Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right. The price of gas has gone beyond compare and up to higher levels. For more than 20 years, it was fairly steady and at a price range typically measured in pence sterling because that is where our gas market is priced from. As the Deputy said, it has gone from some 40 or 50 pence per unit up to about 180 pence in the UK pricing yesterday. I have just come out of a meeting with the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson. I understand the members of the committee will be meeting her later, which is a good chance to question her on the prospects. From listening to her this morning, this is an ongoing and real crisis. Just in recent days, we have seen that gas to the Dutch market is likely to be cut off, as I understand it, and it is something similar with the Danish market, and even in the German market restrictions are coming.

In all likelihood, as Europe switches away from the use of gas, there is an underlying need for us to do so for climate reasons but also now for security reasons. As much and as fast as we do that, given the switch away from Russian gas, and 150 billion cu. m of gas were imported from Russia into Europe last year, the commission has said that two thirds or three quarters of that cannot be replaced. That is why, first and foremost, we have to push the development of our own renewable power and really focus on energy efficiency as a way of saving on bills, and also introducing even further measures to try to help consumers through this difficult time.

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