Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Sep 2022

Vol. 1026 No. 4

Measures to Assist with Household Bills: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Darren O'Rourke on Wednesday, 14 September 2022:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes:
— the latest round of announcements of electricity price hikes ranging from 27 per cent to 34 per cent to take effect next month; and
— that households are dealing with annual electricity bills, some €1,000 higher than they were a year ago;
condemns the constant dithering by this Government despite the urgency of the cost-of-living crisis including:
— the refusal of this Government to bring forward an emergency budget before the summer recess despite calls on them to do so, with people left to face the full impact of continuing energy price increases alongside wider increases such as food and back-to-school costs without adequate support as a result;
— the opposition by Minister Eamon Ryan, acting on behalf of the Irish Government, to reform the wholesale electricity market back in October 2021 which would if implemented at the time have helped to reduce the bills of households and businesses sooner; and
— the failure of the Government to sufficiently accelerate the development of our own renewable sources of energy in and around the island which are key to ensuring energy affordability, sustainability and security over the medium-term; and
calls on the Government, as part of a wider package of cost of living measures, to immediately:
— cut household electricity bills and cap them at 2021 prices;
— introduce cash payments to assist low- and middle-income households with their other energy bills;
— make a double Child Benefit payment for every child in recognition that households with children tend to spend more on energy bills; and
— introduce a windfall tax so that excess profits are not made during the period of the crisis.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To insert the following after "not made during the period of the crisis":
"— examine the measures needed to develop a wholly publicly owned and not-for-profit energy system, including the nationalisation of all existing energy generation in the State in order to fully address both the current energy crisis and the climate crisis"
-(Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett)

I must now deal with a deferred division relating to amendment No. 1 in the name of Solidarity-People Before Profit to Sinn Féin's motion on measures to assist with household bills last Wednesday.

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 59; Níl, 80; Staon, 0.

  • Andrews, Chris.
  • Bacik, Ivana.
  • Barry, Mick.
  • Brady, John.
  • Browne, Martin.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Cairns, Holly.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carthy, Matt.
  • Clarke, Sorca.
  • Collins, Michael.
  • Conway-Walsh, Rose.
  • Cronin, Réada.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Daly, Pa.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Donnelly, Paul.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • Farrell, Mairéad.
  • Fitzmaurice, Michael.
  • Gannon, Gary.
  • Gould, Thomas.
  • Guirke, Johnny.
  • Healy-Rae, Danny.
  • Healy-Rae, Michael.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • Mythen, Johnny.
  • Nash, Ged.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • O'Callaghan, Cian.
  • O'Donoghue, Richard.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Rourke, Darren.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
  • Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Ryan, Patricia.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Shortall, Róisín.
  • Smith, Bríd.
  • Smith, Duncan.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Tully, Pauline.
  • Ward, Mark.
  • Whitmore, Jennifer.
  • Wynne, Violet-Anne.

Níl

  • Berry, Cathal.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Browne, James.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Cannon, Ciarán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Costello, Patrick.
  • Cowen, Barry.
  • Creed, Michael.
  • Crowe, Cathal.
  • Devlin, Cormac.
  • Dillon, Alan.
  • Donnelly, Stephen.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Duffy, Francis Noel.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Feighan, Frankie.
  • Fitzpatrick, Peter.
  • Flaherty, Joe.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Foley, Norma.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Higgins, Emer.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lawless, James.
  • Leddin, Brian.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • Martin, Catherine.
  • Matthews, Steven.
  • McAuliffe, Paul.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McEntee, Helen.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Moynihan, Michael.
  • Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
  • Murphy, Verona.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Noonan, Malcolm.
  • O'Brien, Darragh.
  • O'Brien, Joe.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Connor, James.
  • O'Dea, Willie.
  • O'Donnell, Kieran.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • O'Gorman, Roderic.
  • O'Sullivan, Christopher.
  • O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
  • Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
  • Ó Cuív, Éamon.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Richmond, Neale.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Shanahan, Matt.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Smyth, Ossian.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Varadkar, Leo.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Paul Murphy and Bríd Smith; Níl, Deputies Jack Chambers and Brendan Griffin.
Amendment declared lost.
Motion agreed to.

There is a bit of history being made tonight. We should welcome the return of Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne to Leinster House and applaud. Baby Collins is the first actual baby to join us in the House.

Members applauded.
Top
Share