Local Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley is urging TDs to support struggling workers and families overwhelmed by the cost of energy.
Deputy Stanley says that TDs will have the opportunity in the Dáil to vote for a Sinn Féin motion, brought forward by the party’s spokesperson on Climate and Energy, that calls on the government to intervene to reduce rip-off energy bills.
He said: “Households are struggling to keep their heads above water in this cost-of-living crisis as government continues to prioritise the profits of energy companies over workers and families at every turn.
“All TDs have an opportunity to show that they stand on the side of domestic householders.
“Average gas and electricity bills have doubled over the last year to the point that the price of electricity here is the highest in Europe and the price of gas is eighth most expensive.
“There is no excuse for this. Wholesale prices of gas and electricity have fallen significantly – electricity by half – yet there have been no efforts to pass these savings on to customers.
“As energy companies rack up eye-watering profits, the number of people living in energy poverty doubled over the last year and at its peak was a shameful record-breaking high of 40%.
“The British owners of Bord Gáis saw its profits surge to over €3.5 billion last year.
“One in five Irish homes are now behind on their gas bills – of those 679,000 people that rely on gas to heat their homes, 139,785 were in arrears at the end of December with this rising to 152,276 by the end of February.
“Sinn Féin is calling on the government to introduce a windfall tax which addresses the superprofits of energy companies.
“Government must also provide financial relief and certainty to households by reducing domestic electricity prices to their pre-Ukraine invasion levels and capping them at that level – as has been done in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
“They must also reverse the increase in carbon tax, and introduce new regulatory powers for the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities that empowers them to tackle instances of price-gouging and to ensure that it has the resources to do so.
“Of note is that over €790 million was brought in by the Government last year on Carbon Tax.
“These are all sensible measures that the Government can and must introduce to protect struggling households from greedy profiteering.”
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