Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

acknowledges that Irish households and businesses are burdened with some of the highest prices in the EU for electricity and gas;

recognises that energy costs are a key component of Irish economic competitiveness and that Ireland's ability to develop and attract new business is suffering from high energy costs as reported by numerous business surveys by IDA Ireland, the Irish Management Institute and Forfás;

notes that a discussion on reforming energy price regulation is currently ongoing between the social partners;

notes the decision of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) during July 2008 to grant electricity and gas price increases of 17.5% and of 20% respectively, due to spiralling oil prices at $147 a barrel;

is disappointed at the failure to reduce energy prices in the most recent review of prices as oil has collapsed by over 80% to approximately $40 a barrel;

notes that approximately 10% of every electricity bill is directly attributable to energy companies being compelled by the regulator to factor in the cost of carbon (emitted during generation) into their electricity pricing, despite the fact that they themselves are not currently required to pay for carbon allowances for emissions (until 2013 when a carbon trading market will function across the EU);

emphasises the fact that the regulator is required to set prices at a level that will not only take account of the cost of generation, transmission and supply but also at a level that will encourage new entrants into the market in an effort to promote competition and in doing so is keeping energy prices artificially high;

is concerned that the current regulatory regime is now damaging Irish cost competitiveness and adding to the challenges of recession;

is encouraged by the potential of reforming the energy regulatory environment to deliver price reductions and improve economic competitiveness, while incurring no additional cost on the Exchequer;

recognises that the energy sector must be central to any economic recovery plan, in terms of more competitive pricing and the creation of significant numbers of sustainable job opportunities in an exciting and rapidly developing renewable energy industry; and

recognises the importance of prioritising the case to maximise funding available to Ireland from the EU Commission Economic Stimulus Package, to subsidise the cost of upgrading Ireland's electricity grid and interconnection between Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe in the future;

calls on the Government to:

instruct the energy regulator to conduct, without delay, an extraordinary energy price review, as allowed by section 10 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and section 7 of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006;

change the regulatory framework for at least a two year period, to prioritise achieving the lowest possible energy prices for households and businesses;

either introduce a windfall profits tax to recoup unearned profits from energy companies, who earn up to €300 million a year from charging consumers for carbon emissions, or alternatively instruct the CER to remove the charge for carbon altogether from bills for the next two years;

instruct the regulator to set a price ceiling for ESB and Bord Gáis prices and replace the current practice of setting a fixed actual price, in order to allow the ESB and Bord Gáis to supply cheaper energy;

require the energy regulator to hold more comprehensive public hearings with oral submissions from interested parties, including consumer groups, in advance of any new proposed price review; and

immediately introduce the promised legislation to transfer electricity transmission assets from ESB to EirGrid.

I wish to share time with Deputies Durkan, Breen, Connaughton, Deenihan and O'Dowd.

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