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

The energy security package grounds Ireland's energy policy on three policy objectives: sustainability, affordability, and security. Action 2 of the package commits to standardising the approach used to evaluate the affordability of new and existing policy initiatives for consumers. My Department is committed to ensuring policies that have an impact on consumers are evidence-based, with costs minimised as far as possible, and assessed according to these policy objectives.

The core driver of higher energy bills for Irish households and businesses is high wholesale energy prices. Ireland is a price-taker on international fossil fuel energy markets and the rise in wholesale gas prices since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the connection between gas and electricity prices, has had a serious impact on household energy costs. Due to consistently high gas storage levels and the efforts to reduce demand across Europe, wholesale gas prices fell substantially throughout last year and are currently well below the peak values of August 2022. While energy prices remain above their pre-pandemic levels, consumers are starting to experience reductions in gas and electricity prices. This is a welcome development and I expect all suppliers to continue to pass through savings to consumers as quickly as possible.

In June 2023, I wrote to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to investigate pricing strategies within retail energy markets, and to report on whether market failure has occurred. Its report found no evidence of market failures, and it will continue to monitor this into the future. Throughout the period of high energy prices, the Government has continued to support energy consumers to stay warm and well. Most recently, budget 2024 introduced a total €2.2 billion suite of once-off cost-of-living measures to assist families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities. This included a new electricity cost emergency benefit scheme through which €412.83, exclusive of VAT, is being credited to each domestic electricity account in three payments of €137.61, again exclusive of VAT, between December 2023 and April this year.

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