‘Energy bill terror needs to end’

The Ballivor man whose exorbitant electricity bill was raised in the Dail last month has been inundated with calls from others who had the same experience.

Gerry Clarke was stunned to get a bill of €1,678.65 and said the people of Ireland are being ripped off as oil and gas are at their cheapest.

Since his bill was highlighted in the Dail by Deputy Johnny Guirke and then in the media, he has had calls from all over Ireland including one from a lady living on her own who got a bill for €1,600 .

"She was worried sick. It would take her three and a half weeks working to earn that," he said.

Another person who contacted him had a bill had €2,500, up from the usual €200.

"There is no reason for this since gas prices have fallen by 48 per cent since December and 80 per cent since the war started and it beggars belief that it is not reflected at the pumps or by the electricity companies."

Meanwhile, Deputy Darren O’Rourke TD, has criticised as ‘wholly inadequate’ the government’s plans to address the exorbitant profits of energy companies via a windfall Temporary Solidarity Contribution and Cap on Market Revenue.

Calling on them to re-examine their plans and urgently change tack, he said the government’s current approach is continuing to protect energy companies and their profits at a considerable cost to ordinary families, workers and businesses.

“Energy companies reported record profits in 2022 at a time when a cost of living crisis raged. That crisis continues to rage. Prices reached record highs, with families and businesses suffering the worst effects.

“For many energy companies, their profits soared to multiples of previous records. The figures are frankly eye-watering and obscene.

“Despite this, the Government’s plan will leave the vast majority of those eye-watering and obscene profits untouched.

“As we know the windfall tax will be made of two elements – a ‘Temporary Solidarity Contribution’ from gas producers and refineries on 2022 and 2023 profits, and a ‘Cap on Market Revenues’ for non-gas generation to apply from December 2022 to June 2023.

“The public will be outraged to learn that this proposed windfall tax is so weak. They will be outraged to learn that the obscene profits of renewable energy generators for 2022 will go untouched, save for the month of December."

“We must remember that wholesale gas prices were at their highest ever between April and August last year. At that time, as now, renewable energy companies were getting paid the price of gas for their wind and solar energy.

“The government here needs to strengthen its windfall tax proposals. They are wholly inadequate in their current form. There will be opportunity to strengthen the proposals as we move through the legislative process in the time ahead.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín criticised Government inaction which has directly led to Ireland having the highest electricity prices in Europe.

"The OECD stated that in the last year Irish households experienced a massive drop in living standards. The amount of money that workers earn after adjusting for inflation, fell last year. Of course, people didn’t need the OECD to tell them this, its their own bitter experience every week.

"Hundreds of thousands of families are living from overdraft to overdraft. That’s if they can get an overdraft. Many families are in hock to money lenders. Many families are maxed out and are going without food or heat.

"Others are lying awake in the middle of the night trying to work out what bills they can pay and what bills they can put off until the next pay check.

"Families' annual food shop costs more than €1,000 higher now than last year, with grocery price inflation at 16.8%.

“Last year saw the government take in more VAT on Fuel and Energy than in any of the previous four years.

"The price of electricity in Ireland is the highest in Europe. The unit price for electricity is nearly double the European average," he said.