Energy Policy: Motion [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17 ============================================================ Darragh O'Brien (FF), Dublin Fingal East I agree, but it is not just that. It is also Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the various disruptions we have had in recent years that are putting significant pressure on energy prices right across Europe. On the purchasing power index through Eurostat, Ireland is approximately eighth for energy prices. It is not first, but electricity is still very expensive for a lot of people. That is a matter we continue to grapple with. The acceleration of the use of renewables will be critical in that regard, but I will turn to that in a moment. I assure the House that supply, which is critical for an island nation, is being monitored on a regular basis. Thankfully, approximately 50% of our electricity is generated through renewable sources. We doubled our renewable capacity over a ten-year period. We have 3 GW of solar, and we are going to accelerate that. We need to get on with the grid investment programme we have under price review, PR, 6 and make sure that critical projects such as the North-South interconnector that have been held up are built. We understand that any price increase can be a serious challenge for households and small businesses. As a result, we have been proactive. We have introduced a series of measures to reduce fuel prices, and further measures are under consideration by the national energy affordability task force, which feeds into the budgetary task force. I chair that task force, which will meet again tomorrow. Specifically on fuel, the package of Government support measures is to the tune of €1.4 billion. This package is helping to reduce the cost burden, particularly at the pump and for productive sectors such as haulage right the way across to agriculture. That is important because it underpins our supply chain and the tens of thousands of jobs in it. I remind Deputies that I made a few significant changes in the budget for 2026. I reduced the VAT rate on electricity and gas to 9% right through to 2030. I extended social welfare direct payments to households, including fuel allowance payments. More than a quarter of households receive those direct payments, and that is a matter that is under consideration for the upcoming budget. I also retained the €400 income tax disregard for households involved in microgeneration. I intend for that to be kept. The best way to insulate our economy and society from fuel price shocks is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. That is why we are investing record amounts of money in retrofitting through part- and fully-funded schemes. We provided €640 million in last year's budget for this year to carry out retrofitting in households and businesses, targeting 73,000 households to bring about reductions in energy use, emissions and bills. In January, I brought forward changes to that. We expanded the schemes to which I refer and reformed the retrofitting schemes to make sure they are targeted at middle-income households. We also expanded the warmer homes scheme, which is the 100% grant aid scheme for those at risk of fuel poverty and those in receipt of social welfare payments. We have done more than 35,000 houses under that scheme and we have increased the number year on year. We want to do more of that because it is a protection against future price shocks. We brought forward similar upgrades in respect of attic and cavity wall insulation. We doubled the grants for heat pumps, electrifying homes and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Full home retrofits can save up to €1,200 per annum on energy costs. This year, since we made the changes, we have had approximately 89,000 applications to the end of August, so people are responding. I intend to bring forward further measures in that regard because they ensure that we can protect households against future energy shocks. More than €2 billion has been invested in that area since 2019. The 89,000 applications we have received to the end of August compares with 41,100 in the same period last year. As of the end of August, we had supported more than 21,000 homes with domestic solar photovoltaic schemes, which are important in reducing people's bills. This year alone, we have received 35,000 applications, which is an increase of 72%. Again, we increased the grant to make sure that there are permanent savings for people. A number of protections are in place for customers experiencing difficulties with paying their bills. The arrears figures - particularly those relating to 90-day arrears - are too high. They have plateaued in recent months, but they are a concern. We are looking at that matter. At my request, all the main suppliers have put in place hardship funds and protections for customers against disconnection. Disconnection does not happen in any real way. It is percentage of a per cent. It is a very small number, and I want to keep it that way. I have already mentioned the changes we made on social protection measures. They all form part of the discussions we are having now, in advance of the budget which will be announced in early October. The Deputies' parties will be putting forward alternative budgets, as they do each year. They are perfectly entitled to do so, and we will feed it into the debate. It is important to highlight that the recent price increases are a matter for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. We have seen a number of increases. Electric Ireland did not increase its prices and has indicated that it will not be seeking an increase in tariffs over the coming months. I do not recall ever laughing at Deputy Coppinger in the Chamber. That is not something I would do. Her recollection of something might be completely different from mine. I take this debate seriously because we have to be honest with people that we are not a heavy industry nation. We are not a large heavy industrial manufacturer. ICT, not just data centres, forms a really important part of our economy, employing about 7% of our people. There are about 2.8 million people working in our country now. Nearly 2.3 million are working on a full-time basis. Just short of 190,000 people work in the ICT sector. Some 19,000 are directly employed in data centres. Data centres are a very important part of our digital infrastructure and of our offering as a country. The largest and most important protection against poverty and price increases is for people to have good jobs. As a Government, we have a responsibility to maintain and grow the jobs that are here. I refer both to indigenous Irish firms and foreign direct investment. That is also critically important. Neither Deputy mentioned job creation and job retention. That must be fundamental to the operation of our society and our economy. We had a good discussion earlier today when we had oral questions on energy. There was a lot of discussion of data centres. I mentioned the large energy user action plan that I brought forward with the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, in January of this year. That sets out a planned approach to any additional data centres or other large energy users being given a connection. Any new ones will have to meet 80% of their electricity demand through new renewable sources. --- 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/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-17