Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Neither amendment is acceptable. The wording of amendment No. 14 would not be consistent with the requirement under EU and Irish legislation that all customers should be free to choose their supplier. On amendment No. 15, I am not necessarily against the proposal to extend contestability of connections to the distribution system level in principle if it can deliver more efficiency and competition. However, further consideration must be given to a legislative underpinning of this provision. In particular this wording may not be consistent with EU and Irish legislation on terms and conditions for third-party access to the electricity grid. Those issues need to be carefully considered.

This section, dealing with the functions of the CER regarding the all-island market, is not necessarily the place to address these matters legislatively. This issue will be factored into the ongoing work to transpose EU Directive 2003/54/EC on the distribution system operator unbundling.

See this speech in context