Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I congratulate the Minister on mounting a spirited, energetic and enthusiastic defence of his policies. While he appears to be on top of his brief, I have some difficulty with the figures he has provided as they do not correspond with the figures available to me.

We need investment to return the economy to growth. We must find a way of achieving this objective. As a grocer, I learned many years ago that one can increase one's revenue by reducing one's margin or rate. This occurred in the area of taxation, for example. When the former Minister for Finance, Mr. Charlie McCreevy, announced a reduction in betting tax from 20% to 10%, many of us howled. Following that reduction and a subsequent further reduction to 5%, revenue from betting tax increased. It is possible, therefore, to increase income by reducing taxes.

In the case of energy we must ensure we are competitive. I am slightly confused by some of the figures the Minister has used because according to my figures, business electricity costs remain above the European Union average. We must keep costs in line with our competitors in the EU. Closer to home, it is astonishing that customers in the North pay much less than we do for electricity. The Minister indicated that this is not the case, whereas my figures show that customers in the South must pay 15% more per annum than customers across the Border. As we have seen, businesses on this side of the Border are struggling to compete and many are losing the battle to survive because of higher costs.

According to IBEC, 60% of Irish companies cite energy costs as the greatest non-pay problem for their businesses. I am not sure if the Minister disagrees. However, the businesses IBEC represents are under intense pressure to cut costs in order to compete in a very unforgiving international market. Their competitors in that market enjoy lower energy costs. The introduction of the 5% PSO levy on ESB bills, which the Minister defended, is regrettable because it will put even more pressure on SMEs in particular. We also really need to reduce costs such as those relating to network charges, which represent approximately 20% of a typical energy user's bill.

We must also bear in mind that the wholesale energy market rose by 2% last month and the latest Bord Gáis energy index would have hit a two-year high had currency movements not absorbed the increase in prices. It was primarily the strengthening of the euro against the US dollar and sterling that prevented energy reaching a record level not experienced since October 2008. The largest move in the energy index was recorded in respect of oil, which increased by 10% in price during September. Electricity prices rose and the increase in demand due to darker evenings resulted in more expensive electricity peaking plants to be called upon to produce power.

This brings me to one of my favourite topics. I have said on previous occasions that moving to central European time would make for brighter evenings and would have the effect of reducing energy consumption, thereby leading to a decrease in the energy bills of householders and businesses. In the context of reducing carbon emissions, this would give rise to economic benefits such as increased time for tourists to visit different places and increased energy savings. When one considers what is happening in the UK, it is obvious that we in Ireland may have no choice in this matter. A Private Member's Bill on daylight savings time has just been proposed in the House of Commons by Ms. Rebecca Harris, a Conservative MP. In addition, the Energy and Climate Change Committee at Westminster has indicated that this month British MPs plan to examine whether to extend daylight saving hours in order to save energy. This committee, which scrutinises British Government policy on reducing greenhouse gases, electricity generation and transportation fuels, will hold an evidence session on 28 October.

An argument has been put forward to the effect that, in the context of daylight savings time, road safety is a major issue. However, much of the negativity comes from just one study carried out in the 1960s when Britain and Ireland moved to central European time for a three-year period. The study in question suggested that, during the period to which I refer, there was a small increase in accidents in the mornings but people forgot that there was a dramatic reduction in the number of accidents which occurred in the evenings.

It is amazing that despite the decrease in prices during the past two years, Ireland remains the second most expensive economy in the euro zone behind Finland. I do not refer to energy costs alone in this regard. Overall costs in this country are a massive 16% higher than those which obtain in Germany. We are becoming much more competitive as an economy and this is despite the fact that certain commentators indicated we could not achieve this. We need to continue this drive towards competitiveness and to reduce rent, wages and energy prices. Our costs are still much too high. This is because we failed to benchmark our costs, such as, for example, energy costs for businesses, against those which obtain in other EU countries.

There are exciting new projects which will hopefully contribute to a reduction in energy costs for consumers. GT Energy, a geothermal energy company which is exploring the potential for a geothermal energy plant in Newcastle in south County Dublin, a project of which the Minister will be well aware, has, in the hope of constructing Ireland's first geothermal electricity facility, lodged a planning application with the council there. The company states that the proposed facility at Newcastle could provide up to 4 MW of electricity, which could provide power for up to 8,000 homes. This energy would be fed directly into the grid. GT Energy has operations in both the UK and Iceland. According to Iceland's Foreign Minister, the energy source is "the cleanest, most stable, probably cheapest source of renewable energy in Europe".

In light of recent renewable energy targets and possibilities, it is interesting that Denmark has recently announced its intention to abandon all energy produced from fossil fuels in the future. A report compiled by its climate commission indicates that Denmark could create an energy network completely free of fossil fuels by 2050 as a result of falling renewable energy costs combined with rising oil and gas costs. The report predicts that biomass and wind energy could provide the majority of the country's energy needs.

I am aware the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is extremely enthusiastic about renewable energy. However, he has not been enthusiastic with regard to even opening the door to the possibility of nuclear energy. I am of the view that this is the wrong approach. We should at least give consideration to the matter. I am not sure that it is the right thing to do but if we are going to compete, we should not exclude this option.

The fifth Irish Sustainable Building Show begins at the RDS tomorrow. A Dublin architect, Mr. Patrick Daly, who owns the first zero-energy house to have been built in Ireland, will speak at the event. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say. While innovations such as those developed by Mr. Daly are very exciting and will bring down energy costs in the longer term, we must, at the very least, bring our energy costs in line with those in Northern Ireland. Energy is a major factor for businesses, which are currently feeling the pressure. In fact, the cost of energy is the primary non-wage consideration for these businesses. We must also give serious consideration to the energy savings that would accrue if we moved to central European time and had an additional hour of daylight as a result.

Our task now is to ensure there will be no future hikes, particularly those which are sudden in nature and which give rise to major job losses. If we reduce energy prices, more businesses might be in a position to compete. When businesses remain in operation, it leads to additional revenue being brought in for the Government. This would be an extremely preferable development. I am of the view that we can do things ourselves and that we need not rely on others. However, we must be competitive. To achieve the latter, we must ensure we take action in respect of the various matters which make us uncompetitive. Energy is but one of those matters. I urge the Minister to ensure we do not allow energy costs to run out of control again.