A widow who was saving for a headstone for her late husband had to dip into her savings to pay energy bills, the Dáil has heard.
It comes as Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke told Justice Minister Simon Harris that people could “not afford Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Government any longer”.
Filling in for party leader Mary Lou McDonald during Leaders’ Questions, Ms Clarke said that people were “at their wit's end” due to the cost of living crisis.
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She told the stories of two elderly people who are struggling to pay their bills.
One widow in Laois is “sitting in the dark terrified” of her energy bill after she was forced to dip into her savings to pay the bill.
Ms Clarke said: “I want to tell you about one lady's recent experience of this crisis, an elderly lady in Laois living alone after her husband sadly passed away last year.
“She received an electricity bill for €760, a colossal amount of money that she simply cannot afford.
“She applied for an Additional Needs Payment to help cover the cost. Shockingly, she was refused support.
“Why? Because she has a small amount to pull away from her pension over the last year saved for her headstone for her late husband's grave.
“Because of that refusal for help, she was forced to spend the money on the electricity bill instead of the headstone.
“Minister, her husband's anniversary is approaching and she is distraught that she will not have a headstone for his grave on time.
“When her family called around to visit her last night, they found her sitting in the dark, terrified of switching on the lights, worried sick about what the next bill might be and when these nightmare costs are going to end.”
Ms Clarke also told the Dáil about a second 90-year-old Dublin woman whose gas bill increased from €200 to €600 and has now fallen into arrears. She claimed that when the older woman contacted her provider, she was threatened with disconnection.
The Sinn Féin TD accused the Government of “acting like spectators”.
She added: “What will it take for your Government to get their act together? What action will you take to cut energy costs and give households, like those two ladies and countless others, the much-needed break they need from ever-increasing costs?”
In response, Minister Harris outlined a number of actions that the Government has taken to help households since the Budget in October.
He said that parents will be given an extra €100 in Child Benefit in June,
Minister Harris said: “I think it's really disappointing that you tried to suggest Government is kind of sitting on its hands.
“I suppose you get used to that from the opposition, but it's simply not true.”
Minister Harris accused Sinn Féin of wanting to bring in price caps on energy, saying that the plan had failed in the UK.
He added: “We will not bring in a plan that is bad for the economy, bad for households bad for climate.
“Instead what we will do is legislate for windfall tax for companies where it hurts, in their pockets, on their profits.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist the woman buy a headstone.
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