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know that the Bill is going to put fuel on the fire of spiralling rents and evictions. It is renters who will continue to suffer. I do not understand how the Government thinks, in a cost-of-living crisis, that rents should be allowed to rise further

need to move beyond the headlines and focus on the reality facing households. The Government points to falling inflation rates as evidence the crisis is easing but inflation measures the speed at which prices are rising. It does not mean prices are returning to previous levels. According … areas people cannot avoid. Electricity prices are up 62% since 2021, natural gas prices have more than doubled and home heating fuels have increased by over 60%. They are not luxury expenses; they are basic necessities of life. Food prices continue to increase year after year. Food inflation

Across the State, households are watching the price of fuel surge in real time. In the days since the US-Israel strikes on Iran, the cost of home heating oil has skyrocketed. We are hearing from people across the country and, in most cases, the price … crisis. They see a Government, frankly and shamefully, standing idly by while it happens. I will ask the Tánaiste directly and plainly: what concrete and immediate steps will he take to stop this rip-off and protect households facing these outrageous fuel price hikes

assist people whose home heating oil costs have already risen considerably. These include possible taxation measures and targeted supports such as the fuel allowance. The Department of Finance has also published options on how the carbon tax framework might be modified for particular products, including home heating … beginning of the crisis seven months ago, we have provided approximately €1.4 billion in supports and delivered one of the largest packages across the European Union on a per capita basis. We deferred the 1 May carbon tax increase on home heating fuels. We have reduced excise duty

elected him. His people are ringing me telling me to ask him that. That is the crisis we are in. That is the crisis the Government has left us in. He should stand with his fellow Independent who made that decision a while ago. It was a disgraceful … anyone. He said Ireland was giving the most. That is because the Government is taking the most. It is taking 65% in the fuel it takes. Parliamentary democracy? There was no democracy because the Government would not come back. It would not speak to the people. The Government

revolt over landlordism and the housing crisis. Absolutely nothing changes in this country or anywhere else through polite budget submissions. It never did and it never will. It is power that yields results. We saw this with the fuel protest, which helped a certain number of people around

unable to afford to fill their tanks with fuel he was spending money on business class flights to the tune of thousands of euro and in total the trip cost the taxpayer €6,800. During a cost-of-living crisis why on Earth should taxpayers fund that type

people out there? In relation to the crisis with home heating oil, people cannot fill their tanks. These are all issues of fierce concern to people, and these people have been contacting me all day. I agree with the fuel allowance and the help the Government has given

what keeps the lights on year after year. I will use my remaining time to speak about the bigger picture. If the recent crisis has taught us anything, it is that we need to be far more ambitious about our indigenous supply. Corrib, which has served us well … down our cleaner production only to import dirtier gas through a single pipeline from another jurisdiction. This is not a choice between fossil fuels and renewables; it is both, sequenced properly. I want to see us go faster on solar and far faster on offshore wind. The Minister

cold by this do nothing and out of touch Government. The truth is that we are living through a moment of unprecedented crisis, with record levels of households in arrears and skyrocketing numbers of people at risk of energy poverty. Yet, with each passing day things are deteriorating … reality is simple. People are struggling to heat their homes, face electricity bills they cannot afford and are paying more every week for fuel, groceries and the basics of daily life - none of these costs can be avoided. While all of that is happening, they are being told

conflict in west Asia has driven up fuel and fertiliser prices and disrupted key shipping routes. Fertiliser bills have shot up and vital deliveries are in doubt for so many. Farmers feel little has been done since the last fertiliser crisis and are getting more and more frustrated

main drivers. To reduce solid fuel burning, let us give them the option of plug-in solar. To reduce transport emissions, let us give them the option of reduced fare or free public transport during this economic crisis. Let us accelerate the transition into cleaner heating systems. Yesterday

