John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I suppose the reality of what he has said is that the PSO levy increases when prices decrease. That drives people crazy. In other words, the benefits of price decreases are wiped out by something else. While I understand perfectly the point made by the Minister of State about the independence of the CER in setting the levy, I suggest that if an issue here is affecting jobs and competitiveness, it needs to be approached. It is important for that point to be made to energy regulator when he is making his decision.

When I served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, the current Minister, Deputy Naughten, who was not a Minister at the time, raised this point with the energy regulator. I expect him to take an interest in it now. I would like the Minister of State to ask the Minister whether he intends to raise these concerns again so that they will be taken into account when the final decision is being made in October.