Before I begin, I want to welcome to the Dáil the members of the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition who are in the Gallery. Fáilte romhaibh go léir inniu. They come here at a deeply concerning moment for their community because a fresh application has been made for an Orange march along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown this Sunday. That is an issue that can reopen issues residents believed were settled for nearly three decades now. It is raising real fears, real concerns and renewed division and tension in that area. It should not be allowed to happen.

Tá teaghlaigh atá ag obair faoi bhrú ollmhór ó gach treo. Tá na billí siopadóireachta ag ardú, tá costas tithíochta ag dul in airde ar ghnáththithe, agus tá costais breosla ag ardú go gasta. Anois díreach, agus muid ag tabhairt aghaidh ar an ngeimhreadh, tá billí leictreachais agus gáis ag ardú arís. Taobh istigh de choicís, tá SSE Airtricity, Bord Gáis agus Energia le gnáthbhillí leictreachais a ardú do níos mó ná milliún teaghlach. Tá géarghá le creidmheas leictreachais. An athróidh an Tánaiste a intinn agus gealltanas a thabhairt inniu go gcuirfidh an Rialtas €400 i gcreidmheasanna leictreachais ar fáil do theaghlaigh fud fad na tíre an gheimhreadh seo le déileáil leis na hardaithe praghais seo atá in ann dóibh?

There is no doubt that people are being ripped off from every direction. The weekly shop, fuel and now electricity and gas prices are all going up and up. More and more of people’s hard-earned wages are being swallowed up just to cover the basics. In just 11 days' time, one day before the budget, there is going to be a wave of increases in electricity prices. SSE Airtricity will increase its prices, Bord Gáis will follow and Energia will follow after that. Together, these increases are going to affect 1 million households out there. For families using gas and electricity, the increase will be more than €300 a year.

This is something the Tánaiste could have seen coming. At almost exactly the same time last year, energy suppliers were announcing increases and the Government was withdrawing energy credits from families. It did that despite the energy regulator warning that without those credits, arrears could increase significantly. The Government went against that warning, and that is exactly what happened. By February of this year, more than 300,000 electricity accounts were in arrears. The numbers were significantly higher than the previous year. By June of this year, more than 500,000 electricity and gas accounts combined were in arrears.

We warned the Government that this was going to happen. We have consistently raised the issue of energy credits and the supports that families need. We have raised it over and over again. The Government simply does not understand the pressure that people are under. Now, we are back here again. Prices are rising and winter is coming. People want solutions. I cannot understand the Government’s hands-off approach to big energy companies that is allowing this to happen. It must intervene to help people. It must realise the scale of the problem that is out there. There is a solution. We have put forward the solution to the Government time and again. We have consistently called on it to deliver €400 in electricity credits this winter, and do the heavy lifting in terms of the solutions that Sinn Féin has put forward that would permanently see a reduction in electricity prices across the State. We have repeatedly called for these credits to be restored.

Will the Tánaiste give any certainty to people today? They know that their electricity will increase in just 11 days' time. One million households out there are going to see nearly a double-digit increase. What certainty will the Tánaiste give them? Can he tell them that the Government decision to withdraw the energy credits has resulted in more people falling into arrears, which is a fact? Can he tell them he has learned that lesson and will now commit to them to introduce a €400 energy credit to help them pay these bills? Will he stop taking a hands-off approach while these big companies are ripping off their customers, left, right and centre?

First, I join with the Deputy in welcoming residents of the Garvaghy Road to Dáil Éireann today. I am very much aware of the concerns of residents in the area. I am also very much aware of the very painful and traumatic history in relation to that community and what they endured. I want to assure the Deputy that Government officials are monitoring the situation closely. Like him, I am mindful of the role of the Parades Commission. Again I very much welcome the residents to Dáil Éireann today.

I am extremely conscious, as is the Government, of the pressure that people are under when it comes to energy costs and energy prices. I want to say to people in this country that help is on the way through the budget in 12 days' time. There are a number of issues that we are actively endeavouring to advance to provide assistance and certainty to people when it comes to energy, while also being honest with people that there is no government in the world that can absorb all of the impact of a global energy shock. There simply is not, and it would be untrue to suggest that there is, but there are things we can do and things we will do.

The first is providing certainty in relation to excise for the winter period. I heard Deputy Doherty earlier this morning on a radio programme. Beyond weeks, certainty for the winter period on excise is something that we can and will provide.

Second, looking at the issue of carbon taxation in terms of how it applies to certain products, the Deputy will recall that my officials did a piece of work in the summer through the Tax Strategy Group, and they published a paper in July, I think, which looked at the idea of different products and how they could potentially be considered in the context of carbon tax. I am particularly concerned by the home heating situation and the gas situation, which the Deputy referenced. Similarly, we have to be honest with people on this. There is a limitation to how much you can do on that without bringing yourself into a challenge with the European system, and we do not want to tip that balance wrong, but this is certainly something we are going to actively look at.

Third, there are decisions we can make in terms of parts of our society and sectors within our economy that are most at risk of fuel poverty or most dependent on fuel. I am thinking of lower income households and those who qualify for the fuel allowance. The fuel allowance season will start on Monday, with more than a quarter of households in the country, 500,000 households, benefiting from that. I am also thinking of our farmers and hauliers, who are particularly dependent on fuel, and our supply chains are dependent on them.

Fourth, we need to help households and businesses with the actions that they are already trying to take to reduce their electricity and energy bills. Whether it is through solar panels or retrofitting, we know households and businesses are doing things in the here and now, and we need to make it that bit easier for them to do that. Deputy Doherty will have heard the Minister for energy talk about his plans for a scrappage scheme for boilers, and there has been a significant and widespread welcome for that from experts this morning.

In addition to this, the budget will need to be viewed in the round. There are certain measures we can take on the energy side. There will be a temporary package of measures in relation to energy, and the Deputy made some suggestions on that this morning. The composition of that is for the Government to decide in the days ahead. I would also say to people that they will need to look at the budget in the round. Families and businesses do not view things in the kind of Government Department or agency silos that this place sometimes discusses. They view this in terms of what it means for their families. If we can reduce the income tax burden and look at the challenges and costs that families face around childcare and the like, that too can help.

In 12 days' time, the budget will be delivered. Energy will be a big part of the Government’s budgetary package but a cost-of-living theme will be weaving through all of the various levers at the disposal of the Government across a range of areas.