Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

The Deputy is referring to the ESB profits that were announced last week. Ironically, that announcement happened in the same week that Panda Power exited the market which highlights the fact we have some suppliers that are unable to continue while other larger companies, including ESB generation and ESB Networks, are making profits. That is why the EU is stepping in with a new package which aims to limit the profits of generators, particularly those that are not facing the higher cost of buying gas on international markets, that is, those generators that have renewables and other technologies within their portfolios that are earning the higher prices but are not facing the higher costs.

We do not have anything in our regulatory toolbox to deal with that. It is being tackled at a broader, EU level-----