Domestic Electricity and Gas Disconnections: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes:

— that the latest round of energy price hikes announced by energy providers is putting severe financial pressure on people;

— that households are facing extraordinary costs to light and heat their homes this winter, and will need equivalent support from the Government and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) during this time;

— that, in the first half of 2022, there were 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections due to non-payment of account;

— that there are 260,000 residential electricity pre-pay customers and 118,000 residential pre-pay gas customers;

— the lack of research and monitoring into so called "self-disconnections", and into the number of people who are disconnected from pre-pay meters;

— that Sinn Féin's Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021 sought to extend the moratorium on disconnections to run over the entire Fuel Allowance season, to give financially struggling households assurance that they will not be left in the cold and dark during the winter months;

— that the Government delayed the second reading of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021 by 12 months; and

— the CRU confirmation, at the meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, that they lack the legislative remit to regulate standing charges on utility bills;

acknowledges

— that households need financial and regulatory support during this energy price crisis, not the threat of disconnections hanging over them;

condemns

— the Government's failure to put in place a protection from disconnections for those who use pre-pay meters; and

calls for:

— a moratorium on disconnections to be immediately put in place for all households until the end of the Fuel Allowance season;

— the friendly credit on pre-pay meters to be extended for the duration of the ban on disconnections to give pre-pay meter households the same protection from disconnections as other households;

— legislation to be introduced to give the CRU powers to regulate standing charges on energy bills;

— the Government to reduce and cap the price of electricity bills at summer 2021 rates; and

— a windfall solidarity tax to be introduced on the excess profits of energy companies.

This motion seeks to do a number of important things. It seeks to extend the moratorium on electricity and gas disconnections to all customers from now until the end of the fuel allowance season, which is late March or early April. A ban on disconnections is currently in place but it is far too limited. It applies to self-identified and registered medically vulnerable bill-pay customers. In other words, it applies to a subset, self-identified, of a subset, registered, of a subset, medically vulnerable, of a subset, bill-pay. It was introduced on 1 October and runs until the end of the March. It is far too limited in its scope. For other bill-pay customers the ban on disconnection kicks in from 1 December and runs to the end of February. That is an extremely limited three-month ban at a time when 581,000 people are living below the poverty line according to European Anti-Poverty Network, EAPN, Ireland. This is also a time when up to 43% of people - which is a record, but a conservative estimate - are at risk of or living in energy poverty, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. It is also a time when the Government’s budget is failing to keep pace with the cost of living, according to the Vincentian research centre. It is also a time when energy suppliers are disconnecting approximately 170 domestic gas and electricity customers every month.

In the case of pay-as-you-go customers, there is no ban on disconnections despite the Taoiseach’s public comments, which gave rise to headlines such as "Taoiseach confirms pay-as-you-go utility customers will not be disconnected if unable to top up", "Taoiseach: no disconnections of pay-as-you-go energy users this winter" and "Pay-as-you-go energy customers will not be disconnected this winter – Taoiseach". In the days and weeks that followed those statements, it became quite clear that the Taoiseach had no intention of delivering on that commitment. Instead, people were told that there would be a €10 extra emergency credit. It has now increased to €20. Is that enough? People were told to contact the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In other words, they were told to make contact with charities. That is not the answer. People were told to go to the community welfare officer. This shows just how out of touch this Government and its Ministers are. In the first nine months of this year, the number of exceptional needs claims increased by 66,000, or 37%. Claims are processed in weeks or months, not hours or even days. That is most certainly not the answer.

We were told that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, was meeting with all the energy suppliers and with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. There was some indication that we would have movement. Instead the Minister came away from those meetings and with a straight face went on national radio to tell us that pay-as-you-go is actually good for people.

Nothing was said about the rip-off tariffs that they are on, the rip-off standing charges being applied or the number of medically vulnerable people who are on pay-as-you-go meters and should be on bill pay and most certainly nothing was said about the need to extend the exact same protections and supports to pay-as-you-go customers as we have for bill-pay customers. As we set out in our motion, it can and should be done through the extension of the so-called friendly credit and it should happen immediately. The risk of disconnection from gas and electricity should be lifted from families. It is a matter of the values that we, as a country, hold in this Republic.

Our motion also calls for legislation to be introduced to give the CRU powers to regulate standing charges on energy bills. We further call on the Government to reduce and cap the price of electricity bills at summer 2021 rates and to introduce a windfall and solidarity tax on the excess profits of energy companies.

This is a time of extreme crises – an energy crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. The State needs to stretch itself. This Government took the recommendations at face value from the CRU and did nothing with them. They should have been stress tested and challenged. That organisation does not hold up well in the current climate. They should have been challenged and extended. Sinn Féin has a suite of proposals that the Minister needs to take and implement.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Workers and families are facing a cost-of-living crisis. They are seeing mounting energy bills and massive strain being put on their household finances. Many of them are facing sleepless nights. They are facing the stress of how they can keep on top of mounting bills, how they can heat their homes and how they can keep the lights on as we approach winter. The Government has refused the opportunity to provide certainty to households with a cut and a cap on electricity bills over the winter months, which is a mistake that exposes families to high bills and further price hikes.

At the same time, we know that households now face a threat of disconnections, with many already effectively self-disconnecting. The Government’s plan to introduce a disconnection ban from December to February falls short, with many requiring protection and support right here, right now. The households that are using prepay meters are particularly vulnerable without greater security of direct debit contracts with their energy suppliers. Once the €20 emergency credit runs out, they are disconnected by default. Many of them are already self-disconnecting. They are rationing their use of energy with or without a choice. They are turning down or off heating, despite the cold that is outside and inside, avoiding the use of essential appliances and skipping warm meals or showers, all to the detriment of their physical and mental health. That is what is happening in the real world.

In recent weeks and months, we have spoken and heard much about our national energy security, but we are also facing a crisis in household energy security - the ability of families to keep warm and have the basic essentials. We need to deliver certainty to those families who use prepay meters. This affects 378,000 households across the State, and many of them are in my own county of Donegal. It is simply not good enough for the Government to wash its hands of this with no plan to protect those families and individuals from disconnection. Earlier today we heard the Taoiseach say that allowing these individuals to build up debt is not the answer. So what is the Government’s answer? Is it for the Government to turn off the gas and lights and leave them in the dark? That is what it has done. Sinn Féin will continue to stand up for ordinary workers and families, especially during the cost-of-living crisis, when so many families feel insecurity and massive financial pressure.

I am calling on all Deputies to support this motion tabled by Deputy O’Rourke. I am calling on the Minister and the Government to finally act to put in place a disconnections ban from now until the end of March to ensure those households on prepay meters do not suffer from disconnection this winter.

Deputy Thomas Gould

This is about choices; it is as simple as that. When this country hit a financial crisis, the Government parties bailed out the banks and did not give a damn about the cost. This winter, the Government could choose whether to bail out ordinary working families and pensioners - the people who are trying to get through the winter. The choice was with the Government, and it decided not to support ordinary people. The fundamental difference between this Government and Sinn Féin is that we do what we say. We support ordinary families and ordinary people. Two weeks ago, the Taoiseach came in here and gave a commitment to people. He is the Taoiseach of this country and he gave a commitment in the Dáil that nobody would be disconnected and prepay customers would be looked after.

The Taoiseach gave that commitment. Will the Minister double down and now confirm that commitment is there? Almost 400,000 families and homes are affected and they want clarity. They want to know that the Government is there to support them. Some Government Ministers and backbench Deputies commented that they cannot write a blank cheque. They could write a blank cheque when it suited them, when they had a choice.

There is no blank cheque here. What we have is a costed proposal that will support ordinary people and the people who need it the most. This Government is relying on charities to do the work that it should be doing. The people on pay-as-you-go meters are paying some of the highest tariffs and prepay customers have a charge of €100. Where is the equality and the support for ordinary families? The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is the Minister in charge. He needs to show leadership and stand up now. We are asking him to do that.

Deputy Denise Mitchell

We have tabled this motion because workers and families need action on the cost-of-living crisis now. The Government’s proposal was half-hearted yet again and it did not go far enough. Everyone needs to be protected from disconnections for the cold winter we are facing. Sinn Féin wants this ban on disconnections to happen immediately and to run until March.

People cannot wait. People are already at the pin of their collar trying to afford rents and food, and that is before their energy bills arrive. Families struggled to afford their last energy bills, most of which did not include the most recent shameful hikes that energy providers were allowed to add on. When the next round of energy bills start to arrive with these disgraceful increases, people will be left wondering how the hell they will pay them.

A disconnection ban from December will be too little, too late to support these people. We have a solution, which is to bring in an immediate ban for everybody now. However, yet again, the Government is dragging its heels. Its disconnection ban will do nothing to help the ordinary, hard-working families that I represent because it will be too late. Its disconnection ban will do little to support people on prepay meters, who will be disconnected once their €20 emergency credit runs out. People on prepay meters will be disconnected by default.

Nobody chooses to go without electricity and heat in depth of winter. People need to heat their homes, boil their kettles, cook their food and keep lights on while their children do their homework. The Government’s half-hearted attempt at banning disconnections will not work because it will be far too late. The Minister needs to take action now.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

I thank my colleague Deputy O'Rourke for tabling this very important motion. As the Minister knows, I represent one of those constituencies that has a larger than average percentage of households on low or very modest incomes. I represent large urban areas where people are in poorly paid, precarious and part-time employment. Many of those people do not get to choose the type of energy supply that they have because they live predominantly in the private rental sector. That means they do not get to choose or control whether they pay with prepay meters or with a bill.

