Electricity Supply: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-30
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Gareth Scahill (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I move:
“That Seanad Éireann:
welcomes the:
- measures from Government on energy affordability, including the:
- lowering and retention of the lower VAT rate on electricity and gas bills;
- Household Benefits Package for all households of persons 70 years of age or older;
- reduction in excise duties on petrol, diesel and marked diesel;
- increase in the rate and duration of the National Fuel Allowance Scheme;
- expansion of the National Fuel Allowance Scheme to 50,000 more households;
- progress of the Security of Supply Programme introduced by the Government and managed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU);
- additional connection of 38,000 new homes by ESB Networks in 2025, an increase of almost one-fifth on 2024;
- €18.9 billion investment by the Government in Ireland’s electricity grid and distribution system to 2030, which will support the provision of 80 per cent of electricity generation through renewable sources;
- €3.5 billion portion of this investment being allocated by EirGrid and ESB Networks under the Price Review 6 Strategy, which is the largest ever individual investment in our electricity system;
- significant expansion in energy generated from renewable sources, including the milestone of Ireland having in excess of 8GW of onshore renewable energy installed;
notes:
- the All-Island Resources Adequacy Assessment from EirGrid on the supply and demand situation for electricity;
- the CRU’s new Large Energy User Connection Policy;
- the establishment and work of the National Energy Affordability Taskforce;
- the posting of €636 million in profit by ESB Networks for 2025;
- the operation of the standing charge system with regard to electricity bills;
- the purpose of the standing charge to help maintain the electricity network and manage connections to the network;
- the increase in adverse weather events, such as Storm Éowyn, which leave more households without electricity for longer periods of time;
- the increase permitted by the CRU in standing charges last October;
- that the standing charge portion of an electricity supply bill for household can comprise up to €30 of a monthly bill’s cost;
calls on the CRU to:
- direct electricity supply companies to design and implement a process under which households and businesses would be credited with a refund of the standing charge amount during periods of electricity supply disruption; and
- ensure that the credit system applies during electricity supply disruption caused by adverse weather conditions and breakdowns in transmission of electricity that are not the fault of householders or businesses.”

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-30