Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree with the Deputy that the utility companies have to respond in a proper way to companies and households that are in difficulty. There are various mechanisms in place whereby households that are in arrears or are in difficulty in respect of paying bills and so forth can be switched off. The utility companies have developed policies in that respect. Likewise, in terms of the utility companies the Deputy identified, meaningful and flexible approaches and responses should be developed by them in the current situation where, as I have outlined, international market prices for oil and gas have rocketed in the past 12 months and are set to go up again in the short term.

In the context of the broader issues of supply and demand, there has been an issue as economies were recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic that demand far outstripped supply and costs went up accordingly for many products. There was some evidence that was evening out in the past while, but it was a significant factor.

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