James Breen (Clare, Independent)

Energy is another area in which it appears that the Government has no head in that it only takes action when hounded to doing so.

It is most welcome that measures are being introduced to regulate electricity and gas installations and to provide safety in the industry because poor standards have applied in this area for far too long. It is a minor miracle that there have not been more deaths in the construction of buildings and the installation of electricity and gas facilities. I welcome any measure which improves safety in the industry, however late its introduction.

This Bill confers upon the Minister the power to issue policy directions to the Commission for Energy Regulation, a body which was set up as an independent commission under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. The granting of this power to the Minister diminishes the independent standing of the commission and it is not enough to constrain his power by providing that he can only act upon the conclusion of a public consultation process. The commission is either independent or it is not. There should be no grey areas or ministerial interference in this matter.

Provisions are made in the Bill for the taking of emergency measures by means of ministerial order in the event of a sudden crisis in the energy market and for price regulation of the market. It will be interesting to learn how this Minister will construe a crisis, given that it took the Tánaiste years to wake up to the fact that a crisis existed in the health service. It is a pity she did not have similar emergency powers.

At a time when fuel prices are rising, ordinary consumers are being forced to pay more to heat their family homes and run their cars, and businesses are seeing their operational costs increase. The only issue clearly visible to the consumer is the increase in revenue this Government is collecting from the scandalously high rates of VAT it levies on fuel. In the recent past, when the Government was asked to temporarily reduce VAT on fuel, it resisted strongly because it feared that a precedent could be set that would be repeated in other sectors of industry. Precedent be damned — we should look after the ordinary citizens of this country because they elected us in the first place.

The Bill provides for increased inspection powers to monitor the installation and supply of electricity and gas throughout the country. In the past 18 months we have seen inspectorates fail to monitor nursing homes, the labour employment market and child care and crèche facilities. Does anyone in their right mind think that an inspectorate in the area of electricity and gas will succeed when all around it have failed miserably?

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