Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which electricity prices here in respect of both a domestic and industrial consumer compare favourably or otherwise with those applicable in other EU member states within and without the Eurozone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53581/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I have no statutory function in the setting of electricity prices, whether in the regulated or non-regulated parts of these markets. Responsibility for the regulation of the retail electricity market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body. Since 4 April 2011 prices in the electricity retail market have been fully deregulated and business and domestic customers can as a result avail of competitive offerings from a number of electricity supply companies. Price setting by electricity suppliers is a commercial and operational matter for the companies concerned.

Global gas and oil prices have risen sharply since the start of 2011 driven by events in the Middle East, North Africa and Japan and demand from the emerging economies of China and India. There are clear indications that international oil and gas prices will rise further over the coming months. The Government is most concerned at the impact of higher electricity prices on residential and commercial consumers. It is the case that in the main Ireland is at the mercy of international fossil fuel prices which dictate the retail price of electricity.

At a national level, our competitive energy market helps put downward pressure on prices. In addition, we must focus on all possible additional actions to mitigate costs where possible for business and domestic customers. This is essential for competitiveness, employment and for economic recovery. I am committed to working with enterprise and with the energy sector to ensure that the costs of energy are as competitive as possible through those measures at our disposal including sustained focus on energy efficiency and renewables.

The latest analysis of data published by Eurostat for electricity and gas prices is published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and covers the period July to December 2011. As usual, price statistics are presented for a number of different business and domestic consumers, differentiated by consumption level. This material is publicly available. Most household electricity consumers saw increases of between 18% and 20% in prices during the second half of 2011. For large domestic electricity consumers, comprising 50% of the share of the domestic electricity market, electricity prices were, on average, 98% of those in the Euro area and 105% of those in the EU area. In the second half of 2011 prices to business users increased by just under 12% for most customers, on average. This meant that in the various business user categories, depending on the level of consumption, prices were from 94% to 116% of the EU area average, and from 90% to 110% of the Euro area average.