Soaring energy costs - Lessons we must learn

SOARING energy costs are putting more and more home budgets into the red.

Escalating gas and electricity charges are having an impact on some families’ ability to meet their commitments to lenders.

The situation will be exacerbated next month when gas prices will rise by another 8% following a 20% rise just last month. Yesterday the Money Advice and Budgeting Service and the Commission for Energy Regulation warned about the dangers of arrears building upon energy accounts. This is the reality of escalating costs and escalating unemployment.

These changes have a disproportionate impact on the lives of the least well off but carry a lesson for us all. We cannot defer for a moment longer any measures that might make us less dependent on imported energy.