Pearse Doherty
Donegal · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I move amendment No. 1 to Seanad recommendation No. 2: To delete from the row dated "1 September 2026" down to and including the row dated "1 May 2030" and substitute the following: " 15 July 2026 €502.88 €502.88 €371.85 €371.85 €371.85 €0.00 €210.45 €172.14 €167.25 €79.17 €11.48 14 October 2026 €502.88 €502.88 €371.85 €371.85 €371.85 €0.…”
“Next week, this House will rise, the doors of Leinster House will be locked and Ministers will head off on their summer holidays. Their parting gift to ordinary Irish people across the State will be to have locked in fuel price increases that will hit them in their pockets.”
“That is not acceptable and it is why we in Sinn Féin have tabled this amendment to say that these price increases should not be going ahead and that prices should be properly monitored at the appropriate time.”
“This is tied to the latter amendment and I will speak further at length on that. Recommendation No. 1 deals with the diesel rebate scheme, which operates within a window that closes on 1 October.”
“Hope is what we rely on when we have no control. It is not a substitute for prudent economic planning. There is zero certainty here. There are no guarantees that the Strait of Hormuz will remain open or that global supply lines will not be choked tomorrow morning.”
“As if that were not good enough, the Government is not just hitting people with increases on petrol and diesel. On top of that, it is going to hit them with an increase in the cost of home heating oil, natural gas and a basic bag of coal.”
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“An teachtaireacht mhór anseo atá ag an Aire do na ghnáthdhaoine ná go bhfuil siad tréigthe agus fágtha leo féin. Budget atá anseo atá scríofa ag Fine Gael. Tréigeann sé oibrithe agus teaghlaigh chun aire a thabhairt dóibh siúd atá ar bharr an dréimire. Cuidiú ar bith do chostais maireachtála, gníomh ar bith chun an sáinn a stopadh nó faoiseamh ar bith ar cháin. Is dréachtphlean é chun leanúint go deo le géarchéim tithíochta agus sláinte agus geallúintí toghcháin scriosta agus caite sa bhosca bruscair. An chéad cinneadh agus an chéad impleacht a bhéas ag an budget seo ná go rachaidh praghas petrol agus diesel in airde. Tá sé seo scannalach. Is é seo ceann de na Rialtais is measa a chonaic muid ariamh. As generations of Irish parents remind their children, is deas do do bhéal a mholtar é - self-praise is no praise at all.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Before I begin my response to the budget, I want to take this moment to remember all those who lost their lives in the Creeslough tragedy three years ago today, very close to this time. Three years on, that tragedy has still left many scars and pains, and the families are still searching for answers. The Minister for justice has refused to meet the families until the end of the criminal investigation.”
“I have done more than make submissions; I have drafted the legislation that would hold the insurance industry to account to make sure that the reforms are not to boost their profits but to be passed on to consumers. The Government - Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Healy-Raes - are blocking that legislation. Why? All I have heard from Minister after Minister leads me to believe that they are basically puppets of the industry. That is why the insurance companies are charging the outrageous prices they are charging sports organisations, festivals, businesses and motorists the length and breadth of the country. Until we get a Government that will stand up to the industry, this rip-off will continue. It should end now.”
“In motor insurance, it is 8%. The Minister of State talks about Britain. Does he know what has happened there? Does he know what the ABI says about the 28,000 motor insurance policies it looks at every year? It has told us just in recent weeks that insurance has fallen 10%. What has happened under the Government's watch here? An 11.5% increase. People are getting ripped off left, right and centre and the Minister of State stands there reading scripts that the insurance industry would be proud of - that it probably wrote for him. The Government will not deal with this issue unless the Minister of State recognises that there is a serious issue here in terms of the market. He talked about making submissions.”
“-----is as we and the Alliance for Insurance Reform told the Government, that unless it got a commitment from the industry, the industry would pocket the reforms. That is exactly what has happened. What we have got from this industry - and the Minister of State is absolutely blind to this, as is his Government - are bumper profits. These were reforms I championed, legislation I drafted and got passed in this House and cases I brought to the Central Bank to ban some of the conduct that was there. The industry told us that if we introduced the reforms, it would target a 5% profit margin. What is it doing now? It is taking a 13% profit in public liability insurance.”
