Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 June 2023
46. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will outline the measures being taken to reduce the cost of electricity for households; if he will outline the other measures his Department is considering to reduce the cost of domestic energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28662/23]
View answerThe retail electricity and gas markets are commercial and price setting is a matter for individual suppliers. High energy costs remain a central priority for Government and a range of measures have been implemented to help households and businesses meet these costs.
Most recently, this included a €470 million package announced in February which introduced measures assisting social protection recipients from April to July, and extended the reduced VAT rate on electricity and gas bills until October 2023. This followed the €2.5 billion of once-off supports announced in Budget 2023, including an Electricity Cost Emergency Benefit Scheme which credited €600 (inclusive of VAT) to each domestic electricity account in three payments of €200. The total cost of that scheme was €1.2 billion, which combined with the earlier credit scheme means Government have spent over €1.5 billion to directly assist 2.1 million households with their electricity bills since the start of 2022.
In addition, my Department commissioned a nationally representative fortnightly research tracker, which indicates that Irish families are making every effort to reduce their energy use and that there has been a reduction in the difficulty being experienced in meeting energy costs. Nevertheless, there are still groups who are facing real financial pressure on account of energy costs; public information on available supports and advice is being tailored to these segments.
Government is closely monitoring the impact of these supports through the implementation of the Energy Poverty Action Plan, and additional future measures are under consideration in the context of Budget 2024.
