Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I definitely was not down to speak first. On the Order of Business this morning, I will raise a story that some Senators might have seen when it was first published in the Irish Independentin October. It is about how households have been subsidising large energy users, including data centres and pharmaceutical companies, for the last 12 years. We do not yet know the full figures because the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, was apparently not tracking how much this was costing. It says that there is an estimate of approximately €600 million but that it is more than likely to have been more than that over the 12 years. This is on top of the fact that the PSO level is also designed in such a manner as to subsidise large energy users, being based on peak demand rather than steady demand. I also understand from responses to other parliamentary questions that these large energy users are also able to avail of energy crisis supports for businesses.

It seems that households are constantly having to foot the bill for these large energy users both now, at a time when we are in an energy crisis, but also at the time of its introduction on the back of a recession. It was introduced by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in 2009. The Government admitted that it was the result of lobbying from large energy users. They said we were out of kilter with other EU countries when it came to energy costs but did not mention that household energy costs were also out of kilter. The Government acted on this lobbying and basically advised the CRU that it would have to come up with a permanent subsidy or subvention for large energy users, the cost of which was to be borne by households. From the documents disclosed to me through freedom of information requests, it is clear that a Cabinet memo accepted that this would be an unpopular decision among households but the Government pressed ahead with it anyway. It seems the Government is deeply unhappy with the decision the CRU made late last year to unwind this subsidy for large energy users and is now trying to engage in a blame game as to why it was taken. It is criticising the CRU for not consulting with these large energy users and arguing that the public consultation process was too short for them. It is deeply concerning that this information was not made transparent to people in their household bills.We need to know exactly how much money households paid to subsidise the large energy users and why this was done during a recession, when people were on their knees, and continued for 12 years. The CRU decided to unwind it because it knew it had to do something to bring down the cost of household bills. The Government is not happy with that.

There are many questions in respect of this matter. I would welcome a debate with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who was responsible for introducing this measure and is now the Minister responsible for being annoyed that it is being unwound. It is deeply unfair that households continue to subsidise large energy users through their electricity bills.