Fuel and energy crisis impacts
Deputy Whitmore described severe hardship from rising fuel and electricity bills, while the Minister said he understood the crisis and would continue exploring options with the CRU. Further exchanges focused on the regulator’s staffing and the need to listen to expert advice rather than act by fiat.
I do not think the Minister gets it. I do not think he quite understands the impact that this fuel and energy crisis is having on individuals. A man contacted my constituency office this week. He is a cancer survivor and has diabetes. He made the choice to pay his electricity bill rather than buy the food he needed. He ended up in hospital as a result of a hypoglycaemic attack. That is what people in our country are facing.
Rather than the Minister talking to the CRU and asking it to consider measures that are already successful in the UK, I ask the Minister to use his powers under the Electricity Regulation Act to direct the CRU to bring in this short-term measure. We need direct action now. We do not have the luxury of spending weeks and months in discussion. The time to take action is now. I ask the Minister to direct the CRU to do that.
Comment on this
I absolutely understand the nature of the crisis and the risk of further difficulties if these problems extend. As I said, we saw prices were rising last year and we started to respond. The expectation was that those prices would start to come down this year but that is not looking likely. We are going to have to manage. We must change the timelines and think about how we do things in a more radical way. When I met representatives of the CRU last week, they were absolutely open to looking at every option. That is also true of my Department.
Comment on this
The regulator needs 60% more staff than it has at the moment.
Comment on this
The way things work, particularly where there are complicated markets, is that we listen and take the partnership approach I mentioned earlier. It is important to listen to different voices, including those of the Opposition. That is why I told Deputy Ó Ríordáin we would include his suggestion on the list of things to consider. Doing things by fiat and demanding that organisations do this or that does not work as well as listening and working with the experts.
Comment on this
We are all working in the public interest and paid for from the public purse. None of us have anything to gain other than getting what is best for the Irish people. We must listen to what the CRU has to say as well.