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

The regulator has powers in respect of these issues. This is the worst energy crisis we have had. It surpasses even that of the 1970s. By definition, it is feeding into the price in the market and that is why the Government has taken unprecedented moves in the recent budget to provide substantial payments across the social protection system between now and the end of the year. The energy credit and a whole range of other reduction of costs initiatives have been undertaken to try to enable people to get through the winter. I hope this trend will continue beyond the winter. That would be great news all round.

At European Union level, different member states have different energy mixes. Gas has been the determining factor in electricity prices. Some countries have up to a 70% dependence on gas for electricity while other countries' dependence is as low as 20%. The Iberian Peninsula has a different energy mix than most of Europe, with a very strong performance on renewables. It has carved out a particular model and the European Commission is examining that to see could it have a wider application.

In short, we are all coming at it from a different perspective. The Irish perspective puts security of supply first. Our relationship with the UK is key. We do not want any unilateral decisions to impact security of supply from the UK to Ireland.

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