Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a WTO tariff in this respect but the EU does not apply it. The EU has zero tariffs on gas imports.

The price of gas will not be affected and the same is true of electricity. As such, no tariff is being applied to electricity.

On the issue of controlling the price, this is essentially a market system so the price is governed by supply and demand, under the oversight of regulators. Clearly, if we are trying to bring renewables onto the grid and rapid call-up capacity is needed, arrangements for such capacity payments can be made within the marketplace. It is a regulated market in which the regulator set the requirements in the public interest. The way it works thereafter is that trades occur on a day-to-day basis as a market to clear. The regulator's decisions are entirely independent. As Minister, I do not have any role in asking the regulator to carry out a review. If there was an issue of alleged collusion which people thought the regulator was not overseeing, the competition authority would be the port of call on price issues. This is essentially a regulated market with the regulators, North and South, directly involved in managing the market. The reason it may be more expensive than others is that we are a small market and have limited interconnection with the wider European market. Notwithstanding that, we have been very successful in integrating renewables in the market and we are regarded as something of a model of best practice for how a small grid can integrate renewables to a high level. Our ambition is to build that much further.