Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 December 2022
194. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if retrospective energy credit will be paid to those Traveller families who were eligible for the first round of payments but missed out because they pay their bills directly to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62273/22]
View answer195. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the energy credit will be paid to the 1,054 Travellers living on official local authority halting sites, who are in basic service bays/transient halting site bays, sharing permanent halting site bays, and sharing basic service bays/transient halting site bays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62274/22]
View answer196. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the energy credit will be paid to the 330 families in unauthorised provision who are actively seeking accommodation from their local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62275/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 194, 195 and 196 together.
Government is acutely aware of the impact that the recent increases in global energy prices is having on households and throughout 2022 introduced a €2.4 billion package of supports and as part of Budget 2023 has introduced a package of once off measures worth €2.5 billion. This includes a new Electricity Cost Emergency Benefit Scheme through which €550.47 (exclusive of VAT) will be credited to each domestic electricity account in three payments of €183.49 (exclusive of VAT). The first payment has been made with the second due in the January/February billing cycle and the final payment in March/April. The estimated cost of this scheme for over 2 million domestic electricity accounts is €1.211 billion. This is in addition to the first Electricity Costs Benefit Scheme which cost €377 million.
The payment will be applied to domestic electricity accounts which are subject to distribution use of system charges at the rate for urban domestic customers (DG1) or the rate for rural domestic customers (DG2). This includesaccounts with pre-pay meters. The scheme uses the single identifier of the Meter Point Registration Number (MPRN)to ensure it can be administered automatically and without an application. The advantage of the scheme is that it uses the Meter Point Registration Number (MPRN) to identify all domestic electricity accounts and ensure payments are made directly and automatically to those accounts without using means testing, application or approval. Despite this advantage, the Scheme does have limitations. As a result there are cohorts that did not receive the payment. A particular cohort, identified since the first Scheme, includes a number of traveller households who use Local Authority accommodations and who were unable to access the credit. In this situation, the MPRN is registered to the Local Authority and supplies multiple households. This group is identifiable through their use of Local Authority accommodation. In approving the second Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme, Government also approved funding for this group, including provision for payment to be made to these families in respect of the first scheme. My Department has worked with the County and City Management Association (CCMA) on this matter and provided the funds to individual Local Authorities to enable them to make the necessary payments to families in their areas.