“I thank everybody who spoke in support of the motion. The Government does not have an amendment down. I do not know whether it is opposing the motion or whether it does not have any solutions. The one thing on which I will agree with the Minister of State is that, as he said, what he and the Government are doing is yielding results. He is absolutely spot on. The Government has made bumper profits for the insurance industry, which is absolutely creaming it while sticking the two fingers up to consumers, and indeed the Government. The case Ruairí outlined is similar to many cases across the State. My motor insurance renewal came in with an increase of 34% - same car, same policy, same issues, no reason for an increase.”
“The Injuries Resolution Board could play a stronger role and these Houses need to have greater oversight of the personal injury guidelines. However, none of this will matter unless profiteering is tackled head-on. All the reforms in the world are pointless if insurers are free to pocket the gains and charge customers more and more. That is why I am calling on the Government to pass my legislation, which it is blocking. It would force insurers to show exactly how they are passing on savings to customers euro for euro. The truth is that the Government has been taken for a ride by the insurance industry and now it is time to stop standing by the sidelines, stand up for people, businesses and communities and end the insurance rip-off once and for all.”
“That is what we see in other countries that have a functioning insurance system - not here; not in this State; not under this Government. Here, there is free rein for insurance companies and they are told to take as large a slice as they want. I sat on the finance committee as insurance companies came in one after another and said that if they got the reforms they needed, they would target a profit margin of 5%. What do we see today? Five or six years later under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, we are seeing insurance companies record double and triple that as they pocket the savings and give the two fingers to the Government and the public. Not only that, but they want more and the truth is there is still scope and we do need some reform. Our legal system is too slow and too expensive.”
“It drives up the cost of doing business or running any type of community organisation or sports group and it feeds through and drives up costs for everyone. The truth is simple. Insurance companies are simply pocketing the benefits from reforms brought in to reduce the cost of insurance. Nowhere near the full benefit or even a fraction of it has been passed on to consumers. Most of the time, premiums have gone up, while the Government seems unfazed or unbothered about it. We have seen a Government that has sat back and allowed insurance companies to make eye-watering profits that are completely out of step with industry norms. We have seen, in certain sectors of the insurance market, insurance companies making margins of 17%. That is scandalous in anyone's book. Normal profits of the insurance industry are in the low single digits.”
“Meanwhile, motor insurers are raking in bumper profits made off the backs of ordinary people just trying to get to work or bring their children to school. What has the Government done? Nothing. There has been no pushback, no outrage and no action. Home insurance premiums are getting higher and higher. Pushed by unaffordable house prices, people are paying far more or being left underinsured. One Government failure stacks up on top of another. Health insurance costs are almost €2,000 now and even higher for people over the age of 65. This affects many people across the State who are already struggling to keep their cover. The cost of public and employer liability insurance is through the roof, as the Minister will be aware, despite the fact that the cost of claims is actually coming down. What does this do?”
“Sports clubs, community clubs, charities, you name it - they are all being hit hard. Until this Government decides to stand up and take action, the rip-off will continue. Insurance companies must be forced to pass on the savings they are making to their customers. Instead, every reform so far has lined their pockets and boosted their profits while ordinary people pay more and more. Car insurance is up. Home insurance is up. Health insurance is up. On top of all this, we have a cost-of-living crisis. Food prices are soaring. Energy bills and rents are climbing and people face another blow when they renew their insurance. Last year, the cost of car insurance rose at four times the rate of inflation. It is now at its highest level in five years and almost double the European average.”
