and in counties like Laois are basically on solid fuel or oil. That tells you they need an energy upgrade. They are caught because they have high energy costs. There is a particular problem here for people in County Laois and in the midlands. I know they cannot be targeted specifically but there is a real issue. There is an immediate problem. I am not asking the Government to thrown money all over the place. I am asking it to do a targeted one-off payment to help those people and householders who are really struggling and cannot make ends meet at the moment. I am asking the Government to introduce that one-off payment to help them, people with disabilities and low- and middle-income workers.

Sentiment score: 0.09