Call for cap to be put on high energy prices

A PROTEST took place outside the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in Tallaght calling for a cap on energy prices last weekend.

The protest, which was organised by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, took place on Saturday, December 18, as part of People Before Profit’s Day of action. The protest called on the government to take immediate action and cap energy prices by Ministerial Order.

Discussing the issue in the Dáil back in October, Deputy Murphy said that it is “time to tackle the profiteering and the power of the private energy companies”.

He continued: “The Government likes to pretend there is basically nothing that they can do in the face of market forces driving energy prices up, but actually they can do something extremely simple, and they could literally do it today.

“Literally at the stroke of a ministerial pen they can declare an emergency in the supply of electricity, in the supply of energy and then another stroke of a pen to set a maximum price to protect people from these rises.”

According to Deputy Murphy, energy bills have gone up 29 per cent in the last 12 months, and “people face very steep bills in January unless something is done.”