Michael Collins: Energy Poverty Is Real, Government Must Act

I might bear your indulgence just for a couple of seconds before I lead this question. I would just briefly like to say a thank you to Bridget McGlynn who's finishing here in the Dáil today. I want to wish her the very best and thank her for all of her work and her kindness to us all down through the years. She's been here since the 1980s so we can only imagine what she's seen and heard in these corridors in that time so we want to say thank you to Bridget on behalf of Ireland as well. Thank you. Tánaiste, energy poverty is not a theory. It is a reality in kitchens and sitting rooms across the country today. This morning in Ireland EM it was stated that households need an extra 480 euros a year just to exit the 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, cannot afford adequate warmth or to pay their energy bills in full. When broader measures are taken into account, up to 30% of households are experiencing some form of energy affordability crisis. Tánaiste, I do acknowledge the packages that have been given out but the pressure is not easing on families. It is getting worse. As of February this year, almost 317,000 households are now in arrears on their electricity bill with the average debt approaching 500 euros per household and over 190,000 families trapped in arrears for more than 90 days. This is no longer short-term difficulty, it's systematic energy poverty and at the very same time the ESRI tells us that 480 euros a year would be enough to lift a household out of fuel poverty. That is less than what many families already owe, yet instead of being helped out, they're being dragged further under. Tánaiste, we hear the phrase choosing between eating and heating so often in this house that we risk becoming immune to it. People are dreading the ESB bill landing on the mat like a stealth bomb, not knowing how they will cover it. And that bill never arrives alone. It arrives the week parents are trying to pay increased school transport charges. It arrives when the car is due for the NCT and needs money spent before it'll pass. It arrives the same week someone in the household gets sick, costing 60 euros for a GP visit and 100 euros for medication. Tánaiste, the government repeatedly tells people the solution is to move away from fossil fuels. But let us be honest about that. That actually costs what it costs an ordinary family. So to install a solar system capable of covering heating, hot water, everyday electricity and charging a car can cost up to 20,000. The grant is a measly 1,800. That simply is not enough to encourage anyone to change over. Then comes the electric car. Any vehicle capable of a real family mileage is around 50,000. Even with grants that remains totally out of reach for households already struggling to pay their electricity bill. So the reality is for a normal family to fully transition from fossil fuels, the upfront cost is close to 70,000. And that is before the cost of a home charging unit is even considered. That is not a transition. That is an impossible one. So Tánaiste, my question to you today is will the government increase the solar panel grants? Will the grants for heat pumps and electric cars be increased? And what is the government going to do in real targeted, affordable terms to help citizens of this country actually exit the fuel poverty rather than simply endure it year after year? Well, thanks very much to Deputy Collins. And I want to join with you in wishing Bridget McGlynn all the very best. I wasn't aware of that, but I say it from a position of affection and respect that she's been part of the furniture around here and all the time that I've been here. She's quite an institution in and of her own. I want to wish her and her family all the very best and indeed the best. Mr. Higgins tells me of their Dublin Hills venture in goat's cheese as well. I want to wish you all the very best of that and wish her every luck. Can I thank you for acknowledging the package that has been put in place because we can always have a debate in this house around more and we should and what else can be done. But the package that we have put in place for farmers, for fishers, for farm contractors, for hauliers, the engagement that we will have with the contractors in the construction sector, this is all an effort to recognize that yes, a fuel and energy crisis impacts everybody in our country, but there are some sectors of society, some industries that are heavily dependent on fuel that it has a greater impact on. And I do welcome the generally broad welcome that there has been across those industries for these packages. Of course it's important that we keep them kind of simple and non-bureaucratic, that we get payments out as quickly as possible. I'm pleased that the farm scheme will open I think next Tuesday as well. I already referenced in an earlier engagement the report of the ESRI. Again a report we've commissioned. We commissioned it as a government because we always want to monitor what can be done in this area. It did find the fuel allowance to be effective and it did talk about targeted measures and that is why I think the trajectory that we're on under Minister Colliery's leadership of expanding fuel allowance, making sure more people than ever before are accessing the fuel allowance, the increases that we've seen to the fuel allowance in recent years are all measures that do make real differences to people. And I've been in the homes of many people where they will tell you of the difference that that makes as well. But I welcome the fact that you've also referenced what more can we do, because I take the point you'd be the first to remind us that there are certain sectors of society that it's harder to transition away from diesel and fossil fuel. I do get that. But there are also lots of people in your constituency and mine who are trying to do the right thing by their own home, their own lives, to save a few bob too. Now we have made a number of changes already to try and help people with EVs, to help people with solar panels, to help people with windows, doors, with heat pumps and in fact the changes made by Minister O'Brien only in recent weeks are already seeing a big benefit. It's about 186 percent of an increase in people looking for home upgrade grants. But I have made the point, and Minister O'Brien, myself, everybody in government shares this point, that we've got to constantly be restless to do more in this space. So one of the areas that we're looking at is in the time ahead, as well as having discussions about what we can do in the here and now to help people with the bills, is there more we can help people to break that cycle around being so reliant on fossil fuels and being in homes that can sometimes be cold or drafty or the likes as well. So in the next couple of weeks I know Minister O'Brien will be updating Cabinet on the work of the National Energy Affordability Task Force. In addition to that my own Department of Finance is doing some work on energy economics, what are the right levers to pull to try and address energy poverty. I'm very happy to update you when we have those two pieces of work completed. Thank you, and thanks to Tanisha for your reply. Tanisha, if the system was working 317,000 households would not be in electricity arrears, with average deaths close to 500 and 190,000 families stuck in long-term arrears. That is deep-rooted energy hardship, and when the ESRI tells us that just 480 a year would lift a household out of fuel poverty, it is indefensible that people are being allowed to sink further into debt instead of being helped over that line. I see government there in the last week or so saying you're forecasting a £9.2 billion surplus. Great news, and we have a rainy day fund. In 2023 it was estimated at €6 billion. This is a rainy day. It could not be wetter out there for the people of this country, besides the sun over my head right now. But the point being, it's noticed that that rainy day fund should be put back into people who are struggling, and struggling badly. The surplus needs to be focused on families who are at home, who are scared of the electricity bill coming inside that door, and are not able to pay the bill. That's the facts of the matter. People cannot heat their homes on announcements. They need targeted supports. Thanks very much, Deputy. I will just make a couple of points on the surplus. Firstly, it's better to have one than not have one. It's the first point, and it's enabled us to bring in a €750 million package of supports, one of the largest in the European Union, and not have to borrow for it. If you look at our nearest neighbours in the UK, they brought in a smaller package for their citizens per head of population, and they had to borrow and got charged around 5% on the market for that as well. So we are using the fact that we have a fiscal buffer to the advantage of our citizens, in terms of being able to have a larger package in place, but also not have to borrow and pay interest for that package as well. I'd also just make the point, just to reassure people, the €9.4 billion isn't sitting in the Department of Finance getting dusty. This is a projection as to what we believe the surplus could be by the end of the year. It hasn't come in yet. This is the month of April. It's what we believe the surplus could be by the 31st of December. I think that sometimes gets missed in this debate. There's not €9.4 billion of a surplus sitting over there now. And then the third point I'd make, and I would say this respectfully, in the past perhaps people talked of rainy day funds. We don't have any such fund in Ireland anymore. We have two funds that are very clearly actively being used, one around infrastructure climate adaptation for capital projects, for metro potentially, and one for what we call Future Ireland Fund for demographics, including the population going to get older in your constituency and mine. So we do have options in terms of being able to do more in the time ahead, but the politics and the facts of the surplus is a little more complicated than it sometimes presents.