Dr. Niall Farrell:

On energy prices, the EU published a toolbox that presented the components of energy prices across Europe. On average, the components that are attributable to taxes and levies in Ireland are much less than the EU average so there was less headroom to compensate this effect. I have my ESB bill with me and the public service obligation or PSO levy, which is used for subsidies, comes to around €13 for two months or more than €6 for on month but recently the ESB announced an increase and that amounts to €9. Therefore, one hits the threshold so perhaps there is less leeway there.

If we changed the taxes and welfare systems then we can target those who are more vulnerable. That comes down to deciding whether we want to help those who are most vulnerable because that might perhaps give us more bang for our buck.