These people are more likely to be at risk of poverty, including energy poverty, and least able to absorb the significant costs of which the Minister will be well aware, whether that is the cost of energy, food, fuel or rent. I often wonder whether Government Ministers, many of whom do not have direct experience of the reality with which families such as those of whom I am speaking deal day to day, are fully cognisant of the exclusions that are included when they sit down to make laws and devise schemes. That is why this is such an important motion. The idea that the Government has designed a scheme that, in effect, ignores the needs of almost 400,000 households - some of the households that are most vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty - is remarkable. It is no surprise that Travellers are completely excluded from the measures the Government has taken today. Due to the informal arrangements on many Traveller-specific accommodation sites, Travellers who most need this protection will not be able to avail of the discounts and protections on the bands.

I urge the Minister to put party politics to one side and listen carefully to what many Members have to say but, more important, to think about the people who are not being protected by the measures he has introduced. I urge him to go back to the drawing board, not only by supporting the motion but by revising the measures he has brought in, to ensure, in particular, that the families who need it most get the protection. This week alone, I have dealt with two single parents, both of whom are in precarious part-time employment, desperately trying to do right by their children, and have experienced the threat of disconnection. Please, do not let those families down. Please, support the motion.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank my colleague, an Teachta O'Rourke, not just for the important motion, but for all of the work he is doing. The Taoiseach spoke directly to the 378,000 people who are on prepay meters and told them that they would not be cut off, but then the Minister's party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, appearing on a television programme at the weekend, told people that maybe they can go to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul or a community welfare officer. I think he was genuine in saying that, as if it would be news to people who live on low or fixed incomes. Many of those people have already exhausted a large number of the options available to them, however, and they do not have weeks to wait for a community welfare officer to respond to them. It is cruel and unfair to tell people who are afraid that they will be cold this week - not just in December but this week - that they will not be cut off, but then to be found wanting when the mechanism for ensuring that is requested. I urge the Minister to support the motion and to think about people who are worried now, who will have to explain to their children why they cannot turn on the lights today. There is a genuine need to protect people from this energy crisis, and those who are on prepay meters are among the most vulnerable in the State. I encourage the Minister in making his remarks to speak directly to those people - not to give them false hope but to tell them what it is that he and his Government propose to do to keep the lights on so that their kids can do their homework and so that they can wash their clothes and do all of the things that people should be able to take for granted. I urge him to support the motion. That would be the kindest and most practical thing he could do and it would speak directly to the people who are depending on him to take action.

Deputy Matt Carthy

A text message that I received yesterday asked me to raise an issue in the House in the discussion on pay-as-you-go meters. It states:

Can you bring it up in the Dail, when they are discussing the Pay as you go meters, that the emergency credit with esb is only €5 which comes off when you put another voucher in? It takes the €5 which cuts off after the €5 credit is used and cuts off, so if we don’t have at least €10 we have no electricity because you can only put €10 is the lowest we can put in.

The meter takes the €5 and cuts off after the €5 credit is used up again. Can the Minister imagine €10 that you simply do not have towards the end of the week being the difference when it comes to being able to make a meal for your family, put on a wash or even switch on a light, never mind a television or anything else that may be considered a luxury by this Government? We have to ask ourselves how we have come to the point where the Government and its Ministers, particularly those from the Green Party, aided and abetted, of course, by their colleagues, are willing to say with a straight face that the answer to this couple and others is that they should go to MABS, their community welfare officer or a local charity. This is a working couple. Both the woman who texted me yesterday and her husband work.

The first thing for which the Minister needs to take responsibility is the actions and inactions of his Government in ensuring that we are suffering this electricity crisis in the first place. There are international factors, of course, but next Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the issuance of a joint statement of just nine EU member states that opposed the decoupling of gas and electricity prices. To his shame, the signature of the Minister was on that letter. He then had the audacity to come before the House on several occasions to state that the Government could not take action at domestic level because it had to happen at EU level even though he had been part of the problem in terms of securing EU support for decoupling and price caps and windfall taxes on energy companies.

I commend Deputy O'Rourke on tabling the motion. It provides the Minister with the route to change course. I urge him and his Cabinet colleagues to take the route it offers and provide a break for workers and families who desperately need one.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I thank the Deputies for raising these important matters and allowing us time to discuss them. I appreciate their concern, which is all of our concern. There is no monopoly in the House or within any party when it comes to care for our people. We all share that. The unprecedented rise in prices and what that may do to leave people in a position where they cannot pay their electricity bills and potentially face disconnection is an issue for all of us. Clearly, the current situation we are witnessing in respect of significant increases in energy bills and the cost of living is a matter of serious concern. The Government is keenly aware of the ongoing pressures this is placing on families and businesses and that is why a €2.4 billion package of supports was implemented earlier this year and a package of once-off measures worth €2.5 billion was included in the most recent budget.

I wish to outline further global market developments that have affected these high Irish energy prices, which are the source of the problem. I will outline what the Government is doing in providing significant supports for householders' energy costs, both through energy-efficiency and welfare supports, and then I will set out the functions of the regulator, the CRU, in respect of these matters, including its critical responsibilities for consumer protection.

The increased cost of energy is an issue that is affecting not just Ireland but all EU member states. Increased international gas prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have had a serious knock-on effect on the market. Domestic retail electricity prices and gas prices are now more than 80% higher than they were a year ago. It is a matter of serious concern to the Government and to every Member that rising electricity and gas prices caused by these international conditions are putting increased pressure on consumers, particularly those in a more vulnerable economic position and at risk of energy poverty. That is why I have been meeting with electricity and gas suppliers in recent weeks to convey a clear message in respect of the critical importance of doing everything we can to support financially vulnerable consumers through this time. In response to rising electricity and gas prices in the European Union, the Commission has put in place a number of measures available to member states to mitigate the impact of those high prices on households and business. The Council of energy ministers agreed a Council regulation on an emergency intervention to address these high prices at our meeting on 30 September. The new EU emergency market intervention regulation consists of three main measures.

The first is exceptional electricity demand reduction. A mandatory 5% cut in electricity consumption during peak hours is being required. This will require member states to identify the 10% of hours with the highest expected price and to take appropriate action to reduce demand during those hours. The overall target is a 10% cut in total electricity demand until 31 March 2023 and the real benefit is that it lowers prices for all consumers.

Second, a temporary revenue cap on inframarginal electricity producers has been agreed. Power generation technologies with lower generation costs than natural gas, including renewables, nuclear and lignite, will have their revenues capped. The surplus revenues will be collected by member states and used again to help reduce energy consumers’ bills. There will also be a temporary solidarity contribution on excess profits generated from activities in the fossil fuel sector. These two measures, we believe, can raise up to €2 billion, depending on what the price of energy is, which again we can use to help protect our consumers. That is what we are doing.

Member states also agreed to set a mandatory temporary solidarity contribution on the profits of business activities in this crude oil and petroleum natural gas sector. We will use those proceeds, as I said, to help consumers and intensive work is now under way to implement these measures.

The best long-term approach for Ireland is also to insulate consumers from volatility on international wholesale energy markets by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, expanding the interconnection with the European neighbourhood markets and to deepen the Internal Market in energy.

On the overall cost of living, it is vital to stress that a co-ordinated whole-of-government approach is being followed and is essential in tackling the issue. The forthcoming energy poverty action plan will set out a range of measures to be implemented this winter, as well as key longer-term measures to ensure that those least able to afford increased energy costs are supported and protected. This work is being undertaken by a steering group consisting of relevant Government Departments and agencies. Their work also includes interaction with the NGO sector which has real expertise in this area.

In response to rising energy prices, the Government has already taken action throughout this year. As I said earlier, it introduced measures worth €2.4 billion to assist householders with their energy costs, and a further €2.5 billion in the recent budget. The budget package includes a new electricity cost emergency benefit scheme which this House passed in the past week and is now being signed into law by the President.

The scheme will credit €550.47, exclusive of VAT, to each domestic electricity account in three payments of €183.49 in each of the following billing periods: early November, January to February 2023 and March to April 2023. The estimated cost, which was approved by the Oireachtas committee today in our Supplementary Estimate, is €1.211 billion. The scheme will apply to domestic electricity accounts using their unique meter point reference number, MPRN, to allow the payment to be credited to individual bills automatically, without the need for application or approval, including pay-as-you-go meters. The payments will therefore help both Bill Pay and pay-as-you-go customers with their electricity costs.

The measures introduced in budget 2023 also include a €400 lump sum to fuel allowance recipients, in addition to the payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks, which is a total of €924 each year.

There is a €200 lump sum payment for pensioners and people with disability who receive the living alone allowance. There is also a €500 cost-of-living lump sum payment to all families receiving the working family payment.

There is then the double payment of child benefit to support all families with children, together with a €500 cost-of-living payment for people receiving the carers’ support grant which will be paid in November.

A further €500 lump sum cost-of-living disability support grant is to be paid to all people receiving a long-term disability payment.

There is also a €500 rent tax credit to those tenants who are in their own accommodation.

These measures are in addition to Government supports such as the household benefits package, which consists of a set of allowances which help with the costs of running a household. These include allowances towards covering electricity or gas costs where recipients are paid €35 per month.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances. Exceptional needs payments can be made to help meet an essential once-off cost where an applicant is unable to meet it from his or her own resources.

Throughout this year the Government has taken action in response to these crises. The electricity cost emergency benefit payment, which saw 99% of domestic electricity accounts being credited with the payments I mentioned earlier, came at a cost already of €377. This was part of a €505 million package of measures put in place to address the increasing costs of living, including increases in fuel allowance. There is a further reduction in VAT on electricity and gas bills from 13.5% to 9% and a €320 million measure was introduced to reduce excise duties temporarily on petrol.

