It was a bit of a hectic week in the Dáil this week. But the most important thing that happened was the government’s fuel support package, which we in the Social Democrats supported, to bring total support to €750M to give relief on fuels at the pump and for farmers and hauliers.
It’s really critical to acknowledge that this is the worst energy crisis in decades, supercharging an already acute cost of living crisis. A strong and robust support package from the government was warranted. But we in the Social Democrats believe it hasn’t gone far enough to help those who need help the most, and we’re not the only ones. Of that €750M package, less than 10% was targeted at the most vulnerable: a €152 extension to the fuel allowance when energy costs are spiralling hundreds beyond what they are.
There are a lot of people who are disproportionately at home and don’t use fuel for vehicles as often – older people, pensioners, people with disabilities – and they saw virtually no support from the government’s initiatives. People on lower and medium incomes, say under €70,000 per household, were not given sufficient support to deal with escalating home energy costs – now some of the highest in Europe. Carers and frontline health workers like nurses, whose jobs disproportionately rely on travel to support society, also didn’t get sufficient support. My colleague Gary Gannon introduced a motion in the Dáil, opposed by the government, to implement measures to help these cohorts of people.
As my party leader Holly Cairns said that day, we in the Social Democrats have been calling for stronger and more targeted cost of living supports since before the budget in October. This includes an Emergency Winter Payment for Disabilities, and more recently a €400 euro energy credit. The government, on the other hand, seemed to only wake up to the issue with the illegal American-Israeli war in Iran, and when they finally acted, it was too little, and far too late. That, to me, is a dereliction of duty.
Others have said the same thing: the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council called for targeted measures, as did the Department of Finance’s own chief economist John Fitzgerald. It’s fiscally irresponsible to not target those most in need and spend money that goes to those on the highest incomes and with the best financial cushions.
There’s often a characterisation of the opposition as one amorphous blob – lumping in the Social Democrats with Sinn Féin, the Green, Labour and PBP. But that’s not the reality. Last week, the only other party to introduce alternative fuel supports was Sinn Féin, calling for universal measures on fuel to go much further. It included no targeting, and crucially would have actually stripped future funding for the fuel allowance to the poorest 25% of households in the State, the retrofitting programme for lowest income households, and green farming initiatives. Their proposals could have cost the State billions by 2030. And virtually none of that would have gone to disabled people or pensioners, and given as more relief to richer households than to poorer ones. It was deeply regressive, and we opposed it for that reason.
We have to ensure that through any financial crisis for households – whether it’s energy costs or any other costs – supports are tailored to those that need the help most. Anything else from the government is a failure.