Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are boundaries to what the Minister of State can do, which I understand, even though I would prefer if some of them were not in place. They are set out in the legislation. The problem is that there is no competition on prices; rather, in some cases there are signs that energy prices have increased since the so-called liberalisation of the sector. The regulator judges competition solely by switching rates, that is, the number of people who change from one supplier to another in any one year. I understand the rate is high compared with that in other European countries. That is the reason the regulator gives and has given in the past, but the problem is it does not deal with the issue of price because people are given a reduced price for a short period only. Has there been any recent initiative? Through his powers in legislation, has the Minister of State asked the regulator to initiate an investigation into the prices charges? Last year the electricity supply of 4,626 households was disconnected.

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