Energy price rises and fuel allowance
Danny Healy-Rae warned that planned electricity and gas increases would hit households, especially fuel allowance recipients, and called for intervention. The Taoiseach said prices were regulated, fuel allowance had already been increased, and higher fossil fuel costs underlined the need for more renewable energy.
We are told that the price of electricity is to rise by 9.3% and the price of gas by 12.8%.
This will affect every man, woman and child in the country. Has the Government any power to regulate these people or control them? This is going to hurt poor people, especially those in receipt of the fuel allowance. Will the Government increase the fuel allowance? Will it intervene? I am asking the Taoiseach to intervene, to stop this increase and to bring these people to book. People's incomes have not risen. Their social welfare has not risen by that much. There has been a 10% increase and not a word from the Taoiseach's Government to try to stop it.
Comment on this
Electricity prices are regulated. They are regulated by what used to be the Commission for Energy Regulation but is now the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. We have increased the fuel allowance. We did that already this year and we will certainly consider doing it again next year. However, it is a simple fact that electricity prices are largely linked to the cost of fossils fuels, that is, the cost of oil and gas. When that cost goes up, prices must rise as well. That just emphasises the need for us to do other things, namely, move towards a greater use of renewable energy and to continue what we are doing to incentivise people to insulate their homes and to ensure that public buildings are also insulated. In this way, we can reduce the need to use fossil fuels and electricity for heating.