“Is é sprioc an rúin seo ná iarracht iachall a chur ar an Rialtas chun gníomhú faoi dheireadh agus stop a chur leis an sailleadh árachais. Tá daoine á lomadh agus tá gnólachtaí faoi bhrú bocht. Tá clubanna spóirt, grúpaí pobail – ní ort iad a lua - uilig i gcruachás maidir le hárachas ag dul in airde. Go dtí go bhfuil rialtas againn a dhéanann fá dtaobh de seo, ní thiocfaidh deireadh leis an sailleadh árachais. Ní mór don Rialtas seasamh suas do na comhlachtaí árachais agus iachall a chur orthu an t-airgead atá á shábháil acu a roinnt lena gcustaiméirí. The purpose of this motion is simple. It is to force the Government to finally act and put an end to the insurance rip-off. Right now, people are being fleeced. Families are under pressure. Businesses are being squeezed.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the Government have failed to end the rip-off when it comes to insurance costs; — the increasing cost of motor insurance is putting many people under severe pressure in a cost-of-living crisis; — the cost of motor insurance has increased at more than four times the general rate of inflation; — people are now facing health insurance costs of roughly €2,000 every year, affecting almost 2.5 million people in this State, many of whom were already struggling to afford to keep their coverage; — there has been a substantial decrease in median award value among motor, employer and public liability claims; and — despite a drop in claim related costs, a survey of businesses and civil society organisations, conducted by the Alliance for Insurance Reform, found that the vast majority reported premium increases in the past two years and faced higher excesses, new exclusions, or both, meaning they are paying more for less cover; regrets that: — the Government have failed to get insurance costs under control; — customers have not benefited in the form of reduced premiums as a result of reduced claims-related costs for insurance companies in the way they should; — the Government has taken no meaningful action, despite extensive evidence that previous reforms have not been passed on; and — insurance companies in this State are making profits far in excess of industry norms, at the expense of workers, families, businesses and community groups; and calls on the Government to: — address the disproportionate profits being made in the insurance sector; — stand up to insurance companies to ensure fair and stable insurance prices; — recognise the role that high insurance costs play in driving the cost-of-living crisis, both directly through higher premiums and indirectly by driving up the costs of businesses, public bodies, and civil society organisations; — progress and enact the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021, to ensure the benefits of reforms are passed onto customers in the form of lower premiums, rather than captured as higher profits for insurance companies; — ensure meaningful Oireachtas oversight in relation to Personal Injury Guidelines, to ensure adequate scrutiny prior to Government decisions; and — confirm that any future policy change in relation to insurance must be conditional on benefits of both new and past reforms being passed on to customers through lower premiums.”
“Does the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, agree the Government should scrap the new guidelines and re-engage with school communities so we can have proper guidelines that have the support of everybody, including existing SNAs and families of those with additional needs?”
“The new special needs assistant, SNA, review guidelines have been met with outrage. The guidelines are about one thing and one thing only: restricting the number of SNAs and rationing SNAs. Children will suffer if this goes ahead. A five-year-old girl in Donegal, Allissa, has had to leave school because no SNA has been provided and she is one of many children across the State failed by the Government. Every year we have parents and school leaders fighting a system of bureaucracy to secure what is essential for children with additional needs. Schools are now afraid to apply for SNAs in case they are taken away. Schools are being pitted against each other, SNAs disrespected and children again left to suffer. I ask that the Minister for education change tack.”
“Second, the Government and the Minister for Finance are going to withdraw the energy credits that those households were dependent on for the last three years. What I am saying to the Minister is that he should deal with the reality. The fact is that people are drowning under a cost-of-living crisis. Things have got worse in the last year - that is just a fact - and they are about to get even worse again because of two measures. One is the electricity companies ripping people off and gouging them again and the other is the Minister's decision to cancel electricity credits in this year's budget.”
“The Minister will be well aware that in our alternative budget last year we argued that energy credits of €450 should be brought forward. The Government brought forward energy credits of €250. The Minister listed off various measures. As I said earlier, I am not taking away from those measures but what I am telling him is that things have got worse. The reality is that regardless of whether he believes he has protected people, there are more households than ever before - over 300,000 - that cannot pay their electricity bills. Regardless of what the Government did last year, things have got worse. The crisis has deepened and two things are about to happen. First, nearly 1 million households are going to see electricity prices go up, on average, by 10% in the next two weeks.”
“Does the Minister accept there are more people today who cannot pay their electricity and gas bills than ever before? Will he do the right thing and put energy credits back on the table for this year's budget? Will he use that time to make the reforms that Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on him to make to ensure we end this rip-off on electricity prices and get costs under control?”
“Landlords are allowed to increase rents, there are carbon tax increases after carbon tax increases, and student fees and local property taxes are going up as a result of Government decisions. This has all been pushed on people at the same time that they are getting hit by double-digit increases in their energy bills. People feel like they are drowning in the cost of living crisis. We have heard Minister after Minister this week and last tell us what they have done about this measure and that measure, and I am sure the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will get to his feet and list off all of them again. I am not taking anything away from those measures. I am telling the Minister about the effect. There are more people today, as we speak, behind on their bills than ever before. That is the definition of things getting worse.”
