Debate contribution: Household Energy Costs

Debate contribution by Miss Nicola Brogan on 7 October 2025.

MLA: Miss Nicola Brogan
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 7 October 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Household Energy Costs
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5165086

Text

The issues of housing, fuel poverty, energy costs and climate change are all deeply interconnected. That is why it is so important that the overarching, cross-departmental Climate Change Act was created. The truth is that there are very few issues here that are not in some way affected by climate change. Climate change is perhaps felt nowhere more acutely than in the home. Hotter summers and colder winters mean that older housing stock is simply not suitable for the current climate, with such houses requiring more heat in order to keep them warm. Energy producers are fully aware of that, yet they have been consistently increasing the cost of energy for years now, despite their record profits and huge windfalls. That has led to shameful situations in which low-income families and pensioners are having to choose between eating and heating. That is shocking and completely unacceptable. Greater extremes of drought and flooding put more pressure on the family home, with, for example, insurance prices in flood-prone areas adding to the ever-mounting costs that people must pay in order to keep a roof over their head. People are paying more to be less comfortable and less secure in their own homes. That is why the steps proposed in various climate action plans are important. It is not just about reducing emissions, although doing so would help stabilise the extremes of climate change. As the producer of up to 14% of the North's total greenhouse gas emissions, housing can play a vital role in our fight. The actions we take to reduce emissions will have other positive effects and open up new avenues of opportunity. Retrofitting will not only make our homes warmer but reduce energy costs. Moving to new ways of heating our homes, such as the use of heat pumps, will reduce our reliance on multinationals. Transitioning to renewable forms of energy production will free us from the volatility of the fossil fuel market. Embracing Ireland's abundant natural resources, such as wind and wave energy, can help reduce our reliance on imports. The shift to renewables can also open new avenues of economic opportunity for us, such as through the development of new, renewable technologies, which is something that we are already seeing happen as Ireland becomes an industry leader in areas such as zero-emission vehicles and wind energy. That is not to say that doing any of that will be easy, but if we ensure that the steps that we take are founded on just transition principles, we can ensure energy safety, security and prosperity for generations to come, as well as benefit from the effects of having cleaner air, soil and water that accompany making such changes. Housing has a huge role to play, so there is an immense responsibility on the Minister for Communities to seize the opportunity and begin laying the groundwork to make homes safer, warmer and more affordable.

484 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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