Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

In the meantime, we must face the reality that we are importing most of our gas. If we had it ourselves, it would be different.

The Government recognises that the Deloitte & Touche report which we recently published points to the need for an in-depth examination of electricity providers and of the dynamics of the electricity sector. We have stated that we recognise the fundamental role played by the ESB and that we will continue to protect that, as set out in the recently published Green Paper.

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