Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In relation to the €180/MWh, I honestly cannot answer that question. That is a question only the EU Energy Commissioner can answer. As I say, it is not agreed. It may be the case that when this action is agreed, that figure will come down. I agree with the Deputy that it seems higher than it should be but, as I say, it is an EU proposal, not a Government one and not one that has been agreed yet by the governments of the EU. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will be attending those meetings. It is intended to have agreement before the end of the month but, hopefully, we will know what the shape of that agreement looks like because it will influence the decisions that we make on budget day.

I absolutely agree that we need to reform the way the EU energy market works. It made sense in the past to give wind and solar generators the best price - the price that the gas generators were getting at peak time - because that was all about encouraging investment in wind and solar, which we need and need more of.

Nobody ever anticipated, however, that gas prices would go so high. As a result, wind generators and solar generators are making profits and booking revenues they never in their wildest dreams thought they would be able to get. That is what needs to change and that is what is being worked on: a new way of pricing electricity so it is not linked to the marginal, peak price of gas. That cannot be done right away, however. It takes a while to reform a market. We therefore need interim measures as well as long-term ones.

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