Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount in relation to the proposed increased payments to the Exchequer from ESB, Bord Gáis and Bord na Móna, to be transferred; if he will guarantee that cost will not be borne by customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37124/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The annual dividend payable by the State companies referred to in the question is a function of the after tax profits of each company and the dividend policy in respect of each company. This policy is commercially sensitive information. Dividends paid by the companies to the Exchequer each year are published in the companies' Annual Reports and Accounts. There is no link between regulated or unregulated electricity and gas tariffs and the ability of ESB and Bord Gáis to pay dividends. Regulated tariffs are a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation. In the case of Bord na Móna, pricing policy is a day-to-day matter for the company and is set in the context of the competitive nature of the market in which the company operates.