Electric Ireland - Experts & Thought Leaders

Electric Ireland has teamed up with former Minor legends, Kilkenny’s Michael Fennelly and Mayo’s Seamie O’Shea, to launch the 2023 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship. Electric Ireland understands participation in Gaelic Games plays a key role in supporting young people to shape their future success on and off the field of play. These moments as a Minor have a major impact, often long after their participation in the Championships has ended. Electric Ireland’s Minor Moments Electric Ireland will celebrate the achievements of players from the Minor Championships In recognition of this, Electric Ireland is using their social channels to spotlight a player each week partaking in the Football, Hurling and Camogie Minor Championships. A Player of the Week is revealed weekly on Electric Ireland’s Twitter page (@electricireland). Later this year, Electric Ireland will celebrate the achievements of players from the Minor Championships through the Electric Ireland GAA and Camogie Minor Star Awards. Electric Ireland’s Minor Moments podcast returned earlier this year for its second season featuring people who took part in the Minor Championships, reflecting on their defining moments and how they shaped them both on and off the pitch. To date, episodes have featured Camogie stars Niamh McGrath, Orla O’Dwyer and Ursula Jacob with episodes featuring Kilkenny legend Michael Fennelly, Galway dual-star Alan Kerins and mental wellness advocate and former Westmeath Minor footballer, Niall Breslin. Participation in Gaelic Games Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy said: “Over the last number of years, with Electric Ireland’s support, the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships has gone from strength to strength, with our minor players being recognized for their major achievements both on and off the field. We look forward to continuing to shine a light on these players this season and wish every county team the very best of luck over the next few months.” Sarah Sharkey, Group Sponsorship & PR Manager Electric Ireland, commented: “Electric Ireland is delighted to partner with the GAA and the Camogie Association in support of their Minor Championships. We understand the major role that participation in Gaelic Games plays in shaping young people’s futures on and off the field of play, the experience it provides and the relationships it builds that endure long after their involvement in the Minor Championships ends." Having sponsored the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships since 2012, Electric Ireland last year extended their support of the Championships until 2027.

The 2023 Electric Ireland GAA Celtic Challenge hurling competition gets underway on Saturday 8th April with 38 teams from 30 counties taking part in one of the most innovative developmental initiatives within the GAA calendar. Electric Ireland GAA Celtic Challenge The Electric Ireland GAA Celtic Challenge has played an integral role in expanding the games program for top-tier and developing counties since 2016. A U17 developmental competition, the group format provides teams with the opportunity to play three games over the space of three weekends. Quarter-final pairings are performance-based with counties playing up to six games in the competition. All-Ireland Minor Championship Counties have the opportunity to enter multiple teams with the success of this model evidenced in 2022 as there was success right across the tiers. Cork North, Wicklow Blue, and Kildare Lilywhites joined Tipperary, Offaly, and Sligo in claiming honors. Cork, who have again entered four sides in the Celtic Challenge along with one team in the All-Ireland Minor Championship, are an example of counties providing a great opportunity for the players in their pathway. Divisional trophies The Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge is named in recognition of the original juvenile hurling club known as ‘Celtic’ The Kildare resurgence in hurling is being rewarded for their efforts in fielding three Celtic Challenge sides alongside a minor team while Wicklow and Offaly have entered two teams as they work towards creating more players of inter-county standard within their counties. The Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge is named in recognition of the original juvenile hurling club known as ‘Celtic’. The Divisional trophies are named in memory of six of the 14 civilians who were killed at Croke Park on Bloody Sunday, 21st November 1920: Michael Hogan (24), Tom Hogan (27), John William Scott (14), William Robinson (11), Jerome O’Leary (10) and Michael Feery (40). nurturing talents Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy said, “The Celtic Challenge plays a crucial role in nurturing the next generation of hurling talent. It allows more players to play and test themselves, not only in a competitive environment but at a level in which they can compete." "For our established counties it broadens the net for them to try out players. For our emerging countries, there is the chance to develop talent and make progress." McCarthy's comments "Landmark events like Naas winning an intermediate club championship last year Kildare being in an Allianz National League final, or Tooreen of Mayo and Easkey of Sligo contesting junior and intermediate club hurling finals at Croke Park this year show that the hard work being done by clubs to grow the game is working." “Last year, Wicklow deservedly made headlines by reaching two Celtic Challenge finals and winning one, and I know that in a recent league outing, they had 12 of their starting team who had come through the Celtic Challenge ranks which shows how beneficial it can be. For a young competition it has already left its mark and I want to thank our partners, Electric Ireland, for their assistance in helping us to grow this competition.” games program for all counties GAA Director of Coaching & Games, Shane Flanagan, said, “The Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge is an integral part of the GAA developmental program. The competition provides a meaningful games program for all counties and ensures that there is an appropriate pathway for players from developing counties to play intercounty hurling against top-tier sides." "Additionally, it allows Tier 1 counties to have additional players outside of their intercounty minor squads therefore widening their base of players. We have seen multiple success stories in recent years through the competition and our finals days always produce some top-quality games as part of a festival of hurling.” Gaelic Games players Speaking at the launch, Sarah Sharkey, Group Sponsorship & PR Manager for Electric Ireland, said, “At Electric Ireland, we are passionate about supporting the youth and development of Gaelic Games players which is why we are delighted to be launching our second year as a sponsor of the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge Cup." "We understand just how important these developmental competitions are for young players and hope that the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge Cup can represent a pivotal and memorable time in these players’ lives, paving the way for future successes, on and off the pitch.” The competition starts on Saturday 8th April and all teams will qualify for a Quarter-Final on Saturday, 6th May. Winners will then advance to their respective semi-finals on Saturday 13th May and the Finals are on Saturday 27th May. 