As part of its statutory role, the CRU has consumer protection functions which include, for example, developing codes of practice and setting out consumer rights which are set out in the suppliers' handbook. This includes ensuring compliance with the obligation on suppliers set out in the handbook.

As part of Responses 6 and 7 under the National Energy Security Framework, the CRU has strengthened consumer protection measures, including an extension of moratoriums on disconnections which will be extended for all domestic customers from 1 December 2022 until 28 February 2023, and for vulnerable customers from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. There will be extended debt repayment periods. From 1 November, debt repayment periods will be extended to allow a minimum of 24 months for customers to repay debt and customers can pay debt more quickly, if that is what they prefer.

There will be a reduced debt burden on pay-as-you-go top-ups. New measures will mean that the debt repayment levels will reduce to 10% from the previous 25% on pay-as-you-go customer top-up payments. On a €20 top-up, for example, only €2 will go towards debt repayment if it exists, rather than the €5 previously.

Better value for those in financial hardship meters will also be introduced. All customers with a financial hardship meter will be placed on the lowest cost tariff. This includes a tariff which might otherwise be available, for example, for a new customer or on a retention offer. The customer in financial hardship must be placed on whichever tariff is the cheapest tariff available from 1 December.

There will also be the promotion of a vulnerable customer register and additional plans for suppliers. I regret that I do not have time to list the full range of measures but this Government is completely committed to help our most stressed consumers through this energy crisis. We will do that through these and other measures to be introduced in the coming weeks.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. The Minister began his contribution by saying that nobody in this House had a monopoly on caring. Surely, if this Government cared, the one most basic thing it would do is to ensure that a ban on disconnections is introduced in the State as a very basic measure to show that this Government cares as people face into an unprecedented winter in many cases. I find it quite incredible that in the midst of one of the greatest energy crises that many of us will have seen and lived through, that it is up to the Opposition to bring forward a motion to seek action from the Government for basic protections for households. I say basic because we are talking about households having electricity and heating.

The asks in our motion are the difference between being able to turn on the lights or to be in the dark, or being able to turn on the heating or being cold in one’s own home. Earlier this month, which has been referred to earlier, the Taoiseach committed that the Government will not allow people on pay-as-you-go energy meters to be disconnected over the winter. This was a big and welcome commitment but there has been no action from Government to date to make that happen. These are just words.

The planned ban on disconnection from 1 December is too late. We have already seen over 1,000 domestic disconnections in the first half of this year alone and that is before we even come to the winter period and to the worst that is to come in the energy crisis. The message from the Government, despite all of that, is to wait. I have to make this point, and I have made it many times, that the solution is not additional needs payments through the Department of Social Protection. That is an assistance, is one assistance for people, and one may get it or may not. In the past month, I received a reply from the Department to tell me that 95% of additional needs payments applications were being finalised within five to eight weeks. Can you imagine having to wait two months for a payment from the Department of Social Protection if one has a utility bill? Only now is recruitment being looked at.

Community welfare officers are being centralised and people cannot walk in as they could before. I raised the need to put the application form online in July and that is still being examined by the Department. The motion before us is very important and the Minister should accept it and implement the proposals in it.

Deputy Seán Crowe

It should not come as a surprise or shock to anyone to hear that every price increase that comes from energy companies puts more and more pressure on struggling households. Surely we can all agree on that in the House. The Minister believes that the proposals he is putting forward are sufficient. The argument we are putting forward from this side of the House is that they are not and that he is not doing enough. Many workers and their families are left wondering how they are going to afford the bills that keep coming into their homes. Other Deputies will speak about their constituencies. If the Minister wants to come to my area, I can bring him to shopping centres where there are elderly people tonight, sitting in the shopping centres because they cannot afford to put the heating on in their own home. That is happening now, not in December or February, when we will be talking about disconnections. The weather in Ireland does not get warmer at the end of February. We are arguing that this should at least be extended until March. I ask the Minister to look at this and to show some heart to those families.

The other big issue is that we are talking about people being disconnected. We need to look at ways of stopping that. There are simple measures and, for example, the Minister could extend this for another month, which would have a huge impact on many families. Households need assurances and, again, that was the difference between us and the Government in regard to the budget. We are arguing that energy assurances need to be given to people but the Government argues that this route is better. People will get some increases, such as social welfare increases and so on, but is it going to be enough? I would argue it is not enough for ordinary families. It is probably not the whole population, but a sizeable number of people are vulnerable and they are going to be more vulnerable as these prices increase. I again ask the Minister to think on his position when the vote comes.

Deputy Kathleen Funchion

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for tabling the motion. The main focus is on prepay customers. I do not know if the Government, including the Minister, understands the situation those prepay customers are in. First, I believe the prepay situation is a total scam. Most people are made to go into it if they have fallen into arrears and they are told this is a better way of managing their budget and their money, but it is not.

I want to focus on children because we are going to have children not just going hungry, but cold, going to school the following day having had inadequate sleep, with inadequate supports in trying to get homework done and with inadequate food. On occasion, we talk in the Dáil about child poverty and every Member seems to get up and say it is something he or she wants to eradicate, yet we have systems that continually fail children. That goes to the heart of this issue, in that we are continually failing children who are some of the most vulnerable in our society and who do not necessarily have a voice for themselves.

It is important that the issue of prepay customers is dealt with. It is totally unfair to exclude people just because they are on a prepay metering system. I do not understand how anybody thinks that is a good system and people should not be encouraged into it.

I refer to the exceptional needs payment. I am sick of hearing about this from the Government and even in advertisements. I cannot think of one person coming to my office who has applied for this payment and received it in the past few months. If they are on any sort of income, even a low income, they seem to be disqualified from it. That is apart from the fact there are huge waiting lists and it takes approximately five to nine weeks, as Deputy Kerrane said, which is totally inadequate for an emergency payment. The idea of it being an emergency is that people cannot wait for it. However, they are not even qualifying for it. That is not the solution. It particularly annoys me.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has left because there is an issue I want to raise with him. I have raised it with the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, and my colleagues have referred to it on a number of occasions. That is the issue of the community welfare officer and the exceptional needs payment, which simply is not working. We cannot put on a radio or television programme or Dáil debate without hearing Government Ministers, Deputies or Senators telling people that if they are stuck with a bill, they should go to the community welfare officer for an exceptional needs payment. There is a ten-week wait for the community welfare officer in my local area. The staff there are working very hard but there is a ten-week wait for it. Across the State, according to the reply to a parliamentary question I received from the Minister, in the first four months of this year 1,001 people got payments towards their household bills, which included heating bills. It is simply not working and is simply not an option for most people.

I commend Deputy O'Rourke on tabling the motion and on all the work he has done on this issue in recent months, particularly since he was appointed our spokesperson. I commend those who are helping people in huge stress. The Government does not realise the stress and fear that many people are under. My local community centre stays open later and dinners do not finish until 5 p.m. People sit in the room because the heating is on and they do not want to go home because they do not want to heat up their own home as they are afraid of the bill. We have not hit the peak of winter yet so people are very concerned.

In the past 18 months, a litany of price hikes has been announced by energy companies. The hikes included in the latest tranche have put immense pressure on households up and down the country. Families are having to make unenviable choices when it comes to how to spend the money. There is no doubt we are in a cost-of-living crisis but there is a need for the Government to intervene to protect our citizens. I urge the Government to take the steps outlined during the debate to protect households from electricity and gas disconnections this winter. There is a serious worry among people, especially those who live in flat complexes, those renting privately and those on pay-as-you-go meters. There is no clarity as to what is going to happen, whether they are going to be disconnected and the choices they will have to make. What do people do if they are disconnected and cannot cook their food? The Minister has to do something.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

We move to the Labour Party slot. I call Deputy Bacik.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Labour welcomes this motion and I commend Deputy O’Rourke and his colleagues on bringing it forward. The principle is irrefutable: no one should be left unable to heat their home or run their fridge or other appliances because they cannot afford to pay. If there is consensus on that matter as we enter into this bleak winter ahead, then the Government has the task of examining every mechanism available to it to fulfil its responsibility to struggling households and families. The Government has to intervene in the market when the market is failing to ensure that people will have the security this winter that they need. The motion contains a variety of measures that may help. Many are policies that have been proposed by Labour and by many of us in opposition. The principle remains, however, that no one should go cold or hungry this winter because they are unable to pay. Yet, we know that at present the cost-of-living crisis and a real fear about rising energy bills are forcing many people to take impossible decisions between heating and eating, and putting so many individuals and households in fear.

In June this year, ESRI data revealed that energy inflation had increased the number of households in energy poverty to 29%, the highest recorded rate, with a concern that this will increase further over the winter months. Within that study, there was certainly an acknowledgement that some of the measures that have been put in place, such as household electricity credits, can help to keep people out of energy poverty, but these measures are insufficient on their own and more targeted measures are also needed. As we have seen from the hike in standing charges, certain measures are needed to ensure that the credits are not absorbed by further price increases, which is the real concern.

We often talk about the energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis as short-term, immediate problems that have come upon us this year, exacerbated by Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. Certainly, the brutal war that Russia is waging in Ukraine has exacerbated things.

However, the effects of the crises are long lasting and their roots have existed for a long time, particularly the Government's failure to deliver a sufficient supply of housing. We welcome the winter eviction ban that was announced today. Indeed, the Minister of State welcomed it in advance of its announcement by the Government.

Research published this week by the ESRI and Pobal showed a strong relationship between financial difficulties in childhood and adulthood. This is about the long-lasting effects of energy poverty and poverty more generally. According to the study, 39% of adults whose childhood circumstances were bad or very bad were materially deprived in 2019 compared with just 10% of those whose circumstances had been good or very good. Childhood financial circumstances influence later outcomes, suggesting that longer lasting supports are needed to mitigate the negative effects on health of poverty throughout life. School closures during the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequalities among children. It is imperative that we address the long-term impacts created by the cost-of-living crisis and the energy crisis. Stemming the effects of fuel poverty must be a serious imperative for the Government. Keeping families out of darkness is itself a targeted measure.

