Mon, Apr 20, 2026
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Green Party Chair, and candidate in the Dublin Central by-election, Janet Horner, has reiterated the Party’s call for more supports for people as the energy crisis continues.
Responding to reports in The Irish Times this morning that the EU will ask member states to offer energy vouchers to those most vulnerable to rising energy costs, and to introduce a temporary ban on disconnections, Cllr Horner said:
“The Government has not been targeting supports in the right place. Cutting excise on diesel and petrol does nothing for home heating oil costs, subsidising airlines does nothing for local tourism, and they haven’t done enough to support households.
The Government needs to extend support by giving an additional €200 in energy credits to households that earn less than €85k a year, that’s 70% of all Irish households. Excise duty on home heating oil needs to be cut and there needs to be a serious ramping up of the rollout of the Warmer Homes Scheme.”
Suggested EU measures also include the cutting of public transport fares, a measure that Cllr Horner says would have to be matched with increased capacity through investment in transport infrastructure, and a more general move away from fossil fuel dependency.
Cllr Horner continued:
“In the past few weeks we’ve seen the real cost of Government inaction on investing in Irish produced energy and public transport across the whole country. We need a medium term plan now so that people aren’t facing into a winter of high energy costs, and a long term plan to protect the country from future energy shocks”.