Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

We will be writing to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. Next week the decks should be cleared and we should pass the occupied territories Bill. We should not be talking about progress. There should be no more delays. We need action. This has been going on for years.
In terms of the cost of energy, the Minister is missing the point and is trying to dress it up in a way that supports the Government's narrative but the fundamental facts remained unchanged. While families are struggling to keep the lights on, the Government is sitting on a fund of €178 million that was specifically designed to help these very same families to pay their electricity bills. Almost 325,000 households cannot pay their electricity right here, right now. Electricity disconnections are rising sharply, up 64% compared to this time last year, and many working families are now falling into debt by simply trying to pay basic electricity bills.
The resources are there. The fund is there but the Government has chosen not to use it in the way that it is supposed to be used. Instead of putting money back into the pockets of workers who are struggling, the Government has allowed this fund to go largely untouched while energy poverty is increasing.
Why under God is the Government not using the €178 million that has been sitting there for the past three years and was specifically designed to be put back into pockets of ordinary people to help them pay their electricity bills? Does the Government not understand what is happening out there in the real world?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21