The Government must urgently change tack after a damning assessment by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) of its untargeted response to soaring energy costs, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson on energy, said:
“Today’s report from the ESRI confirms what many of us have been saying: that Government efforts to reduce the impact of energy price increases have done little to protect the most vulnerable households, while giving significant support to those on high incomes.
“The study found that energy price increases have a clear regressive impact and place a greater burden on low-income households. In fact, the report points out that these households spend a larger portion of their income on energy, particularly on home heating and motor fuel.
“Significantly, the ESRI believe that more targeted measures could better protect vulnerable groups at a lower cost.
“This report is timely given that a number of energy providers, including Electric Ireland, are set to hike their prices from next month. This comes as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) confirmed that, as of end of March, there were 318,735 homes in electricity arrears, with 183,468 households behind on their gas bills.
“The Social Democrats have long argued that untargeted energy supports do not benefit those who need help most. I was particularly critical of the fact that previous energy credits were also applied to the bills of tens of thousands of holiday home owners.
“As an immediate measure, we need to see targeted energy supports for low to medium income earners. I have repeatedly called on the Government to agree to a €400 energy credit for households with incomes of less than €70,000.
“For far, our calls have fallen on deaf ears. But if the Government won’t listen to practical proposals from the Opposition, maybe it will be prompted to act on the back of the criticisms in today’s ESRI report.”
June 12, 2026