Irish households are likely to face increased energy costs as the Taoiseach has warned of “challenging” times ahead after the EU placed a ban on importing Russian oil.
Speaking in Brussels yesterday after the EU decided to end its dependency on Russian oil and gas, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said we were now entering a “new era”.
He told reporters: “There’s no point in saying anything other than that it will be challenging.
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“We are looking at a different era now in terms of pricing around fossil fuels.
“It will hit Russia and clearly there will be significant challenges for some member states which have to be taken into account.
“The war has really exacerbated this and created huge pressure.
“And there’s no doubt in my mind that it was part of Putin’s strategy to create an energy crisis and then to create a food crisis.”
Mr Martin said the Government will do “everything we can to alleviate the pressures on consumers”. But further financial measures to help households are not expected before the Budget in October.
He said the decision taken by the EU on Monday was “a watershed moment” but that it will make for a “rocky territory ahead” for Irish consumers.
He added: “In the context of the Budget, I did say we would explore with social partners how Ireland will take a more strategic response, which could embrace a range of approaches, including pay, investment and social services, budgetary measures at the time of the budget, which relates to both tax and expenditure.
“But all that is to be explored and has to be discussed in Government in the context of what’s available to us in terms of the budgetary framework, and the one key certainty is the uncertainty that’s ahead of us in respect of the impact of this war on the economy.”
He said talks with unions would focus on pay, childcare, education, health and housing so that “we can arrive at an agreement that doesn’t make the situation worse from an inflationary point of view”.
He also said Ireland must double down on renewables and move faster on offshore wind.
Mr Martin said: “One is looking at a different era now in the price of fossil fuels.
“I think we’re going to work hard to create alternative forms of energy..”
Meanwhile, Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola is to exit the Irish gas and electricity retail market.
The company said the move follows an internal strategic review that found market conditions and pricing were a barrier to its planned growth and ambitions.
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