“Let me be clear. Energy credits were never the full answer. They were supposed to buy the Government time. They were supposed to allow it time to get a handle on the crisis but the Government did not do anything. Arís is arís eile, we gave the Government solutions, including powers for the energy regulator to hold energy companies to account, oversight of hedging practices to protect against price gouging, regulation of standing charges, making the PSO levy and network charges fair, and stopping electricity companies profiteering from expensive gas. These could all have cut bills and taken the pressure off ordinary working people but, instead, the Government chose to do nothing. Instead of ending the rip-off and getting prices under control, the Government is actually making things worse.”
“We have the highest electricity prices in Europe yet, still, energy companies come forward and are hitting households with double-digit hikes in their bills in the coming weeks. Last week, the Minister's party leader stood where the Minister is today and said: “I want people at home to know that we hear them on the cost of energy and know about the cost of living.” He said that the Government would take action. The very next day, SSE Airtricity became the latest to announce massive hikes in its electricity prices - over 10% - on the foot of four other companies doing the same. These companies know they have nothing to fear from Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil because they have let them rip people off again and again. They have done absolutely nothing to rein in the companies and nothing to stop them hiking their prices up and up.”
“Níl a dhath déanta ag an Rialtas chun smacht a chur orthu ná chun stop a chur lena gcuid praghsanna atá ag ardú agus ag ardú arís eile. Má tá muid leis an fhírinne a insint, ní raibh na creidmheasanna fuinnimh riamh mar réiteach ná deireadh na bhfadhbanna. Bhíodar in ainm tuilleadh ama a thabhairt don Rialtas chun smacht a fháil ar an ghéarchéim seo, ach níl a dhath déanta. Arís is arís eile, tá moltaí curtha chun tosaigh againn ach déanann an Rialtas neamhaird orthu. It is open season for price gouging and profiteering. Insurance companies, banks, large supermarkets and energy companies are making obscene profits on the backs of ordinary workers, all with the approval of the Government. Insurance companies are making two or three times more profits here than elsewhere. Bailed-out banks are making billions and paying no tax.”
“I appreciate that. What I would welcome in the Government’s response is an indication that it would be happy for such a resolution to come before us. We will work on the wording of the resolution with the Government. This should not go unpassed. We should not go into recess this evening when there are citizens in international waters being attacked by Israel through drones, including one of our own colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews. I ask the Government to say it is supportive of that. As I said, I welcomed the words yesterday from the Minister. That was a point of order. I now move to the issue that I wish to raise today. Tá an Rialtas seo tar éis cead a gcinn a thabhairt dóibh siúd atá ag breith buntáiste ar dhaoine arís is arís eile.”
“I cannot see any issue that could be more urgent. By the time we reconvene next week, God knows what could have happened to those boats. I know there is support. I heard the comments yesterday from the Minister, and they were welcome, but there should be a motion here today. We should be allowed to deal with this issue and pass a resolution. I am asking that this be facilitated today.”
“Can I make a point of order? My party leader has written to the Ceann Comhairle and the leaders of the Government parties. We tried to introduce an urgent motion to condemn the attack on the flotilla. As the Minister knows, there are 20 Irish citizens on board the flotilla trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. They are in international waters. It includes one of our colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews, whose boat has been fired upon on four occasions by Israeli drones. This is so urgent that the Italian and Spanish navies have deployed part of their fleets to support and defend Irish citizens. We in this House have been refused and blocked from bringing a motion of condemnation before the House today. This cannot be business as usual. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to allow for the urgency of this issue.”
“They need to stop this nonsense of a do-nothing Government. After 250 days we still have no action from this Government to get prices under control or to put manners on in relation to the price-gouging and the extortionate prices electricity companies are charging. It is time for the Government to do the right thing and make sure the energy credits Sinn Féin is calling for - €450 to be paid to households this winter - are central to the budget. If it does not, it will guarantee that more and more households - more than the current 300,000 - will not be able to pay their electricity bills this winter.”
“You can see through the cracks and put your hand through the cracks. They are trying to keep their homes warm and spending a fortune, and the Government's answer is to jack up the cost of gas and home heating oil and to take away the energy credits. Energy credits were never the solution. They are one-off measures that are supposed to buy time but the Government did not use that time. It did not make any meaningful reforms and is now pulling the only supports that are there when people need them most. We have a record number of people behind in their bills, while 750,000 households will in the coming weeks get double-digit increases and in the same two weeks the Government will withdraw the supports that are required. People are under immense pressure. Government Members need to get their heads out of the sand.”