I will address a number of the specific measures in the motion and elsewhere. I welcome the motion's provision on the introduction of a windfall tax. We in Labour have pushed for this for some time. I welcome the recent intervention by the Minister of State's Green Party colleague, Mr. Ciarán Cuffe, in the European Parliament when he called for the long-overdue introduction of such a measure at EU level. However, I question the Government's strategy of appearing to wait and see what happens in Europe. We could do more domestically. Labour led the way much earlier this year when calling for a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies to be introduced in this country. We could have taken action then and a measure could have been adopted that would have provided real help. Last week, I restated my frustration at the Government's insistence that it could not do anything nationally and was awaiting developments at EU level. In response to a question I tabled during Thursday's Leaders' Questions, it was welcome to hear the Tánaiste's apparent commitment to introducing a windfall tax. He certainly made reference to the Government's intention to introduce such a tax but could not give me any indication of the timeline of its introduction. That prevarication has also been applied to standing charges. It is difficult to comprehend why energy companies' profits and policies regarding standing charges are apparently untouchable by the Government. We would push for more concerted action on both by the Government domestically instead of waiting on EU developments.

I will make a similar point concerning another matter that we have raised with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste a number of times, that being, the need to examine taking the Corrib gas field into State ownership as one way of bringing about reduced energy costs for households. The Taoiseach indicated to me that he did not believe it was in the Government's gift to do so. As I pointed out to him, though, existing statutory powers under the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Acts, 1971 and 1982, countenance this measure being taken. Fianna Fáil previously used these powers in government. There is no limit; the restriction is not a legal one. This is within the Government's power and it is time for radical action. The Corrib gas field is an indigenous supplier of energy, providing for approximately 25% of Ireland's gas needs. There is no reason the cost of Corrib gas increased, given that it is being produced here. Emergency times call for emergency measures. We need to take more radical and creative measures concerning what is an indigenous source of gas. The owner of Corrib, Vermilion Energy, saw revenues increase last year by 267%. It will undoubtedly make exceptional profits this year. The Government should and must consider nationalising Corrib on a temporary basis to help to give households greater certainty on heating bills for the winter ahead.

We have sought the Government's introduction of a cap on energy prices. We acknowledge that designing and costing such a measure is complex and that there are a number of different ways to go about introducing it. In our alternative budget, Labour allocated €2.1 billion to support such a measure because a cap would ensure that all sectors of society benefited from lower energy prices. We have seen other member states taking national action while awaiting an EU-wide initiative, which would itself be welcome. Spain and Portugal produced a model whereby they limited the price of gas and electricity production, reducing consumer bills by between 15% and 20%. This so-called Iberian model was the subject of some debate at an emergency meeting of energy ministers from EU member states last month, but it was also the subject of debate in Berlin last weekend where I had the honour of representing Labour at the Party of European Socialists' annual congress in Berlin. I was glad to engage there with the Prime Minister of Spain, Dr. Pedro Sánchez, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. António Costa, both socialist prime ministers who have led the way on adopting what they call an Iberian model of an energy price cap. This model, which was brought forward by our sister social democratic parties in Spain and Portugal, has shown the sort of proactive measures that left-wing governments can take, and have taken, to protect their citizens from the fallout of Putin's brutal war on Ukraine. At the very least, the Government should pursue some part of this measure at domestic level. For example, domestic electricity credits could feature clawback mechanisms to enable them to be more targeted, such as the withdrawal of income tax credits from those earning more than €100,000. This is something that my colleague, Deputy Nash, has proposed. A levy equivalent to the electricity credit and modelled on the non-principal private residence charge could also be applied to holiday homes and vacant housing to avoid those with multiple properties benefiting disproportionately.

We need to see more data on self-imposed cut-offs for households that use prepay meters. We are all conscious that these households and families are among the most vulnerable in the face of the cost-of-living crisis.

In the brief time I have left, I wish to mention specific issues relating to those in rental accommodation. Last week, Labour attempted to amend the Government's electricity credit Bill to provide better supports for tenants in rented accommodation who paid their landlords directly for their electricity instead of paying their electricity providers. It was acknowledged by the Government that this was an issue, albeit for a relatively small number of renters. We sought to ensure that renters would be assured of having the benefit of the credit passed on by their landlords. Currently, if the landlord pays the bill, it will be up to him or her whether to pass on the benefit, as was the case with the previous electricity credit. I ask that the Government review once again how best to ensure that renters receive the full sum of the credit owed to them.

I wish to discuss district heating. The issue of energy security is significant for those in apartments and complexes that are heated through a shared or district heating system. These individuals are being hit with extortionate price increases because the supplier is the purchaser of the fuel and is charging a commercial tariff. Tenants and homeowners in such complexes have no choice of supplier and I am hearing that many of them are seeing price rises of up to 600%, which is not sustainable. These people and households need targeted supports. In particular, those with district heating systems need a gas price cap now. I reiterate my call on the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications – I am asking the Minister of State to raise it with him – to raise this matter at EU level, where there are ongoing discussions about a Europe-wide cap.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to propose constructive measures to tackle the energy crisis and I look forward to the Minister of State's response.

Deputy Gary Gannon

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for tabling this important and timely motion. The Government's refusal to extend the moratorium on disconnections to households with prepay meters typifies its cavalier approach to this unprecedented crisis. When this issue arose a number of weeks ago, the Government appeared taken aback. The Taoiseach had done an interview at the weekend in which he gave a solemn commitment that no one would be disconnected this winter. There was no equivocation, no caveat. There was no room for confusion. The Taoiseach was clear, and I will quote him. He stated:

In an energy crisis of this kind we cannot have disconnections. We are very clear about that. We don't want people disconnected, particularly vulnerable people and people who will find it difficult in terms of meeting their bills.

Those were his words. That was the commitment, and many vulnerable people took great comfort from it. After all, people have an expectation that the Taoiseach will live up to his public promises, particularly on a matter as important as this.

That commitment was given on Sunday, 2 October, but it did not even last a day. Since then, the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government have been furiously backtracking. They cite a moratorium on disconnections for bill pay customers, which we all welcome, but shrug their shoulders when it comes to pay-as-you-go customers. In fact, the very notion of a moratorium on disconnections for those with prepay meters came as something of a shock when the issue was raised. When Ministers spoke about a moratorium on disconnections, they forgot a significant group. The 260,000 households with pay-as-you-go meters did not even seem to have occurred to the Government. They did not feature in its plans at all.

I believe a commitment was given in good faith that nobody would be disconnected this winter. The Government then realised, however, that it had completely forgotten about pay-as-you-go customers and then decided quickly that it was too awkward to extend this promise to them. We have been told it is too hard and too complicated to sort this matter out. It is not, however. That simply cannot be. The Opposition has made many suggestions regarding how this could be done. The reality is that if this was a priority for the Government, it simply would be done. The truth is that if protecting people from the worst excesses of the energy crisis was a priority for the Government, an extension to the moratorium to these 260,000 households would have been planned and completed long ago.

We all know these customers are among the most vulnerable. These are people who, in the main, do not have the resources to pay large bills every two months. For this, they pay a premium. Prepay energy costs are generally more expensive than other forms of energy bills. We should know this, and if we do not, this is because being poor in this country is extortionately expensive. When people do not have money, their choices are restricted. It is necessary for them to make decisions that seem attractive in the short term, but these choices tend to be more expensive in the long run. These add to the high cost of being poor and this leads to a cycle of poverty that is exceptionally difficult to break. One in six people is now experiencing this. Those with prepaid meters who have been trying to manage their already meagre budgets are extremely vulnerable to energy poverty. Week after week, they scrimp and save to try to keep their readers topped up. The huge increases in the cost of electricity, however, mean they often simply cannot keep up with the costs. When their credits run out, their energy runs out. If they press a bill, they get an extra €5, but if they do not have €10 on top of that, their energy runs out. They are then left in the cold and dark, unable to cook a meal or have a shower. Let us imagine a family in this position. Children will be cold and hungry because the heat cannot go on and a hot meal cannot be cooked. Imagine how hard it is to be a parent in this situation, wishing there was an extra €10 just to keep the lights on for at least another day.

The Government had a chance to make a real difference in the lives of people who have been struggling. It could have given them a commitment, one which has already been extended to every other energy customer, that they would not be cut off this winter. Not only has the Government refused to do this, but it also announced that thoughtlessly-made commitment and then casually broke it the same day. Tinkering around the edges with this issue does not amount to a moratorium. It will not relieve people of the anxiety and stress they are feeling in wondering how they are going to keep the lights on.

Energy is not the only cost that is going up. In the newspapers today, we read that the costs of food will increase by more than €800 this year. We all know about the crippling costs of rent, with rising mortgage interest rates also increasing the burden of mortgage repayments. Energy, like housing, is a human right. We need it to survive. In a wealthy country like ours, there is no reason for anybody, whether on a prepaid meter or not, to face a dark winter. It is immoral and obscene that this is happening. It is, therefore, something that can and simply must be resolved.

Why is it that the Government seems only incapable of targeting its resources at those who need them most? Prior to the budget, 90% of the cost-of-living measures introduced were not targeted. This is a truly incredible statistic when all the expert advice from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, the Central Bank, the ESRI and others has been that supports must be targeted. In the budget, the Government performed slightly better in that 50% of those measures were targeted. Those supports were welcome, but they do not go far enough. Given the scale of the crisis, one-off payments simply will not last. The failure to adequately raise core social welfare rates will mean that many people will be worse off next year than they have been this year. This is the reality.

