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

I am aware of Ofgem's public statement in Britain. In addition, I have noted the comments by Ofgem's chairman, who is the former chairman of our own Commission for Energy Regulation. The situation is not directly analogous; the main driving force here is the wholesale price of gas, over which we have no control. I take the Deputy's point that I am ultimately accountable to the House but, unfortunately, gas prices are not within my control. I can list for the Deputy what the regulator is focusing on.

As it happens, I met with the regulator last week on this issue. I expressed concerns similar to the ones the Deputy has just articulated. I subsequently wrote to the regulator setting out my views. Unfortunately, however, exchange rate fluctuations, the small size of the Irish market and the extent to which we are reliant on gas to generate electricity are issues that are also outside the regulator's control.

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The issues on which the regulator concentrates are putting in place energy efficiency measures, creating the framework for competition in the market, including regulatory structures, and seeking to move away from a reliance on high-priced imported gas with its volatile and sometimes high prices towards a greater diversity of fuels used in electricity generation. The Commission for Energy Regulation scrutinises network costs for both transmission and distribution which form part of final retail electricity prices. I should say that is the focus of Government policy.

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