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

I thank the Deputy for the question. Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices came into force in October 2022. This regulation seeks to address windfall gains in the energy sector through a temporary solidarity contribution based on taxable profits in the fossil fuel production and refining sector and a cap on market revenues of specific generation technologies in the electricity sector. The general scheme of the energy (windfall gains in the energy sector) Bill 2023, which will implement the temporary solidarity contribution and the cap on market revenues, was approved by Government and published on 21 March.

The cap on market revenues in the electricity sector will apply from December 2022 to June 2023. The Council regulation does not provide scope to extend the cap on market revenues prior to this period. The temporary solidarity contribution will apply for 2022 and 2023.

The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was assigned consumer protection functions under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and subsequent legislation, and has statutory responsibility for the compliance by energy suppliers with their consumer protection obligations. Electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime, wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial and liberalised. Operating within this overall EU framework, responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets, including the matters raised by the Deputy, is solely a matter for the CRU. The CRU is answerable to the relevant Oireachtas committee.

Like the Deputy, and I am sure all the other Members here, we are very keen to see prices come down, with international gas prices having started to come down from their historical highs. This must be done within the liberal market system, as we said, but I, like the Deputy, look forward to this happening. It is, though, a matter for the CRU to oversee the market directly in this regard.

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