“People can’t wait; they need help and they need it now.”
As the Dáil gets set to return from its summer break this week, Sinn Féin has announced plans to put forward a motion with the aim of cutting energy costs in the country.
The new plan would see electricity bills capped to the prices they were in 2021, and to give cash handouts to low and middle-income families to assist with paying bills.
Pearse Doherty, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, made the announcement on Monday.
“Energy bills are sky-rocketing and families across the country are worried sick about paying their bills,” Doherty said.
“Prices are going up and up, yet the government is failing to act.
“The government refused Sinn Féin’s calls for an emergency budget before the summer and have been dragging their heels about acting to help hard-pressed workers and families.
“People can’t wait; they need help and they need it now.”
The opposition party is calling on the government to support the motion to “ensure workers and families get a much-needed break from these costs”.
“Our plan also outlines the need for a windfall tax, so that businesses that are making obscene profits from this crisis are forced to give some of this back into families’ pockets,” Doherty continued.
“This is about fairness and ensuring ordinary people aren’t paying the price for this crisis.”
Another aspect of the motion includes a double child benefit payment for each child to support families who would pay more than the average household due to raising children.
“These are all important steps which could be introduced quickly to make a real difference to hard-pressed workers and families who are worried about how they will pay their bills,” Doherty added.
“People need reassurance now that they will be able to afford their bills.”
The full motion is available to read here.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the Government is currently working on a one-off “multibillion euro” budget package to respond to the current cost of living crisis.
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