How can the Minister stand over a situation in which every Deputy, including highly paid Ministers like him, will receive €600 in electricity credits in the months to come? Is he really going to tell me that people on salaries of more than €100,000 need this support when one in six people is living in poverty? This is especially egregious when, under the Minister's watch, it is inevitable that people on prepay meters will be cut off. This can be called "self-disconnection" if the Minister wishes, but that would be a complete distortion. "Self-disconnection" is a cruel and unjust term. It is not an autonomous decision that people will make willingly. It will be forced on them because of high costs and poverty. These people do not have a choice. The Minister and his Government do have a choice. They could make a change this week and announce a genuine moratorium on disconnections which would apply to every household. As matters stand, it is perverse that those excluded from this moratorium are among the most vulnerable and most at risk from energy poverty. It is not right, and every one of us here and every member of the Government knows it.

I could raise many other issues but I am focusing on this issue and imploring the Minister to change his approach. We simply must protect the most vulnerable. This must be the overriding concern of every Deputy in this House. Otherwise, what is our function? We know the State has the power to act in a decisive manner when it really wants to and when it feels the gravity of the situation demands it. There are so many circumstances, for example, the Covid-19 pandemic, that we simply cannot unsee. This is another such circumstance and we are running out of time to act. A moratorium on disconnections that excludes 260,000 households with pay-as-you-go electricity meters is simply not a blanket moratorium on disconnections. These people must not be abandoned this winter. The moratorium must be extended in a meaningful way to these households. The most vulnerable in our society cannot be allowed to bear the brunt of this energy crisis. I implore the Minister to change tack. Some 260,000 people cannot be left at risk of their lights going out this winter.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

We move to the People Before Profit-Solidarity group. Deputy Boyd Barrett will be followed by Deputy Paul Murphy and then Deputy Mick Barry.

Deputy Mick Barry

I will kick off. Deputy Boyd Barrett may be here but we will see. Time will tell.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

The Deputies can mix it up.

Deputy Mick Barry

On 29 September, I asked the Tánaiste whether pay-as-you-go customers were included in the winter moratorium on electricity and gas disconnections. Effectively, he said "No". That question and answer opened this controversy and 19 days later the Government has failed to put the issue to bed. The Taoiseach said at first that people should engage with the Department of Social Protection. Ministers then started saying that people should engage with their energy providers. One energy provider, Electric Ireland, came before an Oireachtas joint committee and informed its members that it had a hardship fund of €3 million. The entity was roundly criticised, and rightly so, for having such a relatively small sum in that fund. How much money do the private energy companies have in their hardship funds?

On Wednesday, 12 October, I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has responsibility for energy. I asked him to provide me with information as to the amounts in the hardship funds of each of the gas and electricity utility companies. The Minister replied that: "I am aware that electricity and gas suppliers have set up hardship funds which provide exceptional financial support to those in need". In his reply, however, he did not answer the question as to how much money is in each of these funds. Is it €3 million or is it €5? We are none the wiser. There was not a word from the Minister on this issue. Why?

The Minister is engaged, he tells us, in a round of consultations with the energy providers. Has he even bothered to ask them this question? Do all these companies have hardship funds? The PrepayPower website, for example, makes no reference whatsoever to one. I am, therefore, asking the Minister whether this company has a hardship fund. When he met its representatives, did he even ask if it had one? We should be told. I want to know and members of the public want to know.

The Government has created quite a contradiction for itself today by now supporting a winter evictions ban but not supporting an across-the-board winter disconnections ban. Why support one and not the other? This issue is not going to go away.

Deputy Paul Murphy

For four weeks we have been raising the issue of disconnections for pay-as-you-go customers in the Dáil. What have we got so far from the Government? We have got a lot of spin, yielding some false headlines and false hope for people on prepay meters. These include headlines stating that the Taoiseach had reassured prepay customers they would not be disconnected this winter. When it comes to action to protect the 340,000 households on electricity prepay meters and the tens of thousands of others on gas prepay meters we have got nothing. The Government says it will not oppose the motion, so the Dáil will say these people should be protected from disconnections. I am sorry to say, though, that this will not protect people from disconnections. The Government has refused to take the simple actions it needs to take to stop the disconnections of prepay customers this winter. Those actions are to extend emergency credit and remove the exit fees to transfer from the prepay power companies to other companies. As matters stand, people will be disconnected this winter and that will be on the Government.

The awful phrase of self-disconnections is being used. This is the idea that people are somehow choosing to disconnect by running out of money. As a result of the cost-of-living and housing crises, they are not able to put any more money in their meters to pay for electricity or heat so the heat is going out and the lights are going off. It is not a choice in any sense. I even had a case a couple of weeks ago of a woman who was not only self-disconnected but the company, PrepayPower, attempted to physically completely disconnect her gas supply. She was informed she had been disconnected because she had not topped up her account in 180 days. Even though there was credit on the account, the company attempted to disconnect Mary Byrne from Tallaght because she had not topped up or activated the account for 180 days.

There will be more horror stories like this if the Government refuses to act. Why does it refuse to act? Is it the case that it just did not think about this? I do not think so. It is because it is utterly out of touch with the 340,000 households in question and utterly in touch with the demands and needs of the corporations. These are predatory companies that prey on people and make huge money out of charging them extra because they are on prepay meters. They effectively hold people hostage by charging massive exit fees. The Government is simply doing what those companies want. If it did what was necessary and got rid of the exit fees and the extended emergency credit, everyone would leave these companies and the Government simply does not want to do that.

Who are these companies? Three millionaires control the Irish prepay energy market. Ulric Kenny and Andrew Collins are on the Irish rich list and own PrepayPower, while Pinergy is owned by multibillionaire Peter Coates, who has wealth of over £8 billion. These are the people who will determine if over 300,000 households will have electricity and gas to light and heat their homes this winter. These companies operate with complicated fee and charging structures that lack transparency and are designed to trap people, for fear of triggering up to several hundred euro in exit fees if they try to leave. This is the reality of the marketplace. The Government accepts that the profits of these three people come before the heat and lighting needs of 500,000 people. The predatory nature and impoverishing effects of capitalism are laid bare in the energy market that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael worked so long and hard to deregulate and privatise in order that the rich get richer and the poor get cold.

These prepay predators should be shut down and households should be moved to bill pay accounts as part of a nationalised and not-for-profit electricity system that puts the needs of the many before the profits of the few. We need price controls, namely, maximum unit prices that should apply to prepay electricity, just as they apply to bill pay accounts. This would stop the extortionate charges. If there are price controls in place and these rich individuals are left in control of our energy market, their ongoing profiteering will have to be subsidised. You cannot control what you do not own. For this reason, we have to nationalise the energy industry. We have to take it out of the hands of those who are running it in the interest of profit and instead run it for public need on a not-for-profit basis. The climate crisis is too important and the cost-of-living crisis too severe for us to leave this in the hands of the market any longer. We have to nationalise the energy system and use it to electrify everything in our economy that can be electrified, while simultaneously moving as rapidly and justly as possible to 100% renewable energy. That will only be done on the basis of public ownership and democratic control that determines that this is a priority, even if nobody can make a profit from it.

I welcome the motion but I also call on Sinn Féin to join us in calling for nationalisation. I call on Sinn Féin to state that if it leads the next Government, it will nationalise the energy system because it is what needs to be done. That will add to the pressure on the Government to do what needs to happen.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick

I acknowledge that the electricity credit announced in the budget will go some way towards helping families struggling to keep up with rocketing energy prices. However, without a price cap the average energy bill has continued to rise, with some families stating it is like paying a second mortgage or double rent. This is highly unsustainable. Shortly after the budget announcement, electricity and gas suppliers announced additional price hikes, putting severe financial pressure on people.

In the first half of 2022, there were 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections due to non-payment of accounts. While the CRU has announced enhanced consumer protection measures for this winter, including an extension to moratoriums on disconnections from 1 December until 28 February, some of my constituents in Louth and east Meath have come to my clinic this week worried sick and asking if this can be implemented sooner as they cannot afford the significant increase in bills, on top of the inflated price of food. While I acknowledge that, for vulnerable customers, the moratorium has been extended from 1 October to 31 March, I ask the Government to implement a one-rule-for-all approach to these extensions. Everybody needs protection from disconnection as a matter of urgency.

With regard to people on pay-as-you-go energy meters, it seems the only offer being made is a reduction from 25% to 10% in the debt repayment suppliers can deduct from a pay-as-you-go top-up payment. There is still a question over how the emergency payments are going to be paid to pay-as-you-go customers, given that the metering system cannot provide the data to identify these people. There are approximately 346,000 households with prepaid electricity meters but because it is not possible to see when a pay-as-you-go customer's meter is running out, getting payments to these people quickly is a challenge. While I acknowledge that there is a €3 million hardship fund administered by MABS and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to help households to top up their energy meters, this protective measure is insufficient. Apart from the word of the Taoiseach that nobody will be disconnected, what guarantee do these customers have that they will not be disconnected this winter?

