Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The main cause is that rising international gas prices have resulted in knock-on increases in both gas and electricity prices, the latter because of the role gas plays in the Irish power generation portfolio. Given our reliance on imported gas, increases in gas and electricity prices are, in turn, caused by increases in international gas prices as well as increased transport charges and adverse movements in exchange rates.

In line with the European average and increasing wholesale gas prices, for example, in the United Kingdom, retail energy prices have increased since 2009. Three of the UK's big six energy companies have recently announced price increases of between 8% and 10.4% for their electricity and gas offerings. Therefore, I welcome the decision of Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy not to increase electricity tariffs this year. The Deputy will be aware that Airtricity has announced its intention to increase prices by 3.8% from 1 November.

The matters raised by Deputy Moynihan are naturally a concern to me, the Government, the regulator and voluntary organisations. The work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other similar organisations in supporting those who are in debt or who have difficulty paying bills is to be applauded. However, the society does not explain how it arrives at the figure quoted by the Deputy nor does my advice support that figure.

The affordable energy strategy is the centrepiece of the Government's strategy to protect these households at risk from energy poverty. The strategy was published in November 2011 and identifies 48 actions for implementation. Upgrading the thermal efficiency of people's homes is fundamental to addressing energy poverty, with the main delivery mechanism being the better energy warmer homes programme. Under this programme households can obtain a range of grants to provide draught-proofing, attic insulation, lagging jackets for hot water tanks, low-energy light bulbs and cavity wall insulation, which are free of charge to low-income families.

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The better energy warmer homes programme was allocated Exchequer funding of €21 million this year and this is expected to result in the upgrading of over 10,000 homes. It is anticipated that the better energy allocation in budget 2014 will allow energy efficiency measures to be installed in a further 15,000 energy-poor homes next year, bringing the total number of low-income homes supported by the programme to more than 120,000 since its launch. In total across the wider better energy programme more than 250,000 homes have received Government support for the installation of energy efficiency improvement measures.

Responsibility for the regulation of the retail electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, which is an independent statutory body. Retail electricity prices are fully deregulated and similarly for gas, except for Bord Gáis Éireann tariffs for domestic consumers. In this regard, I welcome the recent announcements by two of the main suppliers, Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy, to freeze their prices for the remainder of this year. I have no statutory function in the setting of electricity or gas prices.

Electricity and gas costs in Ireland are influenced by various drivers, including global gas and oil prices, the costs of capital, exchange rate fluctuations and the small size of the Irish market. The wholesale price of gas is the most significant factor in the case of Ireland for electricity and gas. This has risen steadily since 2009, driven by events such as those in the Middle East, north Africa and Japan.

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