Dr. Muireann Lynch:

On the issue of energy costs themselves, there is little that can be done to bring down the price of wholesale gas or oil. That price is as it is and that is set at a global level. It has gone really high for all the reasons we know about. On the electricity side, Europe is moving quite quickly on this. It is definitely preferable to move in tandem with the European Union in terms of electricity market design. If it were not for the fact that we were moving in such a direction right now, I might have all sorts of things to say. Right now, however, I am saying we should wait to see what happens on Friday.

In the Irish context, wind is putting downward pressure on electricity prices. Believe it or not, they would be much higher than they are were it not for the wind. We will see the PSO levy go negative this year.

On supports that can be put in place, it is a good idea to keep the supports in monetary terms rather than on the price side. A report was done by colleagues on energy poverty a couple of months ago, which we can forward to members. Cash payments are better; targeted cash payments are best. The worst options are excise duty, messing around with carbon tax, etc., because that tends to accrue far more to the higher income households whereas flat-rate is the middle choice, and using the tax and welfare system-----