Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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344. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the average cost of domestic electricity bills and the average cost of domestic gas bills for each year from 2007 to 2013, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6244/14]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I have no statutory function in the setting of electricity or gas 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.

While the CER still regulates the domestic tariff for Bord Gáis Energy, prices for all other electricity and gas offerings vary from supplier to supplier and customers are free to choose the best offer for their particular needs.

The cost of electricity and gas bills for customers will vary widely according to their usage and according to the price of electricity or gas they are charged by their supplier. Therefore the average cost is not necessarily a useful benchmark as the cost will vary widely from customer to customer.

The most recent detailed analysis of average Irish electricity and gas prices, as supplied to Eurostat, is set out in the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) Electricity and Gas price report. This report analyses data published by Eurostat collected under the methodology for the EU Gas and Electricity Price Transparency Directive. Since 2008, comparable data for all EU states is published every six months. The focus of the report is on the comparative electricity and gas price data for the first semester (January - June) of 2013. The report is available at: .