Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It is not that I do not have a good heart. This section simply delineates the functions of the Commission for Energy Regulation in the development of the single electricity market. Further and more detailed provisions will be included in the all-island energy market Bill, which is being drafted in co-operation with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. We hope the Bill will be introduced in the House shortly. The proposed amendments are simply not appropriate to this section of the current Bill as they do not relate specifically to the development of an all-island market for the trading of electricity. The amendments are unnecessarily restrictive in so far as they seek to confine energy efficiency services to forms of home heating. As Deputy Broughan indicated, such measures are instruments of social policy. While they may be applied to a market situation, they are not part of the definition of the energy market. The term "as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister" is superfluous and the term used at section 14(1)(e) is all-embracing.

While I take the point made by the Deputies, the energy service sector is wider than home heating and extends to industry and commercial endeavours. It includes the provisions of the Energy Services Directive and the energy efficiency service providers. For this reason I cannot accept these amendments.

See this speech in context