Shorter showers and less car journeys - proposals expected from Minister Ryan

Shorter showers and less car journeys are just some of the measures expected to be promoted under a new Government plan to help people reduce energy costs.  

A "variety of measures" could help people become more energy efficient during the current cost of living crisis, according to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan. 

Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday morning, Minister Ryan repeated his previous comment that the Government "needs to do a lot more" to battle the current crisis.

"Some of those measures will take time," he admitted. However, Minister Ryan noted the "need to focus on energy efficiency" and called on the public to play its part.

He said a number of measures will be considered to lessen the burden on people. 

"The scale of them will depend on the unfolding crisis [in Ukraine] in the next few weeks," he said.

The Environment Minister acknowledged that the Irish public is currently doing all it can to adapt to the rising cost of living.

The Minister said he will look at further supports for more vulnerable households in the coming weeks.

He previously stated that any additional measure in addition to the electricity bill rebate and reduced cost of public transport charges will have to be very targeted measures to ensure they help those most in need. 

It is believed that the Public Service Obligation levy, which is applied to all energy consumers and costs about €57 a year, will be axed from this October