It is madness that the Government refuses to adopt solar energy on a large scale to protect consumers from price shocks in the energy market, according to Social Democrats energy spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWholesale energy prices are up 19% in just a month as war raged in the Middle East, yet the Government refuses to adopt viable solutions like solar power to ease costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland relies on natural gas for approximately half of its energy need, leaving us highly exposed to price shocks that are out of our control, as was observed during Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe largely untapped potential of solar power to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and tackle soaring energy costs continues to be ignored by Government. Speaking this weekend, T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris outlined a suite of once-off energy measures the Coalition is exploring, but failed to mention solar as a long-term, viable alternative for our energy security and affordability.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier this month, the D\u00e1il debated a Social Democrats\u2019 motion calling on the Government to adopt our \u2018Solar for All\u2019 plan. Our proposal includes a doubling of grants for solar installation to \u20ac3,600, and the inclusion of solar panels in the \u2018Warmer Homes Scheme\u2019 to help families cut electricity costs by an average of \u20ac450 a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cUp to a million homes in Ireland are deemed suitable for solar panels and a nationwide installation programme could be rolled out relatively quickly. This is something we have been calling for since 2022, when the outbreak of war in Ukraine caused a major international energy shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the Government continues to turn a blind eye to this solution, despite evidence that wholesale energy costs are skyrocketing – and it is the consumer who bears the brunt of the fallout.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier this month, I asked the Government for an update on the CRU\u2019s investigation into price gouging in the energy market, which was requested last November. There is still no sign of a report or even details as to what stage the investigation is at, all the while customers continue to suffer eyewatering costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time the Government looks to solutions like solar to insulate us from price shocks in the international energy market, and delivers the report of the CRU\u2019s investigation into gouging as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 28th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is madness that the Government refuses to adopt solar energy on a large scale to protect consumers from price shocks in the energy market, according to Social Democrats energy spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore said: \u201cWholesale energy prices are up 19% in just a month as war raged in the Middle East, yet the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[650,539,268,7,835],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cost-of-living","category-energy","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release","category-renewables"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n