Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I will do my best but one can never be sure of anything, although I am sure the Minister of State would like to do his best to accommodate the amendments. I do not accept the independence of the regulator. It is a crazy and outlandish notion. As has been evident in the past few weeks, regulators make decisions about the prices of electricity and gas against a backdrop of oil prices falling internationally. In one case, oil was available free on the London market. If one had a bucket, one could have loaded it up and taken it home. Against that backdrop, the regulator was able to increase the prices of electricity and gas, yet the Minister of State says the regulator should be independent. I have no doubt that the regulator, like Ministers, should be highly accountable to the House. This has nothing to do with politics but with accountability in so far as the provision of a vital and urgent utility service is a serious issue.

I do not wish to lose the objectivity of the debate but there are serious issues looming on the horizon if the Department is of the view that regulators are the ultimate in terms of accountability, wisdom and infallibility. I refer to another recent situation where whole swathes of people with telephone and broadband services were disconnected at the wave of a wand, arbitrarily and without warning. I do not accept that the regulator is the ultimate decision-maker, or should be seen as such, and I fully recognise the sensitivities of the North-South arrangement and the single market. Political responsibility rests here and also with the Northern authorities. I am certain they would be the first to say they would wish to have some degree of accountability in these matters.

I re-emphasise my belief that the amendment is meritorious. The Minister made some accommodating noises earlier in the House that something similar might be incorporated at some stage in the Bill. I do not know how they will be transposed into law but we are looking forward hopefully.

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