“People are facing into this winter seeing report after report of prices being increased, dreading getting that next bill through the door. Government policy has made things actively worse for them. The Government rolled out the red carpet for data centres. Government officials admitted that these centres are driving up prices, making bills more expensive for workers and families. On top of that, we have carbon tax hikes on gas and home heating oil, which is the first of five increases planned by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents over the coming years. There are people in my constituency who are facing into another winter with defective concrete blocks because the Government refused to put in place a fit-for-purpose scheme. Now there are people in my constituency who have cracks in their houses.”
“While this Government sits on its hands, more and more people are falling behind on their bills. What do we have today? We have a record number of households that cannot pay their electricity bills. More than 300,000 households across this State cannot pay their electricity bills. That is before these companies jack up the prices and the Government withdraws the energy credits they are relying on. It does not even scratch the surface of how many people are just managing to keep up. That is why the regulator is warning that those numbers are going to spike this winter. We have record numbers and the regulator is telling the Government that it is going to get even worse this winter if the Government does not change course.”
“Despite that, the Government has done nothing - not one thing - to address the underlying causes. This inaction is a betrayal of people who are struggling to pay their bills. Three quarters of a million people are to be hit with double-digit electricity increases in the next number of weeks, starting the day after the budget. Arís is arís eile, Sinn Féin has given the Government solutions, such as power for the energy regulator to hold energy companies to account, oversight of hedging practices to protect against price gouging and profiteering, the regulation of standing charges and making the PSO levy and network charges fair. These could all make a meaningful difference to how much people have to pay, but the Government has chosen to do nothing. The strategy has been to just wait it out and hope the problem goes away.”
“Tá oibrithe agus teaghlaigh á lomadh ag praghsanna leictreachais atá ródhaor. Tá na praghsanna is airde againn san Aontas Eorpach. Níl a dhath feicthe againn ón Rialtas. Níl sé ag gníomhú ar chor ar bith le dul i ngleic leis na rudaí is cúis leis seo. Anois agus an méid is mó tithe riamh ar chúl lena gcuid billí fuinnimh, tá an Rialtas ag baint tacaíochtaí uathu. Impím ar an Rialtas an rud ceart a dhéanamh agus na creidmheasanna fuinnimh a thabhairt chun tosaigh sa bhuiséad i mbliana seo agus an deis seo a thapú chun na leasuithe molta, atá curtha chun tosaigh ag Sinn Féin, a chur i bhfeidhm. Workers and families are being absolutely fleeced when it comes to the rip-off electricity prices. We have got the highest electricity prices in the European Union.”
“It needs to take into account the needs of workers in key sectors such as health and the challenges in capacity, housing and other public services and the humanitarian response to those fleeing war and persecution.”
“Since that time, 16 months ago, there has been an explosion of ARP accommodation in my own county of Donegal. It has gone up by three times. It went from 600 units to more than 2,000 today. It is no wonder that people come knocking at my door or go to other TDs saying they cannot find rental accommodation. Yet, 2,000 properties have been found for Ukrainians who need accommodation and they are being paid for by the State. There is a resentment in relation to that. That is not a situation that was fostered by Ukrainians. It is the Government who designed this scheme, which is wrong. There has been no considered management of migration that takes into account the ability or the capacity of communities to integrate those who make their homes here. Migration must be managed in the best interests of the people of Ireland.”
“Sinn Féin made it clear that the location of these centres should not be in disadvantaged areas that do not have adequate resources. That applies equally for Coolock and Cloughaneely. We have had a developer-led approach looking for higher profits by getting sites in disadvantaged and rural areas. It is a year and a half ago since I stood here and proposed amendments to the Government in relation to the ARP scheme. At the time, I told the Government it was putting pressure on the rental sector. I said it was completely unfair for the State to pay the rent of somebody who was working in the factory while the person who was working beside them in the same factory, earning the same wages, had to pay their own rent. It is completely unfair. Yet, the Government not only renewed it that time but renewed it again since. That system is unfair.”
