Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I had a question on the energy area earlier. The Minister said the White Paper will be produced in September but will it include a review of the effectiveness of the Commission for Energy Regulation? I have tried to ask the Minister that question many times but the Ceann Comhairle rules it out saying it is not the Minister's responsibility. However, it clearly is the Minister's responsibility to invigilate the CER and see if it is delivering.

We have almost 3,000 excess deaths each year due to fuel poverty, which affects many people. The retrofitting programme is helping but a significant number of people spend up to 10% of their income or more on fuel. Given that they are enduring fuel poverty, will the Minister re-examine the CER? In correspondence with the Minister I indicated that the mathematical model the CER uses for setting gas and other fuel prices needs to be looked at. As the Minister knows, it has been criticised in some economic journals. I have received voluminous correspondence from the CER, but a thorough invigilation of the commission should be at the heart of the Minister's White Paper.

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