Another issue the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, raised last week is self-disconnections. The PrepayPower website still states: "If you do not keep your PPP PAYG Meter topped up with credit, it will self-disconnect and your electricity supply will cut off." What will be done about these self-disconnections? On vulnerable customers, the PrepayPower website states:

The CRU has put in place a rule whereby [registered] Vulnerable Customers cannot be disconnected for non-payment of [arrears] during winter months. [This applies to both gas and electricity.] It is important that all of our customers ... categorised as Vulnerable ... understand that this rule cannot apply to them whilst on our [pay-as-you-go] supply

While the promotion of a vulnerable customer register is welcome, what burden is being placed on suppliers to actively promote the vulnerable customer register and the protections it offers from 1 November? Will the CRU oversee this as well as the electricity credit scheme and, most important, does this apply to pay-as-you-go customers? The Taoiseach affirmed that no vulnerable person would be disconnected this winter but there is evidently a mismatch between his definition of vulnerable and that of the CRU, which characterises vulnerable customers as having certain specific medical conditions. I ask for clarity on that today. Is it a medical vulnerability, vulnerability to poverty or both?

It must be remembered that behind every meter, whether pay-as-you-go or bill pay, are people.

People are in a difficult place and we are crucifying people who are on pay-as-you-go plans. We need to make sure that we look after them and that they have a proper Christmas. I acknowledge that the Government and the CRU are planning on implementing the financial hardship meter. This is a measure for those in financial hardship where households have opted for a pay-as-you-go meter to help to cut costs. At present, suppliers are not required to place customers with a financial hardship meter on any discounted tariff. From 1 December, all customers with a financial hardship meter are to be placed on the cheapest tariff available from their supplier. Again, this measure is supportive but it needs to be implemented sooner than 1 December.

As part of steps to protect households this winter, the CRU has also extended debt repayment periods up to 24 months. However, given that the cost of living has only ramped up in the past 12 months, and with the war still ongoing, our low and middle-income earners are being hit the hardest. They cannot afford to buy food, never mind pay back debt. This debt and the worry of paying it back were preventable. The Government failed to decouple the link between gas prices and electricity prices and again refused to implement a price cap on electricity which would have prevented the rise in electricity bills. This is just not good enough.

Let us not forget that the electricity businesses are profiting from these vulnerable customers. Electricity credits are ultimately a subsidy to energy companies. They set the price and the Government subsidises households and businesses to pay that price. There is no mention of a windfall tax for the energy companies. There is no mention of price controls. Instead, the energy companies can pocket these subsidies in the form of increased prices and profiteering, with no long-term guarantee.

I have spoken to many business people in Dundalk over recent months and I have been flabbergasted at the cost increases they are facing. Not all businesses will be able to sustain these increases in costs and they will eventually have to be passed onto the end users.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

This energy crisis is devastating families and communities throughout the country at present. We are months into the crisis and what we have seen from the Government so far is inertia and glacial steps. The Government's response has been incredibly slow. At the beginning of this month we saw energy prices increase again. Electric Ireland increased prices for the third time this year and the fourth time in 12 months. It increased bills by 26.7% and residential gas prices by 37.5%. These are incredibly difficult increases. Families are suffering as a direct result of the actions the Minister is taking. What is happening is unprecedented. Right now the country is in a situation where 40% of the population is in fuel poverty. This is incredible. A total of 70% of the population is likely to be in fuel poverty in the near future. It is unprecedented that in a First World country in a western democracy, 70% of the population would be facing fuel poverty. This is as a result of the direct actions the Government has taken. It is responsible in large part for the damage being done to people in this country.

Every day I listen to horrific heartbreaking stories of families in this crisis. Families have to choose between heating or eating. Families are not able to pay for the fuel that goes into their cars so they can get to work. People are not able to cover the cost of keeping open the businesses in which they have invested their blood, sweat and tears. We look at the devastating crisis these families and businesses are in and we contrast it with the level of the response of the Government. It is incredible.

I am a very strong believer that there is incompetency at the heart of this Administration. I would not just level it at the Government. I also include senior elements of the public service. We have some of the slowest delivery of decisions and administration in the western world. This country is like an oil tanker as it is so slow to change direction. The Minister was smiling. We delivered seven offshore wind turbines in 20 years. This is an incredibly low figure for any country that greenwashes itself on a regular basis with photographs, glossy brochures and launches of green projects. We were the last country in Europe to introduce a feed-in tariff for the microgeneration of electricity. In the North of Ireland roofs were festooned with solar panels ten years ago. Some families still have not achieved a feed-in tariff. If shutting stations such as Lanesborough and Shannonbridge in the teeth of this type of crisis does not shout incompetency, what does? We are the only country in Europe without a gas reserve. This is as a direct result of a decision made by the Government.

Originally I felt that perhaps these were contributing factors to the Government's inability to deal with the crisis we are in, but I have to say I am coming to the view that it is not by accident that prices are being kept high. It is by design of the Government in large part that prices are being left high. This is because high electricity prices achieve two policy objectives for the Government. First, given that we have a grid working at the edge of blackouts, high prices prevent demand and this protects the grid from the excessive demand that could lead to blackouts. Second, high prices reduce the level of energy consumed and this lowers emissions, which is another policy objective. I accept that the Government has provided electricity credits but it has done sweet damn all on reducing the price of fuel and electricity. The Government can do this. It is in its gift but it is refusing to do so. This is a damning aspect of the Government.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. I am weary and tired of the Government not opposing these motions. It does oppose them in name and actions but it just will not oppose them in the Dáil. This is because it does not have the moral courage to get the backbenchers into the Chamber. I hate using the word that starts with an "s" but they are screwing the people. That is what is happening. The backbenchers will not turn up and vote for it because they are in trepidation of the people they will meet out there. It is sickening. The Government has lost the will to live. It may not be the case in the Minister's Green Party, but it is for his colleagues in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and the so-called independent backbenchers supporting the Government. The people are in anguish. The Government is throwing them sops of money that it has taken from them in penal charges over the past two years through its direct actions, taxation and excise such as the carbon tax.

The Government has no respect for the ordinary people. All the while it has allowed multinationals and the big companies to gouge and gouge because it is in their póca. It is in their pocket as far as I am concerned. That is the kernel of the problem. It will not tackle the conglomerates. It will not tackle CRH Roadstone. It puts everything back on the ordinary people. It is shameful. It is more than shameful that the Government will not call a vote. I intend to call a vote tomorrow evening to expose the charade the Government is at. Night after night it accepts motions but will not do anything about them. This is a horrible feature that has crept into the Dáil over the past year and a half. It is disgusting.

This point is not a criticism of the lads who are here. This evening we spoke about tourism. In fairness the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, complimented us on promoting our own areas and speaking about the good projects and volunteer projects. We will take no lecture from an Teachta Louise O'Reilly about speaking up for our own places and being positive about community groups such as Knockmealdown Active and other groups that I mentioned. How dare she? Everybody is entitled with the permission of the Chair to speak our minds. We will take no lectures from any Deputy, especially Deputy Louise O'Reilly.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I thank most sincerely the Sinn Féin Party for bringing forward this very important issue for debate on the floor of Dáil Éireann. It is very important because it is arising at a time when the Minister and the Government are telling people that they cannot go to a filling station and buy a bag of turf and that they do not want them going to the bogs because they are afraid they will do harm to the environment. They would rather people die of the cold at home. It is very important to lay down a marker that people will have energy security and that their lights or heat will not be turned off. Having a bit of heat and a bit of comfort along with a bit of food and shelter are the basic ingredients of life. These are the basic necessities that people need. I cannot understand for one moment why the Government would not do more to let people have that peace of mind.

Something I must be critical of, and I am sorry for saying it, is that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, would remind you of nothing but the three-card-trick man at Puck Fair in the summer. Now you see him and now you do not.

If you do not look quickly, he will be gone. He leaves this place quicker than a crowd of lads would leave a pub if they heard the gardaí coming in the front door after hours. He goes up those steps and disappears. I do not know what he is like, but he is some type of a magician for coming into the Chamber, saying a couple of words quickly and then running. He is, after all, the Minister with ultimate responsibility for these affairs. He is the man who tells us we cannot burn a sod of turf, yet he would not do us the courtesy of staying for the motion before us. I will ask publicly on the floor of the Dáil, where is he right now that is more important than listening to and participating in this debate?

Deputy Michael Collins

The most frightening thing for families is not being able to pay a bill, especially an electricity bill. Not paying such a bill could lead to the power being switched off in anyone's home. In these times of bills being recklessly foisted upon households due to the Government not taking control of the problem from the word go, €200 here and €200 there is not going to solve this crisis. It is only kicking the can down the road.

The hotel and supermarket sectors are also at a crisis point and do not know where to turn or how to pay the next bill. Someone from the Irish National Teachers Organisation told me recently about a parish priest paying the electricity bill for his local school to keep the lights on. We find ourselves in astonishing situations. We are in a crisis and €200 this year will not scratch the surface for the ordinary mother and father, the same people who are being bled dry at the filling station day in, day out, due to greedy Government taxes on diesel and petrol. The price of diesel is €2.05 per litre in filling stations because the Government gave no help to hard-pressed motorists in the last budget. Of course, why would it? If it gave some relief, it would have helped those mainly in rural Ireland as they do the most travel. Still, there were Fianna Fáil backbenchers shouting in the Dáil last week for stronger climate action regulations so as to further crucify the people who are already in crisis.

Of course, electricity disconnections will happen in the months ahead as no real commitment has been made to tackle this issue. Many of those receiving fuel allowance are in a desperate situation. A lot of people fall between the cracks and cannot get fuel allowance. We are facing blackouts in this country. As I have said before, if there is an electricity blackout in this country, the Government should be run out of office - it will be anyway - by the people.

