Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

That does not deal with this situation. Gas was available free of charge in the UK two weeks ago but industrial electricity costs in this country are 30% higher than in Great Britain. Industry, as the Taoiseach knows, is not included in the CPI figures. He said the price rises were unlikely to drive anybody out of the country. The company of which I speak will suffer an increase in electricity costs for next year of €800,000. I have evidence from a food processing firm in Cork whose gas bill has doubled from €3.4 million to a staggering €6.8 million per annum in the past four years. We are pricing ourselves out of the competitive market.

I have been informed by the company in question, as has the Minister, that for companies trading internationally these increases cannot be passed on and will ultimately be addressed by moving operations out of Ireland unless the situation is resolved effectively. That is a clear warning to the Taoiseach as head of Government.

Will the Taoiseach send a direction to the regulator to defer these price increases until such time as a full-scale assessment of the pricing regime is carried out? While the Taoiseach cannot direct the CER it should take cognisance of what the Taoiseach says.

Will the Taoiseach review the electricity pricing model, which will seriously affect thousands of jobs in this country? This is a very serious issue. Will he agree to do so on the basis that these increases are savage? At a time when world oil prices are falling they are going through the roof in this country. He is now warned, in advance, of what he needs to do. Will he defer the price increases and carry out a real assessment of the electricity pricing regime so as to allow some comfort to businesses, families and the elderly?

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