Government must implement measures in budget to protect people from rising inflation.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has called on the government to bring in radical measures to protect people from the cost of living crisis and escalating inflation. Figures today from the CSO show inflation is on the rise again with large monthly increases in mortgage repayments, clothing and footwear, home heating oil, petrol and diesel.
He said that the recently announced cuts to prices from Electric Ireland, Energia and Pinergy “does not cut it” considering the vast increases over that past year in the electricity and energy sector.
The TD said that rising inflation shows that government measures up to now have not worked and an eco-socialist suite of measures must be implemented during Budget 2024.
Figures from the CSO show that electricity prices are up 25% from last year; natural gas is up 40% from last year; and diesel and petrol prices rose again even before the increases in excise duty are taken into account.
He said: “People in this country are being hammered every which way by the cost of living crisis. The price reductions from the energy companies is cold comfort to people who have seen their electricity bill explode during the past year. Prices are still massively inflated from this time last year.
“We need caps on energy prices and on rents in this country which would mean energy companies cannot charge over a certain amount per unit of energy. We need retrofitting at no upfront cost to allow people to reduce their energy usage and to renationalise the energy system.
“The government’s soft touch approach and measures do not cut it for people. This crisis is not going away. We need radical action to take on this crisis.”
People Before Profit is calling on the public to join the Cost of Living and Housing protest on October 7th to send a clear message to the government that radical action is needed.