Electric Ireland announced that it is forgoing profit from its residential electricity business. A €50 credit will be applied to each existing Electric Ireland residential electricity customer and the Electric Ireland Hardship Fund will be increased by €2 million to €5 million. increased gas prices Pat Fenlon, Executive Director, of Electric Ireland said, “2022 has been a very challenging year for energy customers, primarily due to increases in international gas prices." "We are acutely aware of customers' pressures this Winter and, recognizing these exceptional circumstances, Electric Ireland is forgoing profit from its residential electricity business. Electric Ireland’s residential customers can each expect to receive €50 credit in the New Year.” manageable payment plan “In addition, increasing the Electric Ireland Hardship Fund by €2 million to bring it to €5 million, will help ensure the fund is accessible to those most in need of support during the Winter months.” Mr. Fenlon ended the announcement with an assurance to customers, “We are committed to helping any of our customers who experience financial difficulty. As always, we encourage any Electric Ireland customer who has difficulty paying their energy bill to engage with us and we will work with them to put a manageable payment plan in place.” Electric Ireland Hardship Fund  Since December 2020, Electric Ireland has committed €8 million in funds to help customers experiencing difficulty paying energy bills. The Electric Ireland Hardship Fund is €5 million following the € 2 million increase announced today, 19th December 2022.  June 2022- Electric Ireland announced a €3 Million Hardship Fund March 2021 - Electric Ireland provided a €2 Million Fund due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and increased energy costs. December 2020 - Electric Ireland gave €1 Million to 10,000 registered vulnerable customers. December 2022 - Electric Ireland has donated €200,000 to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP).  Electric Ireland Customer Supports A disconnection moratorium is in place for the coming months and will continue until the end of February for all residential customers, and until the end of March 2023 for those who are registered as vulnerable customers, as mandated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Electric Ireland engages with all residential customers who have trouble paying their bills in line with the voluntary Industry Energy Engage Code. They encourage any Electric Ireland customer who has difficulty paying their energy bill to contact and will work with them to put in place a manageable payment plan. Electric Ireland has thousands of these payment plans in place at present. Electric Ireland works with Fuel Poor customers who sign up for the Household Budget Scheme, or Industry Solution Prepayment Meter as a way to pay their energy bills and also apply a 5% discount. Electric Ireland provides several flexible payment options, including an Equaliser product that enables customers to spread their energy costs in equal payments across the year or to take a payment holiday by agreeing on a plan to pay their bills over eleven months instead of twelve. lowest standard unit rate Each electricity supplier sets its standard rate, and their quoted discounts are applied from that base. Electric Ireland is committed to providing the best value to customers and currently offers the lowest standard unit rate in the market for electricity bills, with an available additional enduring discount rate of up to 8.5% for direct debit and e-billing customers, which reduces those unit rates further.