Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I will not discuss it in great detail. We all know what it is about. I have a script, but I do not intend to rely on it. I will speak about a matter that affects customers in a real way. It has been raised by Senator O'Reilly and others. I refer to the cost of energy, particularly gas. Last week, I spoke to a lady who had just received a monthly gas bill of €475 in respect of her three-bedroom house. When I looked at my own bill, I noted that it was similar. Senator Burke mentioned the horrendous effect of such costs on people on a tight budget. If three people are sharing a house, a gas bill of €100 a week represents a fair amount of money for them.

If one asks business people what is crippling them, the first thing they will refer to is the cost of energy. It is a particular difficulty for people in the restaurant and hotel sectors. Energy costs are helping to put people out of business. We need to examine that. As Senator O'Reilly said when he was talking about gas, the ESB needs to have an aggressive competitor. There is no doubt about that. We cannot talk about this issue forever. We have to do something about it if we are to help households. The woman who showed me her gas bill told me she knows many elderly people who are afraid to turn on gas heating in case they will be landed with a huge bill.

Some Senators spoke about the topical issues of home insulation and energy conservation. Many private companies are available to test the energy efficiency of houses or other establishments. They determine whether energy is escaping and, if so, where it is escaping. I understand that the fee for that service is approximately €240 or €250. Many people, particularly elderly people, are not in a position to pay such a fee. Something should be done to subsidise it. Perhaps people in certain categories, who cannot afford energy efficiency testing, should be entitled to free testing. If the cost of testing the energy efficiency of houses is deterring people from getting it done, they will not get a start at all. There is no doubt it is a good idea. It will create jobs, as Senator O'Reilly has said.

The need to consider alternative sources of energy, which has been raised by Senators O'Reilly and O'Toole, is a hobby horse of mine. This country has many resources. In my home county of Cavan, mills used to be driven by water. The millraces are still in place. There is no reason such ideas cannot be re-examined and moved forward. The day will come when we will have to seriously consider alternative energy. It is obvious that we will be less dependent on oil as the years go by.

People often ask me why decreases in the price of oil are often accompanied by increases in ESB and gas prices. Although I have asked Ministers and people in various quarters why that is the case, I have yet to get a straight answer. When I am asked why ESB and gas costs are increasing when the price of oil is dropping, I am not able to give a satisfactory answer. I will leave it at that. I thank the Chair for giving me an opportunity to say a few words.