Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

Unfortunately, the network charges have increased. Senator Higgins is aware we are currently consulting on new network charges in electricity, which include the cost of the temporary emergency generation. Those costs are increasing also. We have taken steps as much as we can to reduce the impact on customers. We have taken the decision to rebalance €50 million away from domestic customers to the large users.

We also looked at what we could do to mitigate cost inflation on gas as well. We took a number of steps, which are outlined in the network charges paper for gas. Unfortunately, we are seeing those gas network charges increase, but not as much as the electricity network charges are increasing. It is the case that there are increased costs associated with networks at the moment.

Turning to the role of gas in security of supply, the Senator will be aware that the Department has published its review of security of supply, which covers electricity and gas, and that reinforces the important role that gas-fired generation plays, in particular as we move away from fuels like coal and oil which emit more carbon.

Gas emits less carbon. The technology for gas-fired generation is more flexible-----