I agree with what Deputy Mattie McGrath said about the comments made by Deputy O'Reilly when she spoke about us earlier. We are entitled to make our own speeches about tourism in rural Ireland. I will take no lecture from Deputy O'Reilly or anyone in Sinn Féin. I will stand for my people and continue to stand for them, and she will not lecture us. She would want to look at her own speeches a lot of the time.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

These are facts here now. Airtricity paid €115 million to its parent company in the UK last year, while its bills went up by €600 over the year. Electric Ireland, which has 1.2 million electricity customers, is 95% owned by the State. Its electricity bills went up by €466 over the year, with five price increases in succession. Guess what? The Government does not impose one bit of discomfort on Electric Ireland when the company does this even though it is 95% owned by the State. I am not the Minister for Finance but the ESB Group made €1.5 billion in the past year and the Government only took €126 million off it. Bord Gáis bills have increased by €579 and Energia bills have increased by €511. What does the Government do? It sits on its hands. If people pay on time, they are given a percentage off their bill. If they go paperless, they are given a percentage off their bill. If they sign up to a direct debit, they receive money off their bill. This equals about €40 on every bill and it means it is built into the cost they are screwing us with. That is €30 or €40 on every bill. How much more can the Government take off the people of this country? We have seen the fuel crisis go through the roof and the Government is taking 50% of that as well. At the bottom the bill it states that 63.7% of the electricity is coming from renewable sources, but our bills are going up anyway.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this matter to the floor of the Dáil because it is very important. The Government has to accept that since it closed down Lanesborough and Shannonbridge power stations in the middle of the country, electricity has increased every whole day. As the cost of generating electricity had gone up so much, we were all resigned to the fact that we would have to pay more, but what do we find? Electricity companies are doubling and tripling their profits. There is no account of the energy regulator, or the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who is in charge of the energy regulator. There is no account of anyone. The people are being blackguarded and the Government does not mind because it is taking more tax and VAT from the exorbitant bills people receive. Perhaps Europe will let us introduce a windfall tax or whatever, but the Government is only codding or trying to cod the people. The electricity companies are doubling and tripling their profits and the Government will do nothing about it and there is no account of the energy regulator.

Today, home heating oil costs €1.50 per litre. How are poor people going to heat their houses while the Minister is trying to stop people from cutting turf? There is no doubt about it that he would blackguard the people if he could get away with it, but many people cut their turf and I am glad tonight - it is a bad night - that they are looking into their fires at home in Kerry.

Diesel is over €2.05 per litre and the Government will do nothing about it. The price of a barrel of oil is less today than it was four years ago, but where are the profits going? They are going into the Government's coffers. The people are being blackguarded and there is no account of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, demanding anything of the energy regulator.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

Deputy, you have had your time. I call Deputy Pringle.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

He will not even give us the right carbon-----

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

Deputy, I will have to disconnect.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

Of course, the Chair is supporting the Minister to the hilt. You are one of them.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

Deputy Healy-Rae will not impugn the Chair by implying that there is a lack of balance.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

Your balance is behind the Greens because the Government took them on board.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Paul McAuliffe)

Deputy Healy-Rae, you might want to apologise later for implying the Chair is unfair. You may reflect on that.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

I thank the Chair for the opportunity to speak on this important and relevant motion. I support this motion for an immediate moratorium on disconnections of households. It is heartbreaking to hear constituent after constituent tell me that they are unable to afford their electricity and gas bills. It is even more heartbreaking when I hear about energy companies making record profits in a year when there were 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections due to non-payments, which is absolutely despicable. What kind of country are we living in that would allow this to happen and what kind of Government allows this to happen on its watch?

A recent Behaviour & Attitudes survey showed that more than 1 million people in Ireland say they are struggling to make ends meet. Four out of five people say they have less money in their pockets compared to this time last year. Something needs to be done. The budget did not go far enough in providing what people need to get by.

Young people are leaving Donegal and Ireland in their droves in order to afford to live. We can hardly blame them when we hear stories of students living in tents and cars and sleeping on couches due to the lack of affordable accommodation.

Scope, the disability and equality charity, said today that lives are at risk because disabled people fear they will be unable to afford to heat their homes this winter. A recent poll of 1,000 disabled adults found that 63% were worried about being able to pay their heating bills. Some 60% of respondents said they feel the Government is ignoring them, which says it all. People have no faith in the Government and no hope that things will get better. The Government has completely crushed people's spirits. It has failed every section of society in not addressing this cost-of-living crisis, which will sadly cost lives unless we do something about it.

I agree with the motion, which proposes to introduce a windfall tax on excess profits of energy companies, but we must ensure this tax is significant. There is no point in introducing a tokenistic windfall tax, just as this Government has done for fear of deterring energy companies' investments. We cannot be afraid to do what is right for fear of scaring off investors.

As I have said before, now is the time to renationalise the energy industry. The Government should use the windfall tax as a way to do this, using money gained from the tax to invest in nationalisation. We need to take the industry back into public ownership to remove the profit motive and have the ability to implement price freezes for citizens as well. We should not have to rely on private companies to treat our citizens fairly.

The EU solidarity contribution on extraordinary profits made by fossil fuel energy producers is welcome.

However, it does not go far enough. I do not agree with the flexibility member states are given on what rate of levy to apply. Companies making record profits should be taxed at a high rate and flexibility should not be given on this. I also do not agree with the fact that the levy only applies to profits that are more than 20% higher than in previous tax years.

It is my firm belief that nobody should be making additional profits during an energy crisis that is severely affecting our citizens. The windfall tax should apply to all profits made above the 2019 profit figure at the very least. No energy company should be profiting at the expense of others, especially not at the expense of the most vulnerable in Irish society. Energy companies are making eye-watering profits and are the cause of the energy crisis. For the Government to try to put the blame solely on the war in Ukraine is completely disingenuous. It has an impact, but energy costs were rising significantly before the war.

Again, I support the motion and the measures it calls for, such as a moratorium on disconnections, the windfall tax and the reduction in the cap on the price of electricity at summer 2021 rates. However, as helpful as these measures will be, they do not go far enough to address the systemic change needed in our energy industry. We need to renationalise our energy, give control back to the people and invest any money gained into a greener future. One thing is certain: fossil fuels will not be part of this plan in the future. Is this not an opportunity to move away from these expensive and damaging fuels which big companies profit from, and do things for and on behalf of the people?

Deputy Marian Harkin

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which contains a number of very sensible and doable proposals. I want to address some of the remarks from the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has left us. He quite rightly informed us of the global and European situation which is worsening day to day as Russia not only sends drones to murder people in their homes, but also deliberately and systematically attacks energy installations in Ukraine. He also told us of the many supports put in place in the budget. They are real and substantial for many families. His list sounded impressive, but it is important to say that many families will not qualify for the majority of targeted supports. The extra payment for those on fuel allowance, for example, is very welcome, but the vast majority of family carers will not be able to avail of that because carer's allowance is not a qualifying payment for fuel allowance, despite the fact that people caring for older persons have the heat on all the time.

For some families, the safety net will hold for now, but there is a cohort of families on low to middle incomes who are in real trouble and will not be able to pay their bills. They include, for example, the civil servants who have retired on class D pensions. Many tens of thousands of people, mainly women, have pensions marginally above the State pension, but will not be able to avail of any of these targeted measures. They will only be able to avail of the universal measures, which will not be enough. The electricity bills landing on people's mats right now are frightening, but for some they are truly terrifying. I refer to those who have always paid their bills and want to continue to pay them, but know they will not be able to pay them in full. Those people cannot be disconnected. Many of the people on pay-as-you-go often have no choice as this is the system in the rental properties they live in. The Taoiseach told us clearly that nobody would be disconnected this winter and spring. I want to know whether the Taoiseach and Government can deliver on that promise, which I believe was made in good faith.

I do not often give specific examples to make a general argument, but something I heard in recent times stopped me in my tracks. An older man with a lower income had a budget in place, with help from MABS, to try to help him to manage the huge increases in costs over the coming months. He was advised to use the €400 extra in the fuel allowance to buy a few hundred litres of oil. Despite the best efforts of his adviser, he resisted and said he would instead spend it to put a headstone on the grave of one of his children. I know this is not everybody's story, but it illustrates that those on low incomes have no flexibility and some of them will find themselves without light and heat this winter. People have to know that their heat and light will not be turned off. I ask the Minister of State to confirm the words of the Taoiseach, namely that there will be a moratorium on disconnections.

The Government cannot use the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and MABS as a mudguard. They are already overstretched and trying to assist people in financial distress. Community welfare officers are overrun. Speaking of exceptional needs payments, apart from the fact that such payments are complicated and difficult to get, the Government seems to forget completely that community welfare officers are totally overstretched. They are dealing with many more new requests. More people need help, but there are no new officers in place. In fact, some are leaving the service, and those on sick and other leave are not being replaced. There is pressure in the system, yet Ministers are telling some of our most vulnerable people to add to that pressure. That is not fair because it is not working.

Further action is needed. We want a windfall and solidarity tax to be put in place immediately. We do not have to wait for the EU. Legislation must be introduced to give the CRU powers to regulate standing charges on energy bills. What is happening is a rip-off. A moratorium on gas and electricity disconnections must be introduced immediately.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Ossian Smyth)

I thank Deputies for their engagement on this crucially important issue. The passion behind the contributions is a reminder of how important it is that we have an affordable supply of energy for the economic as well as social well-being of our people. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, made it clear that the scale of the measures introduced by the Government in 2023 totalled €2.5 billion, which includes the €1.2 billion electricity cost benefit scheme, which we legislated for last week, but action does not stop there. There is a great deal of additional work under way in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and across various State bodies. A significant element of this work is driven by the active response of the European Commission to impacts on the energy sector arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On 18 May, the Commission published the REPowerEU plan. It focuses on diversification of energy imports, energy savings and accelerating clean energy deployment. As we have outlined, this has created the framework within which we are now working to introduce not only a windfall tax, but also a solidarity payment to ensure an equitable contribution by all players to the unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in. One can distinguish between the windfall tax and the solidarity payment on the basis that one is a tax on those who have fossil fuel deposits and make money from them and the other is a tax on those who are benefiting unfairly from the high price of gas, although they are generating electricity from something which does not have the same costs attached, such as wind power.

