Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I am not saying there has been no decrease in the price. What I am arguing, as the Minister has acknowledged, is that there is no correlation between the wholesale price and the retail price that he and I, as consumers, pay for gas and electricity. In commending the Minister on his discussions with energy companies, I note that the companies did not make any serious public statement until they were hauled in by him this week or last week.

Up until then, they managed to hide the entire matter from consumers.

In the absence of a regulator one does not expect these energy companies to voluntarily decrease their prices, but two companies with which the Minister held discussions announced within a day of meeting him that they are decreasing their retail prices or considering doing so. I note that in the case of the first one of which I read, the reduction does not kick in until April. That is regrettable. As I stated at the outset, energy prices have been on the decrease for the past 13 months. We are still in winter. I say this because for many families, particularly those with hardship issues, energy is a big cost. It is regrettable that these companies could not follow the example of E.ON in the United Kingdom, which announced an immediate decrease in energy prices. That company is the first to do so in the UK and I hope, for the sake of consumers there, that other energy companies will do likewise. The Minister would probably agree, on the basis that energy companies here have benefitted for almost 13 months, that any decreases they have announced because of his intervention should kick in immediately.

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