Results 1,961-1,980 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: That was electricity. What are the figures for gas?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Does Mr. Nolan have the Q3 and Q4 figures for gas?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: So it is the same as electricity. Will the CER be publishing the gas figures soon?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: One of the figures that jumps out is the trend in gas disconnections which has tripled.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I know we are only looking at two quarters but there is a substantial change in that figure in contrast to the other figures Mr. Nolan has shared with us. Does he have any explanation as to what might be behind that?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: For the corresponding period in the previous year the figures doubled. For that period in the most recent yearn they tripled, so it is a very substantial change.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I draw a parallel between this issue and mortgage arrears. A set of figures that is of help sometimes in understanding where the crisis can go is the issue of indebtedness or distressed mortgages. Does Mr. Nolan have any analysis on the issue of arrears in relation to the payment on utility bills that might allow us to understand where the trend might go?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: What is the difference between how customers would define themselves and how a supplier would?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Could Mr. Nolan give some consideration to getting a better analysis of this issue on indebtedness and arrears on utility bills because in our role as public representatives we come across so many symbols of the difficulty in which people find themselves, whether it be not having a job or not being able to pay a mortgage payment? One of the wretched ones is meeting somebody whose home is...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Even if we cannot get information on the social profile, a better analysis of what is the issue of arrears or indebtedness will help us head off or deal with the issue of disconnections in the future. Even if there is not a legal obligation on the companies, there are other wider obligations that they might consider in supplying that information to Mr. Nolan.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Okay, that is fine. The broad point regarding indebtedness and arrears stands on its own and would be a helpful contribution to tackling a horrific problem that we all want to see dealt with. Mr. Nolan responded well to many of the points Deputy O'Donnell made on the issue of price increases. An issue I want to look at is the relationship between the profitability of the companies and the...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: How would that stack up versus where the company was in previous years, as a trend?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Did its profitability not fall a bit last year but its dividend payment went up, or something like that? It made a profit of €90 million. ESB is a vast organisation. It is known as the ESB Group, with many different segments. Could Mr. Nolan attribute a profit figure to the part of its business that supplies electricity?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: The metric for profitability of an organisation such as the ESB is still hundreds of millions of euro.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Companies.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: When Mr. Nolan is making a pricing decision, what reference, if any, is paid to the profitability of the organisation that is submitting the application?

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: There is an evident inconsistency between the fact that customers are being disconnected in the State and many are having to ration their electricity and gas, when the utilities that are providing them are generating very high levels of profit. I would certainly ask that when looking at future pricing decisions in the context of the terrible environment that we are in, Mr. Nolan give as much...

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: Sure.

Public Accounts Committee: Commission for Aviation Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Communications Regulation - Financial Statement 2011
Commission for Energy Regulation - Financial Statement 2011 (17 Jan 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Mr. Nolan for his answers. I want to turn quickly to Mr. Chisholm. Many of his areas have already been covered. I will focus briefly on the status of Eircom and the relationship between Eircom and Mr. Chisholm's organisation. I understand that Eircom was designated quite recently as a universal service provider, USP. For my benefit, could Mr. Chisholm explain what that means?