We also need to galvanise the efforts of all citizens to reduce the amount of energy we use. A great deal of work is already happening on this, with the Reduce Your Use campaign. This includes mandatory requirements on the public sector to lead by example and reduce its energy use. Of course, not everybody can reduce their energy use and we must support those people who are not using enough energy because they are afraid they will not be able to pay for it. A number of Deputies brought forward stories of that happening among their constituents.

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is going to bring forward an energy poverty action plan in the coming weeks, which will build on the important work done under the previous strategy to combat energy poverty. Critically, it will capture the whole-of-government effort needed to support people in or at risk of energy poverty.

The Minister and I are very much aware of the situation regarding Traveller families and their access to the benefits of this scheme. I want to reiterate that the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is working on this issue and arrangements will be put in place as soon as possible as the Government has approved funding for this action.

The Government is also fully aware of the pressures on businesses, and that is why the temporary business energy support scheme is being introduced to protect businesses and families. The legislation to establish this scheme will be brought forward as part of the finance Bill. It is estimated that the scheme will cost €1.2 billion. It will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners and operate on a self-assessment basis.

Businesses that are eligible will receive 40% of the increase that they have seen in their electricity and gas costs up to a monthly cap of €10,000.

Behind all of that, however, there is always more work to be done on improving communications on the benefits to which people are entitled and the supports that are available to them. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is working closely across Government and with NGOs to make this an integral part of the Reduce Your Use campaign.

While all this urgent work on measures that will have a real impact in the shorter term is essential, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture. I cannot overstress that the best way to protect ourselves from the impact of international fossil fuel prices is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. As we transition away from fossil fuels and progressively decarbonise, we have to ensure that the way we decarbonise captures this unique opportunity to improve life for all of use in the long term.

Making our homes energy efficient and no longer reliant on fossil fuels will not just mean that they are warmer, healthier and cheaper to run, it also means that we are taking concrete action on social deprivation that is sustainable and enduring. A total of €244 million has been allocated for Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, residential and community retrofit schemes and the solar photovoltaic, PV, scheme in 2022. Some €118 million of this amount has been allocated to energy-poverty schemes.

More than 4,500 homes will benefit from the free upgrades targeted at those in energy poverty this year and, on top of that, €85 million funding has been provided by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the local authority energy efficiency retrofit programme for this year and another €87 million for next year. This means that of the total Government retrofit budget allocation of €329 million, approximately 60%, or €203 million, has been allocated to dedicated energy-poverty schemes and local authority retrofits this year.

Budget 2023 has provided €337 million for SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes, including the solar PV scheme for medically vulnerable electricity customers. Some €291 million of this allocation comes from carbon tax revenue. This is the highest-ever allocation for these schemes. This will facilitate the delivery of energy upgrades to 37,000 homes, including 6,000 free upgrades to those in energy poverty. A further €87 million has been allocated for the local authority retrofit programme for next year. The overall allocation of €8 billion for residential retrofit to 2030 demonstrates the Government's commitment to the vision.

I wish to say something about vulnerable customers and those on pay-as-you-go meters. No vulnerable customer should stay on a pay-as-you-go meter. People can register as vulnerable with their supplier and there is no charge to move from a pay-as-you-go meter to bill pay for electricity. The CRU has also removed the €200 charge that was in place for moving from a gas pay-as-you-go meter to bill pay and that is also free.

The Minister discussed the full range of supports that suppliers have in place for their customers including hardship funds. These funds are put in place by suppliers at their own initiative in addition to their regulatory obligations. In speaking to them, I understand that there was a low take-up of hardship funds. Payments are made to customers on a discretionary basis by the networks. I understand that MABS is involved in administration of a number of these funds. I thank the Deputies for their contributions.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, for bringing this motion before the House. We have known for a long time of the struggles that some households are facing when it comes to energy costs. That situation is now worse than ever given the cost-of-living crisis and the particular crisis that families and households face as electricity and gas prices continue to rise.

Since the pandemic, families have had to worry about illness, temporary loss of jobs, financial worries and putting food on the table. They now face a new pandemic in energy with costs spiralling out of control, so much so that they choose between sitting in darkness, having a meal on the table or heating the house. Government should also take into account the stress our school children will go through if their homes are disconnected as the winter months come in and they may have two to three hours of homework.

We in Sinn Féin are calling for a ban on disconnections to start immediately and run to the end of March for all customers and not just those who are medically vulnerable. Households need support during this difficult time, not the threat of being left in the cold, with darkness hanging over them. Such a ban on disconnections gives a household time to come to an arrangement with their supplier. Our motion would also give certainty to the many people who use prepay electricity meters. Once their €20 emergency credit runs out, prepay customers are disconnected. The Government still has no plan to protect these households.

Our motion would ensure that prepay meter customers got the same protection from electricity and gas disconnections. This is about fairness and giving certainty to people. The Government needs to ensure that all households are protected from disconnections. I would have called on all Deputies to support this motion but the Government took the easy way out by not opposing the motion, which does not necessarily mean it is supporting it. We in Sinn Féin will stand up for ordinary workers and families to ensure no family will be in the dark or the cold this winter.

Deputy Pauline Tully

I commend my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, on introducing this motion. We have had 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections in the first half of this year. Something needs to be done immediately.

The Government's rejection of the Sinn Féin proposal to reduce and cap electricity prices at pre-crisis levels was a big mistake. It leaves hard-pressed households exposed to additional hikes and to the prospect of disconnection. As families face a long winter, they worry that they will not be able to keep the lights on.

The Government also delayed by 12 months the Second Reading of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021, which was introduced by Sinn Féin. The Bill sought to extend the moratorium on disconnections to run over the entire fuel allowance season. The Government should rethink these proposals and not simply reject them because Sinn Féin has proposed them. What is important is that people are protected now.

Households throughout my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan and all other constituencies are facing enormous energy bills this winter. They have been hit by price hike after price hike over the past 18 months and are anxious about whether they can keep on top of these escalating bills. It is vital that people are protected now, that they are given certainty that their bills will be affordable and that they will have an assurance that they will not face disconnection from electricity and gas this winter.

Introducing measures in December will be too late for many. This needs to happen now and continue until the end of March. The protection must also be extended to the 378,000 customers across the State who use pay-as-you-go meters. Currently, when their emergency credit runs out, prepay customers are disconnected by default but the Government still has no real plan to protect these households. That is not good enough. We need to ensure that prepay meter customers get the same protection from electricity and gas connections or, at the very least, friendly credit on prepay meters needs to be extended.

This is an unparalleled crisis. The Government needs to ensure that all households are protected from disconnection. I commend Deputy O'Rourke on the work he has done to bring this motion to the floor of the House and I urge everyone to support it.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for bringing this motion before the House. Unless this Government is completely disconnected, it knows the fear and anxiety that people have in their homes this winter about just trying to keep the lights and electricity on.

The low take-up of the hardship funds needs to be investigated because there is a complete mismatch between the anxiety and the stress that people are undergoing and take-up of those funds. Is it that people are not aware of them? Many people who find themselves in the situation of being unable to pay their bills are those who have never, ever, found themselves in such a situation before. I ask that something be done to communicate to people that there is a hardship fund under MABS and that people need to use it. We need to see if there are blockages along the way.

The Minister of State also said that no customer should stay on a pay-as-you-go meter. Is the message he is sending out one that people can easily transfer from a pay-as-you-go meter to bill pay? People will welcome that, but we need to make sure that there are no blockages. As was said earlier, enormous profits are being made by energy companies. That money is coming directly out of the people who are suffering most in this community.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

The Minister of State and the Minister filled their time and talked about everything but the issue at hand. This was particularly so with the clear call for the extension of the disconnection ban to all customers from now until the end of March. There was no commitment from Government to do that. There was no commitment to provide a solution for pay-as-you-go customers. The solution there would be to ensure they have the exact same protections as billpay customers have. The Government did not provide a solution for them. I think I am right in saying, and it would be important to clarify this, that the facility to transfer onto a billpay contract is limited only to vulnerable customers. As I said before, that is a subset of a subset of a subset of a subset. That provision should be made available to all customers.

Not opposing this motion while not supporting it either amounts to a shameful abandonment of those people, who are in deep need of support from this Government. It is not a big ask to extend the fundamental principle that in the middle of a crisis, we in this Republic will not disconnect people from heat and light this winter. It should not be a challenge. However, this is a reflection of a failure of Government to support people in need.

The argument was made that pay-as-you-go is good for some people as it helps them manage their bills. It is offensive. It completely misses the point. We know people are, for want of a better term, self-disconnecting. We know people are facing real financial hardship but they are not being supported. This Government is pretending they do not exist. That is in effect what it is doing and it is the sum total of the Minister and Minister of State's contributions to this debate. At the root of all this is an argument of moral hazard, namely, that there is a cohort of people we cannot extend the same protection to because they could not manage their affairs. That is insulting, offensive and is implied by the fact the Government will not extend the same protections to that cohort of people as it has to everybody else. I wanted to put that on record. People can see through it.

There is an opportunity to address it, which we have spelled out. The Government should extend the friendly credit. It should show those people it will support them over this winter. The Government does not even count the people who are so-called self-disconnecting. They are being completely disregarded and explained away on the basis it is good for them to manage their own accounts. They need to be supported. They deserve the exact same protections as the rest of us.

Question put and agreed to.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 18 Oct 2022

Domestic Electricity and Gas Disconnections: Motion [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 Oct 2022