Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, said it was “inexcusable” that Government has not done more to address rising energy costs.
Addressing the Dáil on Tuesday, Deputy Pringle said: “People cannot be expected to continue on the way they have done these past few months. Costs are spiralling out of control, and with no sign of this stopping any time soon, households are getting increasingly desperate and frustrated.”
The deputy referred to the price hike announced last week by Bord Gáis Energy that would see the average electricity bill rise by 27 per cent and the average gas bill by 39 per cent from April, calling it, “an incredible jump that will create an incredible burden.”
Deputy Pringle said many energy providers are expected to follow suit. He said these increases particularly affect the people of Donegal, where there are no natural gas connections available.
The deputy was speaking in support of the Sinn Féin motion to address rising energy costs.
Deputy Pringle said: “It is clear that urgent action is needed, yet despite all the recent price hikes and the threat of even further hikes, the Government has today stated that it isn’t planning any further cost-of-living measures this side of the Budget. I was absolutely appalled to hear this. People are struggling to make ends meet. Parents are struggling to put food on the table.
“And not only are you refusing to help them, but you are actually intending to punish them further with the introduction of the carbon tax increase in May. This tax increase will further increase the price of home heating oil, gas and solid fuels. The last thing that is needed at this crisis time is further increases. How do we expect people to survive at all?” he said.
The deputy said carbon taxes will do nothing but push people further into fuel poverty and do very little to make any sort of real change, saying, “We need to see structural change on a larger level.”
During last year’s budget debate, Deputy Pringle had put forward ideas that suggested Ireland could be energy independent in the next 10 years using wind and hydroelectric power, through, for example, the Spirit of Ireland project that had been discussed for Donegal.
The project had sought to harness the county’s huge wind energy potential by using natural coastal valleys to provide hydroelectric storage reservoirs. A number of those projects situated along the west coast could power the country’s energy needs, he said.
He said: “These are the type of ideas and projects that should be progressed. Wind and hydro projects not only have the potential to reduce our dependence on imported energy and fossil fuels, but they would also address the cost-of-living crisis that we currently find ourselves in. Even further, wind and hydro projects would actually create jobs and benefit us massively economically.”
Deputy Pringle concluded: “Something needs to be done. The government cannot continue to try to price people in this country out of existence. Families are running out of options and are being forced to make impossible choices: heat or food? Electricity or rent? What we require is more creativity in how we address the problems we face.
“But the way that we address these problems should never be at the expense of ordinary citizens,” he said.
