A Government taskforce set up to tackle the high cost of electricity bills and growing levels of arrears has met just three times.
Under its own terms of reference, the National Energy Affordability Taskforce should have met at least six times by now.
Its record emerged in a reply to a parliamentary question raised by Sinn Féin energy spokesman Pa Daly, who described it as “shocking”.
It also comes as latest data on arrears shows no improvement in the numbers of households in arrears on their electricity and gas bills and a slight increase in the size of those arrears.
RM Block
Figures released by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) for last November show 303,465 domestic customers were behind on their electricity bills and 173,845 were in arrears on their gas bills.
Daly accused the taskforce of being “nothing more than another deflection tactic” by the Government.
He described it as a “smokescreen for this do-nothing Government to act as if they are doing something to address Ireland’s extortionate cost of energy, but in reality have no plans to end the rip-off”.
Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien, in his reply, said arrangements were being made for a fourth meeting of the taskforce and he pointed out that it had already carried out a significant volume of work.
“The first report of the taskforce was published in November 2025. This report analysed recent trends in energy costs and related matters, including arrears, and had set out a range of options for consideration as part of the Budget 2026 process,” he said.
“The taskforce will now proceed with further work to develop an Energy Affordability Action Plan, including a programme of consultation and stakeholder engagement to inform the development of an action plan to be published mid-2026.”
The taskforce was set up in June last year and comprises officials from the departments of Energy, Finance, Housing and Social Protection, along with representatives of ESB Networks, Gas Networks Ireland, the CRU, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and National Economic and Social Council.
Records show they met in June, July and October last year and not since.
Their terms of reference stipulate they should have met monthly until last October’s budget and every six weeks afterwards, with additional meetings as deemed necessary.
Daly said solutions to energy affordability were already well-known and had been raised repeatedly by his party.
“As well as the reintroduction of energy credits, our proposals include enhanced powers to the regulator to tackle price gouging and a new mandate to prioritise energy affordability rather than suppliers’ bottom line.
“Ireland’s high prices are not inevitable. There are solutions. Another talking shop that barely meets is certainly not going to address this crisis.”
