Leinster House was hit with a bill for a staggering €334,000 for electricity in December, a 216% increase on the previous year and despite cutting their energy usage.
In internal emails, a staff member wrote of getting “a bit of a shock” after seeing the bills that came rolling in at the end of the year.
Another said that while they had been expecting a “significant step change” in bills, the actual increase “seems very significant”.
Records released by the Oireachtas show the bill for the final month of the year more than trebled from €105,945 in December 2021 to €334,919 in December 2022.
However, gas bills remained more stable as Leinster House relied more on a wood pellet heating system to keep TDs and Senators warm.
While €33,223 was spent on wood pellets between November and December of 2021, €99,000 was spent on them during November and December 2022.