Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister. He will be aware that the Irish League of Credit Unions recently conducted a survey of its membership. The survey was widely reported and was a credible piece of research. Some of the findings related to energy costs. One in four respondents said they cannot cope with rising energy prices, 15% said they had to dip into their savings to deal with rising energy costs and 8% said they were unable to cover their household bills. Some very stark facts and figures were disclosed in the research.

We know from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, that between November 2010 and November 2011 the price of natural gas rose by between 12% and 20%, gas oil rose by 21%, bulk propane went up by 16% and kerosene by 28%. The cost of solid fuel fell by 3% and that of briquettes rose by 1%.

The cost to householders has been enormous in that period and people are clearly struggling with regard to it. The Minister mentioned that he published a fuel poverty strategy that lists 48 action points to be addressed. What progress has been made in the implementation of that action plan? Since he published the action plan in November of last year, has the Minister seen a tangible drop in any of the prices I have quoted? If not, when can we expect to see such a drop?

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