Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I attended a briefing by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, last week at which it presented its annual report. The report contains a large amount of good information, including enough statistics to give a person a nose bleed. The SEAI probably needs to work more closely with the Commission on Energy Regulation because a key element was missing from its report, namely, information on the comparative costs per unit of the various forms of energy, including the public subsidy per unit.

While I accept that renewable energy is the way forward, it must compete with a hard-nosed fossil fuel industry. The level of subsidy and its cost to citizens must be reviewed. The people going cold this winter are not confined to those living on the streets but include many people who cannot heat their own homes because of fuel poverty.

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