The Government has been urged to provide energy credits following new findings from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities that over 500,000 Irish households are now in energy arrears, reports RTE.
During Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty said people were exhausted after years of energy price rises and that credits were needed within three weeks before prices rise again, describing the CRU figures as “deeply concerning” with over half a million people in arrears for the first time ever, reports RTE.
“Last week, Electric Ireland raised their prices, and there wasn’t a peep out of you in Government. You withdrew energy credits in the last Budget.
We have the highest prices in Europe. Companies are to jack up their prices again. And what’s your response, wait and see what we’ll do in the Budget,” he said, reports RTE.
Responding, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the Coalition had produced the biggest cost-of-living support package in a European context, that the Government had been agile before in helping families and would continue to be so, and that it would be guided by the Energy Affordability Taskforce report due in autumn, reports RTE.
Last month, Electric Ireland — the country’s largest residential electricity provider — announced an 8% electricity price hike and a 7.7% rise for gas customers from the start of July, with Yuno Energy and PrepayPower also announcing increases, while euro zone inflation accelerated further in May on higher energy and services costs, reports RTE.
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