Nearly €1.4million has been spent heating and powering Leinster House and other Oireachtas buildings so far this year.
This is after nearly €34,000 was deducted following rebates on electricity bills across several buildings. It is also despite consumption decreasing over the past year.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Irish Mirror obtained electricity and gas bills for the House of the Oireachtas from January to mid-May. There were also two bills for wood pellet deliveries.
The bills cover Leinster House and its restaurant and offices in Kildare House, Frederick House and on Merrion Square. A spokesperson for the Oireachtas told the Irish Mirror the three offices are “part of the Leinster House campus and by and large accommodate staff”.
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In total, bills up to mid-May, amounted to €1.38million. This includes €843,857 on electricity, €448,349 for gas and €86,349 on wood pellets.
The charges for Leinster House were the highest over the five-month period. There were four electricity bills received by Leinster House totalling €756,935.
The Labour Party’s Ged Nash told the Irish Mirror the Government must look for cheaper and more sustainable ways to heat the Oireachtas. He said: “It’s clear that the House needs a massive overhaul in terms of retrofitting to make the buildings more energy efficient.
“The message hard-working people have received from this Government is to better equip their homes from a sustainable energy point of view. That message is correct.
The Oireachtas and Government must lead from the front and show good example. Electricity costs have more than trebled. The question is who is keeping an eye on this and what do the Oireachtas authorities plan to do to get our own house in order?”
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However, the charges have been falling steadily as the €224,207 bill for January fell to €195,806 the following month. Bills decreased further to €186,091 and €150,830 in March and April respectively.
However, a Public Service Obligation levy rebate was applied in both of these months. This amounted to €14,580 per month (€29,160 total). While electricity bills fell, gas costs for Leinster House skyrocketed.
The outlay for January was €39,909 and this increased to €69,062 in February. The March bill was €84,000 higher at €153,418 but fell slightly in April to €146,989.
The rising gas bills come despite Leinster House cutting back on its use of gas. The bill for April shows that 5.2kWh was used in the last 12 months.
In the previous year, 7.1kWh was used. Gas for the restaurants in Leinster House was billed separately and cost €3,744 between January and May.
Between December and March, €1,777 was spent on electricity at Frederick House. Electricity bills for the Merrion Square office were €12,794, while gas bills came in at €10,967.
Bills for Kildare House, show electricity and gas cost €72,351 and €24,289 respectively. Both the Merrion Square and Kildare House offices received PSO rebates on their electricity bills for March and April
Merrion Square received €810 per month, while Kildare House received €1,528.20 per month (€3,056.40).
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