Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

We all accept that money is tight and it is a very difficult time for the country and schools. They must make do with the money given to them by the Department of Education and Skills. A typical school with gas as its main source of energy may spend approximately €10,000 per year and of that half goes towards site charges, VAT and other charges over which the school has no control. It is a business tariff because once the school goes over a certain volume of gas usage, it is automatically on the business tariff.

I have spoken with representatives of schools up and down the country who have asked the Department of Education and Skills to come to some arrangement with the regulator and the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, to bring about a deal for schools. They are in a unique position; a school might not be open for 100 days a year but it will be charged by the gas companies nonetheless. A fairer deal should be negotiable for schools that would cut down on gas bills and allow them to use their money in other ways.

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