Labour’s Energy spokesperson Ciarán Ahern has said that the government “needs to get its priorities straight” as new figures reveal 320,000 people are unable to pay their energy bills.
According to the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, an additional 50,000 households were in arrears at the end of 2025, a 20% increase on the previous year.
The Dublin South-West TD said “these new figures are stark but they tell us what we already knew; the government’s decision to remove energy credits would plunge more and more vulnerable households into energy poverty.”
Ahern noted “the credits were only ever meant to be an interim measure to support people while the government worked to address issues around energy affordability and high energy costs, but those issues remain unaddressed yet the government still pulled the rug from under tens of thousands of households.”
Ahern criticised the government for “ignoring” Labour’s calls for targeted energy supports in last October’s Budget.
“People are suffering because of it; these e new figures have been released in the same week that we learned that households are paying up to 80% more for their electricity than large energy users like data centres.”
The Labour TD questioned “whose side is the government on here; tech billionaires or ordinary household billpayers?”
“To add insult to injury, data centres will be getting a further discount on their energy costs in Price Review 6. Regular people who work hard to put food on the table and keep their home warm are essentially subsidising these ultra-wealthy mega-corporations,” he noted.
Data centres already account for 50% of the energy consumed in Dublin and Meath and they’re projected to make up 30% of Ireland’s national energy demand by 2030 as the generative AI boom grows.
“The strain this is causing on our energy grid is massive. Despite this, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents seem intent on allowing unfettered data centre expansion which is only going to make matters worse,” Ahern said.
“It’s difficult to believe that the money the government is pouring into grid updates is for the benefit of households or to enable us to build more much-needed housing. They’re doing it so that the grid can meet the needs of big tech, but it will be paid for by ordinary billpayers.”
The Labour energy spokesperson said “the government have got their priorities all wrong when it comes to energy poverty. They’re trying to rush through legislation to enable us to build a new emergency LNG facility, effectively locking us in to fossil fuel use at precisely the time we should be making every effort to decarbonise our economy. Where has this urgency been when it comes to ramping up the delivery of indigenous renewable energy infrastructure?”
“We have an abundance of potential with offshore wind that would lower household bills and give us a cleaner, healthier environment. We could be world-leaders in offshore wind production but we’re 20 years behind where we should be because of Government inaction and yet the Government still can’t see the wood for the trees. Their highly-polluting LNG terminal will cost close to a billion euro, paid for by regular billpayers, which is money that would be far better spent going towards building up our renewable energy production capacity.”
Ahern said “this government just isn’t treating the cost-of-living crisis with the gravity it deserves. Be it in energy costs, in housing, grocery prices, childcare costs; you name it. The costs continue to rise and this government continues to dither.”
“Their Energy Affordability Taskforce, which was hailed as the solution to ever-increasing energy costs and household bills, has only met 3 times. What does that say about Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s commitment to actually tackling the issue?” he questioned.
He remarked “the government thought they could wish away energy poverty when they removed vital supports that were helping people to keep their heads barely above water. We’re now seeing the impact of that decision.
“How must those people feel when they see Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael bend the knee to big tech billionaires while they struggle to keep their homes warm? If it’s a choice between corporate interests and supporting ordinary households, I know whose side the Labour Party is on,” he stated.