A Sinn Féin MEP has accused the Government of ignoring advice when it announced that it would not be including energy credits in October's budget.
In the previous three budgets the Government included one-off energy credits (€600 for 2023, €250 for both 2024 and 2025).
However, it said that such supports were not sustainable and that a different approach was needed in Budget 2026.
Lynn Boylan said that documents released to her under the Freedom of Information Act showed that the Government scrapped the energy credits despite advice from officials.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Ms Boylan said: "The cost of living crisis has not gone away, and people are actually struggling more now than they were even a year ago."
She said the case for not including the credits in the budget "just didn't stack up".
"According to the Department's own analysis, when you take away the energy credits and the vast reduction, the difference was €321 extra that households would be expected to pay this year.
"Energy bills now are more expensive than they were at the height of that crisis in 2022 after the illegal invasion of Ukraine."
Ms Boylan also said the Government was not doing anything to tackle price increases by energy companies.
"Bar Electric Ireland, all of the electricity companies have increased the cost of electricity," she said.
Ms Boylan said that not providing the energy credits was a "political choice".
"It's not any more expensive than the vast cost that they just gave to developers for apartments that had planning permission and that have already got buyers," she said.
"A political choice was made.
"You can't leave people at a cliff edge of just pulling the rug from under them in terms of the energy credits, and at the same time, not try and bring down the cost of electricity for people."
