Energy and Fuel Costs: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Evanne Ní Chuilinn (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

Go raibh míle maith agat. I am not going to take up too much time. I did not think I had six minutes; I thought I had three. I welcome the motion. I thank the Minister of State for being here and thank him for hearing us out. I find it very surprising that any party would vote against this motion given that we are trying to help families and people all around the country. Every day I meet people in my constituency who are struggling with the cost of energy, whether that is trying to get to work, which Senator Linda Nelson Murray has mentioned around transport, but also with energy bills.
There are two aspects of this motion that I want to especially speak to in relation to my own constituency. One is older people and older people living alone and the cost of energy. The motion calls for greater supports for older people living alone. One of the best ways we can support people with the rising cost of energy is to extend the fuel allowance to the full year rather than only for winter months as it currently is typically. This is something I raised in this House previously. Typically, people have respite from the cost of energy in the summer months but due to the rising cost of transport and fuel this year, many have had no respite from energy costs with high fuel prices throughout the year putting real pressure on people. This is why I am reiterating those calls I made earlier for the forthcoming budget to extend the fuel allowance throughout the full calendar year. I raised it in the context earlier at the outset of the war in Iran and the beginning of the energy cost inflation. Other Senators have also mentioned this, and the fact that we are in this position because of something outside of our control which is outside of these territories. It is something we are trying to battle with and we are doing our best in that regard. That is why this motion has been brought forward. By extending that fuel allowance to cover the full year we could significantly increase the lump sum payments made to fuel allowance recipients, which would make a real difference for them in dealing with elevated fuel and energy prices.
Another issue I want to briefly mention in relation to my own constituency is the energy efficiency of homes and the retrofitting schemes that are available to people. The government grants that are available to homeowners and local authorities to support retrofitting are making a difference in reducing energy consumption and costs for people. However, according to the ESRI report earlier in the year we are not on track to meet our 2030 goal of 400,000 deep retrofitted homes. This cost is a major factor in this. The report highlights that even after availing of government grants the cost ranges from €16,378 for an apartment to just over €42,900 for a detached house. The Government backed five-year retrofit loan monthly repayments range from €249 for an apartment to €770 for a detached house. In Dublin South Central this is a big issue people are dealing with because of the age of the homes and the energy inefficiency of many homes in the area. Many homeowners want to improve the efficiency of their homes but due to the cost it is prohibitive for them, locking them into permanently higher bills to heat their homes. Budget 2027 has the opportunity to improve the existing grants to further cover the cost that homeowners are facing to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. In four years we have faced two energy crises. While there is a need to implement measures to protect people today, such as extending the fuel allowance and other energy supports, we must use this opportunity to invest in energy security going forward by enhancing supports for homeowners to retrofit their homes.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29