Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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161. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps that his Department can take to mitigate the gas price increases that are being experienced by some Approved Housing Bodies and their tenants who are paying commercial energy rates as a result of a district heating system. [45931/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In cases where apartment blocks or housing developments are supplied with heat, rather than fuel, it is the heat supplier that is the purchaser of the fuel used. Therefore, where gas is being used, a commercial tariff is applied due to scale of purchase.

Gas and electricity retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein those markets are commercial, liberalised, and competitive. However, I am acutely aware of the impact that current, internationally influenced, energy price increases are having on people and families, including some tenants of Approved Housing Bodies. Officials from my Department are in ongoing correspondence with representatives of Approved Housing Bodies with regard to the current energy price increases and Government has already put in place a series of measures with funding of €2.4 billion available to help alleviate the impact, particularly on lower income households. Further measures are being considered in the context of Budget 2023.

In line with the commitment in the Climate Action Plan 2021, a District Heating Steering Group was established earlier this year. The Steering Group has met eight times to date and oversees a number of Working Groups that are conducting in-depth, solutions-based analysis of the key areas that must be addressed in order to support district heating. The Steering Group is working on recommendations to ensure that a robust governance and regulatory framework is put in place to support the expansion of district heating. This will help ensure consumer protection, and considerations in this regard encompass legacy group heating schemes that are already in operation.