Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There were reductions last winter and it is not true to say the gap is a year. I had a close engagement with the suppliers last winter and, indeed, with the regulator and it was explained to me that because of the manner in which supplies of oil and gas are acquired, the companies use a hedging mechanism. In fact, gas is the more relevant to our discussion. They buy ahead at a price they judge to be a good one. If the price goes down, they are still, as they put it, stuck with the product they bought at the higher price. It takes some time for it to work its way through. In fairness, I said that if they were saying that and it was credible, I would want to see the prices come down after six months when the hedging impact was over. The prices have, in fact, come down. It is very important for consumers that they are paying less for their gas and electricity.