intervened, particularly at the height of that crisis, in a substantial way. However, retail prices are influenced by several factors, as the Deputy knows, including wholesale energy prices and supplier hedging. In Ireland, our long-standing reliance on fossil fuels, specifically gas, for electricity generation has been

opposition. There is a serious global climate crisis. We are all aware of that and should be working together to accelerate the delivery of renewables. Gas demand will not start to decrease until approximately 2035. It will be a transitionary fuel. As I said to Deputies in response

living issue. The latter has been exacerbated by significant events in recent years, not least the exit from Covid, the supply chain inflationary crisis and the spiral that followed that, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the energy that followed that, the tariff situation relating … Middle East between the United States and Iran, which led to the largest ever supply shock in terms of fuel and to consequential increases in fuel prices. In the first instance, budget 2026 provided a lot of significant supports. First, we had the increase in the core rates

Ukraine and the most recent crisis in the Middle East where it is being said that if what happened in the seventies was coupled twice with the war in Ukraine, in terms of the impact on and access to fuel and prices, this is worse. We are dealing

centre presence on the Irish Single Electricity Market (ISEM) grid putting upward pressure on prices", and during the height of the 2022 energy crisis, the "data centre price cost effect" accounted for the equivalent of about 8.5 per cent of average household electricity bills; — Budget 2025 provided … distribution, and coupled with energy price caps, can deliver affordable electricity for all and be central to the achievement of a fossil fuel-free economy and society; — People Before Profit-Solidarity’s Emergency Price Controls Bill 2024, introduced in the Dáil at First Stage in May 2024, calls

they were luxury goods. People who are struggling to make ends meet are paying VAT, excise duty and carbon taxes on their fuel bills. If we take the west of Ireland as an example, this is having a huge impact on people who have no other choice … carbon taxes. Through carbon taxes, this Government continues to artificially hike the price of energy, all while there is a cost-of-living crisis domestically and turmoil in energy markets globally. The fight against climate change will not be won by plunging working people into energy arrears

saying the same thing: this crisis is getting worse. This morning, we heard that rising prices hit the average household by close to €2,000 a year. Families are under huge pressure to keep up with the cost of groceries, fuel, insurance and energy bills

depths of a financial crisis, 25% of households in Ireland were struggling to heat their homes. The percentage was still too high at the end of 2024, when it was down to 14%. The report also found that the fuel allowance scheme was very effective. The Minister, Deputy

said, we have extended fuel allowance to 26% of the population. As I said, as this situation unfolds, we will keep this under review. We have always responded to people’s needs, as we did during the Ukrainian war crisis. We have to do so in a sustainable

across the country today. This morning on "Ireland AM", it was stated that households need an extra €480 a year just to exit fuel poverty. That figure is now backed up by new ESRI research published today, which tells us that 14% of Irish households, one in seven … energy bills in full. When broader measures are taken into account, up to 30% of households are experiencing some form of energy affordability crisis. I acknowledge the packages that have been given out but the pressure is not easing on families; it is getting worse. As of February

fuel allowance. I welcome the extension into May of the fuel allowance, which means an extra €152. For some people, that fuel allowance is not enough, so we have helped them with the additional needs payment or the supplementary welfare allowance. We have also had many people … available opportunity, we go further than the €770 million package for working people and small business owners. Everybody knows this is not a crisis that is only affecting Ireland; it is affecting the whole word. Geographical tensions are causing crises everywhere. We can go back to the invasion

that is fiscally responsible. The Government recognises the continued financial pressures facing households and businesses arising from heightened fuel prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. As a Government, we stated at the outset of the conflict that we would monitor the situation closely … Opposition may suggest or try to insinuate, this Government has a strong and unwavering record of supporting our citizens through times of crisis and uncertainty. We did so in response to Brexit, throughout the Covid pandemic and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and we will continue

payment will benefit from the fuel allowance and will receive back pay to January. That will be a help to that cohort. We will keep an urgent review of the situation as it unfolds because there is the potential of a crisis here, clearly, similar to what happened