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Electricity bill relief to be short lived as rocky period beckons for Government

Inflation likely to exert dominant influence over future successes and failures of the Irish economy

Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaks to the press in Brussels as he attends the second day of the European Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday. Photograph: EPA

Jennifer Bray's face
Jennifer Bray
Wed Jun 1 2022 - 08:25

Good morning,

The latest electricity bills are landing in households around the country, and some might find themselves breathing a sigh of relief as the Government’s €200 credit kicks in and takes some of the sting out of the higher costs.

But that relief will clearly be short-lived if the words of Taoiseach Micheál Martin are anything to go by.

On our front page this morning, Pat Leahy and Naomi O’Leary report how Mr Martin has now warned that higher oil and gas prices are inevitable into the foreseeable future.

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“Clearly there is an energy crisis out there the like of which we haven’t seen for some decades. That is the reality and I think we have to be honest with people,” he said.

Leahy and O’Leary report how latest inflation figures have laid bare the extent of still rising costs across the euro area, with officials at the European statistics agency Eurostat reporting a record 8.1 per cent rise in May.

Despite this, Mr Martin has all but ruled out providing a further package of supports for households in advance of the budget in October.

It’s hard to see a situation in which inflation does not exert a dominant influence over the future successes and failures of the Irish economy, and consequently the political landscape.

Any sense of security that people held onto after the pandemic seems to be disappearing and those who have been spending their lockdown savings might be likely to rein it in sooner rather than later, most likely once they have their hard-earned holidays out of the way.

The problem will not just be energy costs: growing inflation touches almost everything else. It used to be a clever question to ask aspiring politicians what the price of bread or milk or pasta was. Now though, it seems impossible for any of us to keep tabs on the price of our groceries.

Given the instability, and the warnings from the Taoiseach that this problem is not going away, the question inevitably becomes: how long will this last? While Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last week (after his short trip to Davos) that the CFOs of leading global financial firms think inflation “will soon peak”, there is still scepticism. As the Taoiseach says in our front page report, we are entering “rocky territory” and if the mood at the EU summit was anything to go by, the inflationary pressures may last for some time yet.

Electoral Reform at last?

Civil servants working in the Department of Housing describe it privately as a “big beast” of a Bill, and they’re not wrong: the Electoral Reform Bill currently before the Oireachtas Committee on Housing is lengthy and far-reaching but also incredibly overdue. Every Government for at least a decade has promised reform of electoral laws but this legislation appears to have a fighting chance of getting through before the summer recess. It would usher in a far more modernised system of voter registrations and would also see big changes in terms of political advertising and declarations of funding.

For example, under the new system, 16- and 17-year-olds will be pre-registered and then included on the main register when they turn 18. A new rolling, or continuously updated, electoral register will be introduced. Political parties will have to make an annual declaration about the properties they own. This could impact most significantly on Sinn Féin. In terms of the make-up of the Dáil, there will between 169 and 179 TDs, between nine and 19 more than the current numbers.

Cormac McQuinn has an up-to-date piece here detailing the various amendments being submitted by politicians looking to strengthen the legislation as it winds its way through the Oireachtas.

But if you’re wondering what exactly will this mean for you, and the party you might want to vote for? We have you covered with this explainer here.

The Bill comes back before the committee at 9.30am today and we will bring you any updates on its progress over at the newly revamped www.irishtimes.com

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Playbook

Dáil Eireann

Topical Issues are up at 9.12am followed by Private Members’ Business with the Regional Group at 10am. They will bring a motion on housing adaption grants for older people and people with a disability. Leaders’ Questions is scheduled for noon followed by questions on policy or legislation. Fresh from his two-day EU summit, Taoiseach Micheál Martin will update politicians at 1.04pm during Taoiseach’s Questions. Later, before 3pm, Government Business is scheduled with the Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Bill 2022 and the Circular Economy Bill. The weekly voting block is then scheduled for the evening and the Dáil adjourns at 9pm.

You can find the full schedule here.

Seanad

Commencement Matters are scheduled for 10.30am followed by the Order of Business an hour later. At 12.45pm Government Business will be taken and the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, which would give adopted people access to their birth records, will be back up. After this, there will be statements on the National Maternity Hospital and the women’s health action plan. At 6:30pm, Private Members’ Business is scheduled with a motion regarding support to Ukraine. Later at 8.30pm, the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 will return.

The Seanad adjourns at 10pm.

A more detailed agenda can be found here.

Committees

The first big item of the day will be a hearing of the health committee which is scheduled for 10am where politicians will hear about Hepatitis C elimination in Ireland with representatives from the Hepatitis C Partnership due to appear. TDs and Senators will be told that care for people living with Hepatitis C is something of a postcode lottery, especially outside of Dublin, while yearly funding is going unspent.

As mentioned, at 9.30am, the Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage will continue its consideration of the Electoral Reform Bill 2022 with Minister of State Malcolm Noonan.

Also at 9.30am, the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands will meet to discuss pension and social protection related issues. They will hear from representatives coming from Foster Care Ireland and the Irish Foster Care Association.

And this will be one of the most keenly watched committees of the day: at 1.30pm, the Joint Committee on Transport will discuss the recent acute delays experienced by passengers at Dublin Airport with the chief executive of the DAA Dalton Philips.

The best of the rest can be found here.