Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

The reason is that it is an important part of the energy paper but it is not the be all and end all. The Deloitte & Touche report is part of that. We have used it as an input in terms of the electricity sector in the overall energy paper we are producing. That is the reason it has not been published before now. It will be published some time after the energy policy document is published. It did not cost millions of euro. I do not have the figure available to me but it cost just over €1 million. It is a quality report, as I said previously.

The Deputy talked about selected leaks. The one aspect that has frustrated journalists, whatever about the Deputy, is that there have not been any leaks about the Deloitte & Touche report. The article the Deputy refers to that appeared last February is incorrect but it was a good piece of journalism in that they went into the website, examined the terms of reference for the study Deloitte & Touche eventually got and made a number of assumptions which were not accurate.

Regarding the ESB seeking a 20% increase, that is a matter for the Commission on Energy Regulation. Neither the ESB nor the CER will consult me on that matter. The levels of increase in electricity and gas prices are reflective of what is happening with fossil fuels generally but there is no doubt there is room for savings in terms of reducing costs and increasing efficiencies in the ESB. The level of efficiency of a variety of the plant in the ESB leaves a lot to be desired — it is not near the European average. There are labour practices in the ESB that add to the cost for the consumer and I am sure the Commission on Energy Regulation will take all those into account, as it did last year. I look forward to the Deputy's full support in ensuring we reduce ESB costs as much as we can——

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