“It is the most deprived county on the island of Ireland. It has the highest unemployment rate, the highest levels of deprivation and the least disposable income in the State yet it has the highest levels of IPAs and of those seeking temporary protection for Ukrainian international applicants than anywhere else in the State. It has the highest number of people benefiting from the accommodation recognition payment, ARP, system. How does a system like this come to pass? How does one of the poorest and most neglected counties in the State end up with the highest concentration of people who themselves are under serious pressure? It is because the Government does not have a plan. This Government and the past Government in which Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were involved, allowed for speculation and profit to be the main driver in this.”
“If European states were serious about reducing the number of arrivals, they would stop selling arms to dictators and oppressive regimes. They would review all EU trade deals and practices that disadvantage poor countries and keep them poor and they would tackle the illicit financial flows to stop hundreds of billions of euro flowing out of poor countries and into European banks. However, that is not the conversation they want to have. For our part, we opposed the migration pact because we knew it undermined sovereignty. It allows European governments and this Government to pretend that they are doing something. I said at the start that the Government has mishandled the issue of migration. My own county of Donegal is a good example of that. Donegal captures the failures of this Government on this issue probably better than any other.”
“The Minister's figures showing that 80% are rejected in the first instance is an example of that. However, this has been obvious to everyone for the past number of years. Hotels have been taken over, town planning systems have been cast aside and instead of the Government in the past saying that this was unsustainable and instead of actually fixing the system by speeding up the processes and ensuring that deportations were enforced where they were required, what we had was commentary saying that this was the new normal. We need to have a serious conversation about the actual causes that led to these levels of migration. There is no appetite for that conversation within this Government or indeed across Europe. We saw that with the disastrous migration pact to which the Government has signed us up. It totally ignored the root causes.”
“Déarfaidh mé cúpla focal san am atá agam. There is no doubt that the Government has mishandled migration, particularly international protection. In doing so, it has ignored and indeed antagonised communities and driven a wedge between people. Real damage has been done on the ground and it is going to take a long time to repair. It will not be the Government picking up the pieces; it will be community workers, activists and ordinary people who do this day in day out. People on the ground will have to deal with the damage and the level of mistrust in this Government that has been caused over the while. There is no doubt that there are bad actors exploiting all of that. However, the Government's role in this is not a good one. We have seen unsustainable numbers of people applying for asylum over the past three years.”
“However, it simply does not go far enough and our spokesperson, Claire Kerrane, has been calling for this for quite a period of time now. She has asked that these checks should be a normal part of its work. We should not have a situation where in the space of a year, two children who had been in touch with Tusla have been missing, presumed dead, and gone for years. Beyond the 42,000 case reviews, which just relate to cases closed during the pandemic, does the Tánaiste now accept that as a matter of course there has to be a lookback and check for those children who have been in contact with Tusla? What action will the Government take to make sure that this never happens again?”
“To add to the sentiments expressed earlier, there is no doubt serious sadness, shock and disbelief at the discovery of the remains in Donabate yesterday of the young boy, Daniel Aruebose. I think we all send our deepest condolences to everybody who loved Daniel. The community is grieving and everybody right across the island is horrified at what happened, and heartbroken. It is a very sensitive matter, as the Tánaiste mentioned, but we cannot ignore the issues it raises in the form of serious questions about child protection, Tusla and the Minister. We still do not have an independent chair to oversee the checks of children involved in Tusla cases that were closed during the pandemic. That has to be done urgently. These 42,000 case reviews need to be done without any more delay.”
“I am sure the Tánaiste has been listening to the same people who talk to me – people who are pushed to the pin of their collar and know they are being ripped off. They know the big energy companies are ripping them off but the Government has done nothing about it. It has pushed back against the proposals we made to bring the prices under control. It is the same with insurance, rent and food. It is all talk and no action. The one action the Government can carry out that will support people in the here and now is making sure energy credits play a central part in a cost-of-living package in the budget. We are very clear the measure should be in the form of €450 that will support people right here, right now, because the Government has failed to bring the companies under control regarding the prices they are charging.”
“The Tánaiste has made it very clear, and this is why we do criticise his decision, that he is withdrawing energy supports in this year’s budget. People have been depending or relying on these for the past three years. Even with these and the other measures, including the fuel allowance, which has been in place for years and whose expansion I welcome, 300,000 households today still cannot pay their electricity bills and nearly 200,000 cannot pay their gas bills. The Government has decided, despite the fact that four companies have come out and said they are increasing their prices by double-digit figures on the week of the budget or slightly before it, to say energy credits are not going to make their way into the budget this year. This is the wrong decision.”
