O’Flynn: Ireland now paying highest electricity prices in Europe as household energy debt climbs

Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn has said the Government can no longer ignore the reality facing families, after new figures confirm that Ireland now has the highest household electricity prices in the entire European Union, alongside a worrying rise in energy debt.

Eurostat’s latest data for the first half of 2025 puts Ireland at the very top of the league table for electricity prices. At the same time, information provided to Deputy O’Flynn shows almost 300,000 households now in electricity arrears and more than 180,000 behind on their gas bills. One in four gas customers is struggling to keep up with payments, with the average household carrying €472 in electricity debt and €206 in gas debt.

Deputy O’Flynn said these numbers point to a pattern that people in every community understand all too well.

“Families are under enormous strain. Electricity in Ireland is now the most expensive in the European Union and the number of people falling into arrears keeps rising. That’s not the mark of a market working well — it’s a sign that households are stretched to breaking point.”

He said the widening gap between wholesale and retail prices has become impossible to justify.

“Wholesale prices have come back from the extreme levels we saw at the height of the crisis. Yet households are still being hit with bills that bear no resemblance to the reductions seen on the wholesale side. The Government talks about hedging and market structures, but people sitting at the kitchen table see only a bill they’re struggling to pay.”

Deputy O’Flynn said the Government must be far more transparent and proactive in tackling arrears and rebuilding trust in the energy system.

“We need to see exactly how movements in wholesale prices translate into the bills people receive. We need real oversight of supplier pricing, because right now it feels like households are carrying all the risk and none of the benefit. And we need a proper, targeted plan to help those at risk of falling deeper into debt, rather than repeating short-term credits that offer little long-term certainty.”

He said it is unacceptable that Ireland now leads Europe for electricity costs.

“The Minister needs to set out a clear plan to bring down prices, reduce household energy debt and protect families before next winter. People can’t keep absorbing these levels of pressure — they’ve had enough.”