Ireland to introduce fresh energy bill supports for households and businesses, says Taoiseach

Mr Varadkar's comments come days after lobby group Food Drink Ireland, an arm of Ibec, called for extended energy supports. 

Ireland will introduce a fresh set of temporary support measures for households and businesses in October's budget to help with energy bills that will still be too high this winter, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.

Like most EU countries, Ireland introduced a range of measures to mitigate the impact of soaring energy prices last year, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent gas and oil prices rocketing.

The European Commission recommended in May that all EU governments ended support measures by the end of this year, saying the supports are now harder to justify due to lower energy prices.

Mr Varadkar said "it's pretty obvious" people will need help this winter with falls in wholesale electricity and gas prices not yet filtering down to household bills in Ireland.

"Our expectation is that electricity and gas prices will fall but they won't fall fast enough between now and next winter for us to say that there is no longer a case for support," Mr Varadkar told a news conference.

"The basic principle is that there will be help for households and businesses with energy costs ... the exact detail has to be worked out,” he said.

The measures implemented in the last year included direct cuts to all household electricity bills, additional social welfare payments and a grant scheme for businesses that is set to end this month.

Mr Varadkar said the fresh set of supports will be funded from the proceeds of a windfall tax on energy companies that the government is currently rolling out.

Mr Varadkar's comments come days after lobby group Food Drink Ireland, an arm of Ibec, called for extended energy supports. 

It is unclear if these supports will be needed as much as they were a year ago as wholesale gas prices continue to fall across Europe. Irish energy providers are yet to transfer this decline to customer energy bills though.

- Reuters with additional reporting by the Irish Examiner.