“Prices are going up by double digits and the Government is withdrawing electricity credits. It needs to change course. This will be the final straw for many. The Tánaiste needs to wake up, listen to what people are saying and understand what people are facing in respect of this rip-off. Does he now accept, given the raft of energy companies announcing they will increase their prices the week of the budget, that withdrawing the energy credits is a step too far and a decision he will now reverse?”
“We proposed restructuring the public service obligation, PSO, levy so that large energy users, such as data centres, pay their fair share rather than placing that burden on domestic customers, households and small businesses, but the Government ignored us. It is up to its neck in this rip-off. It is scandalous that the Government has now come along to tell people that they are on their own. It has allowed the energy companies free rein and now decides to cancel the energy credits on which hard-pressed households have been dependent. Where is the fairness in that? Is the Government not listening to the people? Across the State, people are just about hanging in there. They cannot take much more. Folks are going to come under huge pressure this winter. They are already under huge pressure but are going to come under more pressure.”
“Is it any wonder that as we speak 300,000 households cannot pay their electricity bills? The Government has allowed this energy rip-off to go unabated. It has allowed it to happen for many years. It has done nothing to put manners on the energy companies. Not only has it done nothing but it has pushed back against our proposals to get energy prices under control. We proposed giving the energy regulator powers to hold these companies to account but the Government ignored us. We proposed legislation to monitor and regulate standing charges and hedging practices but the Government ignored us.”
“At the very time these companies are fleecing people again, the Government has decided to withdraw energy credits in the budget. It is a terrible decision that the Government needs to reverse. The job of the Government is to shield households from these hikes. That means ending the rip-off, getting prices under control and supporting workers and families in this budget. The Government is doing the exact opposite. It has sat on its hands and is sitting on its hands. All the while, energy companies are making massive profits. We know that wholesale prices for electricity have fallen since the start of the year so there is absolutely no justification for these companies to be squeezing and gouging their customers as they are doing. It is bare-faced greed and rampant profiteering.”
“There is no end to it. People cannot catch a breath at the moment. As if things were not bad enough, the big energy companies come along with another big hike in electricity prices just as we head into the darker months of the year. Energia is going to jack up its electricity prices by 12%. Bord Gáis will increase its prices by over 13%. Pinergy is putting up its prices by over 9%. As we know, households are already paying some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. More than 500,000 customers are going to be hit by these latest increases in the next couple of weeks. Many are now going to be forced to fork out hundreds of additional euro, which is money they simply do not have. The real kicker is that the Government is choosing to make matters worse.”
“Tá praghsanna leictreachais le hardú arís agus tá sé seo chun níos mó ná 500,000 teaghlach a bhuaileadh. Is cinneadh uafásach é an cinneadh atá déanta ag Fine Gael agus ag Fianna Fáil na creidmheasa fuinnimh a tharraingt siar sa cháinaisnéis. Tá breis agus 300,000 teaghlach nach bhfuil ábalta a gcuid billí leictreachais a íoc ag an phointe seo agus caithfidh an tacaíocht seo a bheith ar fáil sa cháinaisnéis i mí Dheireadh Fómhair. Workers and families are being absolutely hammered with soaring prices. While the Government acts as if everything is rosy in the garden, the cost-of-living crisis is out of control. Households are under considerable pressure to get by. They are being hit by rip-off prices at every turn. It is rent, food, insurance, petrol and diesel, student fees and local property tax. The cost of everything is sky high.”
“Whether people are trying to take their families to watch our national games or going to gigs or tourists are coming in, it is scandalous and needs to end. Will the Government do anything about this?”
“Many of them cannot believe their eyes when they see the prices they are being charged to book hotels in our capital city. They are being charged €450 or €500 for a room for one night, when it is a fraction of that on other weekends. It is scandalous. Those attending the Oasis gig later, next month, will face exactly the same rip-off. It is now the case that people can get a week's sun holiday cheaper than they can get two nights in Dublin. It is absolutely scandalous. I have raised this with the Government before and nothing is happening. This is just another example of the do-nothing Government. Will the Government do anything about the rip-off and price gouging that happens every summer?”