#580 No Energy Credits, No Care, No Shame

This week, Niall sits down with Cllr. Albert Deasy for a frank and timely discussion on a question many Irish households are quietly asking this winter: Why can the Government find another €125 million for Zelenskyy and Ukraine, yet refuse to fund energy credits for its own citizens—citizens who are facing some of the highest energy bills in the world?

While €125 million is being sent abroad, 1.8 million Irish households have been left without the €250 energy credit they received last year—just months before an election. The Government argued it wasn’t feasible this time, yet Sinn Féin estimates it would cost roughly €400 million to support every home. They managed it when they needed votes; this year, they didn’t.

Niall and Cllr. Deasy unpack newly released FOI documents obtained by Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, revealing that Government officials actually advised that the case for energy credits was stronger this year than last. Despite this:

Average energy bills rose from €1,556 to €1,877—an increase of €321.

Costs remain €205 higher than the peak of the 2022 energy crisis once adjusted for inflation.

A targeted energy scheme was drafted but withheld from release because it “would not be in the public interest”.

Sinn Féin argues the Government has “put politics before people”, ditching credits now that the election threat has passed—leaving families to absorb the €321 shortfall in the middle of a cold winter. Meanwhile, Government leaders claim they are simply “targeting resources” and that universal credits are “not fiscally sustainable”.

We ask the real question: Are you avoiding turning on the heating and lights on these cold, dark winter nights? And what does it say about priorities when households are told to tighten their belts while tens of millions more flow out of the country?

Tune in for an honest, grounded conversation about bills, politics, and the people caught in the middle.