Results 25,061-25,080 of 31,374 for speaker:Eamon Ryan

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I thank Senator Brady for allowing me to speak. I am very glad to have the opportunity to set out some of the details of our energy policy and the crucial issue of pricing for householders and businesses. I want to correct what I regard as some of the misapprehensions about the competitive position of electricity prices. The opportunity afforded to me by the Seanad in this debate is very...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: We did more. This was the first country in Europe to introduce a tax on carbon for those utilities in respect of which there is a windfall tax up to 2012 and we are reallocating the money to industry because we recognise there is a competitiveness agenda which we must support. A number of changes were made. This should be recognised. Many statistics are being bandied about for different...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: They are the European statistics which the Deputy can check with EUROSTAT.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: They are the facts. Similarly, for small businesses, they were 3% below the eurozone average. The figures relate to the second half of 2009 and will change again. Our position improved further in the first half of this year. As in 2009, we tended to see greater reductions than other eurozone countries. Each category changes, as there is a complex pricing mechanism. However, the cost to...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: They are the facts as printed by EUROSTAT.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: No, I do not.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I do not want to increase prices. That is the problem; people are trying to score political points. No one in this House, on either side-----

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: -----wants the Irish consumer to face a difficult price increase. What we need is diversity of supply. The PSO was introduced in 2001 to protect the consumer in the long run and develop alternative supplies which would be less volatile. No one wants to increase prices. The PSO was introduced for strategic reasons which made sense. As well as prices for the average Irish household being...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: Under the legislation, the regulator operates the system and assesses what the actual figure should be.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: He does this within a fixed timetable as prescribed in the legislation. There is no discretion. The PSO levy is in place to compensate suppliers using a range of strategic sustainable local energy resources that we need to encourage in order that we will not be completely reliant on imported fossil fuels. This makes sense for us as one of the countries most dependent on imported fossil...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: That would be the outcome of the Fine Gael policy of no longer supporting wind energy. The party cannot, on the one hand, talk about NewERA this, that and the other, while taking an approach that reveals old era thinking. It is a throwback to Charlie Haughey's strategy on electricity prices. Investment in renewables would cease if the Fine Gael Party were to pursue some of the policies set...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I ask the Fine Gael Party to be careful in that regard.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I know what I am talking about. I have outlined what would be the effect of the Fine Gael proposals. The party should be careful about adopting such an approach in Government because not only would it kill an industry but it would also lead to increased prices. The alternative, local, cheap supply of wind is the Irish consumer's protection against the high price of fossil fuels. If Fine...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I am not scoring political points.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: The effect of withdrawing the PSO, as proposed in the motion, would be the immediate closure of the peat fired plants.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: Postponing the PSO would also result in the immediate closure of the plants. Rather than seeking to score points, I am seeking clarity from the Fine Gael Party on what it proposes. Does it seek to close the wind industry and the peat fired power stations? That would be the outcome of the motion.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I am responding to the motion which seeks to stop the public service obligation. I have set out the effect of taking this course of action. I do not have any interest in price increases but I have an interest in ensuring this country is not left exposed by being completely reliant on imported gas as its source of electricity. Such an eventuality would present a real threat to our long-term...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: Average householders have benefited from the policies adopted by the Government, whether in taking €500 million from the ESB to reduce prices or in introducing real competition.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: I agree that we must be sensitive with regard to disconnections. I followed with interest the discussion at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources last week at which the utility companies set out the reality regarding disconnections. Many people are experiencing budgetary difficulties and we must be sensitive and careful to ensure, as we do, that...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Eamon Ryan: It was right to build Ard na Crusha and now is the right time to build a grid infrastructure that will secure the future wealth of our people by tapping into the renewable resources available to us. This is not the time to shut off investment in this area. Between grid investment and expenditure on renewables, we are spending the guts of €1.8 billion per annum. This investment is lifting...