Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I believe that because of the arguably short-term thinking of the Government, once the €4 billion in once-off measures melted away in January, families started to feel the pinch. We know that the families who are most exposed to energy poverty are those on low incomes, lone parents, older people living alone and people who are living in rural areas. The final electricity credit will be paid out in March. We need to think quickly and in a very holistic fashion about how those families are going to be supported beyond February and March because we know that inflation will remain high for the foreseeable future. That will have an extreme impact on those who are less well off and in the bottom income deciles. For the sake of €150 million in the context of a budget surplus, I think the extension of the reduced VAT rate on electricity and gas bills would go some way towards assisting low-income families.

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