Rose Conway-Walsh warns on rising energy costs and fuel poverty
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed the minister about the rising cost of energy and its impact on fuel poverty, backing a motion brought by People Before Profit. She warned that soaring electricity and gas prices are forcing households to choose between heating, food and medical care and urged consideration of measures used in Spain.
Main points
Rose Conway-Walsh thanked People Before Profit for bringing the motion and said she was gravely concerned about the impact of rising energy costs. She highlighted that fuel poverty is becoming more common and called on the government to act.
Household impact and choices
She described families being forced to choose between food, paying for vital medical treatment and transport to appointments, and heating their homes. She asked how many more people will be forced to turn off their heating on cold nights this winter if prices continue to rise.
Statistics and charity pressures
Conway-Walsh cited Ireland's position at the end of 2020 as having the fourth highest electricity prices in the EU and the seventh highest gas prices. She quoted an ERSI finding that a 1% increase in heating fuel prices would raise the number of people in fuel poverty by almost 5%, and noted that prices for customers are now about 40% higher than this time last year. She warned that reliance on charities like Vincent de Paul is unsustainable as they are "creaking at the seams".
Policy options referenced
She said a number of colleagues had urged the government to examine steps taken by the Spanish government to tax companies benefiting from rising gas prices, cap prices and limit power companies' profits, and suggested those options should be considered here.
Market context and critique
Conway-Walsh questioned why companies would benefit from rising gas prices and pointed to the liberalisation of the electricity market as a long-standing EU policy championed by successive governments. She said promises that liberalisation would drive down prices had not been realised.
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Minister, firstly I do want to acknowledge and to thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this really important motion. I, like my colleagues, am gravely concerned about the impact of the rising cost of energy. Fuel poverty has been talked about for years and it is sadly becoming more and more common. At the end of 2020, Ireland had the fourth highest electricity prices in the EU and the seventh highest gas prices. How many more people will be forced to turn off the heating on coal nights this winter if prices continue to rise? People are choosing between the food that they can eat, that they can afford to pay for, paying for vital medical treatment, including paying for transport which is also increasing because of the cost of fuel to take them for medical appointments and paying to heat their homes. The ERSI in August of this year claimed that just a one percent increase in fuel prices for heating would mean almost five percent increase in the number of people experiencing fuel poverty. But prices for customers are now 40 percent higher than they were this time last year. And the overdependency on Vincent de Paul, who are creaking at the seams in trying to keep people alive and keep people safe is just not sustainable and it cannot continue. A number of my colleagues have rightly called in the government to look at the steps being considered by the Spanish government to tax companies that benefit from the price of gas going up and redistributing it to consumers to ease the burden on them. And the Spanish government moved to cap prices and limit power companies' profits. And this is something that we should be looking at. But it is also important to ask the question why some companies would benefit from the price of gas going up. The liberalisation of the electricity market has been a long-standing EU policy championed by successive governments here. As always with market liberalisation, we were told it would bring greater efficiency and drive down prices. Thank you. Dead on time.
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