Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 14, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:

“Reporting 14.(1) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the application of the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III and the Submeter Support Scheme to address high electricity costs.

(2) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the application of the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III and the Submeter Support Scheme compared to emergency measures adopted in other EU states to address high electricity costs.”.

This amendment has the effect of requiring the Minister to review and report the use of electricity credits to address the high energy prices. In fairness, some of these were exacerbated by reasons outside of the Government's control such as the war in Ukraine and international factors, and then there are other elements which are unique to Ireland. I propose that there would be two elements to this.

7 o’clock

The amendment proposes that the Minister "shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Dáil a report on the application of the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III and the Submeter Support Scheme to address high electricity costs" and that the Minister shall "prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the application of the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III and the Submeter Support Scheme compared to emergency measures adopted in other EU states to address high electricity costs".

The amendment calls for a period of reflection during which we look at the performance of these measures as a policy intervention here and how they compare with what is adopted by other countries. I made a point on Second Stage which I believe is relevant here in a wider context. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, is looking at this and it is important that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, the Department and the Minister are very conscious of it. There are unique factors in Ireland that contribute to the high cost of electricity. Some of these are outside of the control of the Government. Some of them are within its control, whether in terms of the design of the schemes we have, the design of our systems, the nature of our grid and the nature of the energy market that we have here. Many people point towards the price of electricity in Ireland before the market was deregulated. We are embarking on a massive and very important energy transition and I again refer to the Wind Energy Ireland presentation in the audiovisual room. Consistently when it asks people for their perspective on wind energy, and we might more broadly say renewables, the number one reason that endears people to this notion is the prospect of reduced electricity bills. We are seeing the opposite. Relatively the prices are reducing but we are seeing the price of renewables increasing. This is something that must be tackled if we are to deliver on the shared collective objective of energy independence and security.

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