asked the Minister for Energy whether the inter-departmental committee investigating accounting procedures in the ESB have reported to him yet.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - ESB Accounting Procedures.
16.
The report of the inter-departmental working party set up to investigate the accounting practices of the Electricity Supply Board, has been submitted, and is at present under consideration in the Department.
When does the Minister expect a decision on the basis of this?
I cannot say. It is being studied in the Department at the moment.
Can we take it that the promise made by Fianna Fáil in their manifesto that they would immediately reduce the cost of electricity by changing the account procedure of the ESB will now come into effect?
That will have to await a decision that is made on the basis of whatever recommendations are in this report.
Why? Were Fianna Fáil not well aware before the last election that merely by changing the accounting procedures they could bring down the price of electricity?
The whole matter is being studied in detail. It is a very complicated matter.
Obviously it was studied in detail before Fianna Fáil published that in their manifesto.
It is a complicated matter which has had to be studied by a number of officials.
Why did Fianna Fáil make a statement in their manifesto that they would reduce the price of electricity by changing the accounting procedures of the ESB?
When it comes into effect I am sure that will be one of its effects.
Why are the Government having this report commissioned if they know already they could bring down the price of electricity by changing the accounting procedures of the ESB?
It is an extremely complicated matter and it had to be studied in detail.
Fianna Fáil said it was a very simple matter.
There is nothing there about its simplicity.
Fianna Fáil said they would reduce the price of electricity by changing the accounting procedures of the ESB. Are the Government going to do that?
When the report has been studied the Minister for Energy will make a decision on it.
The price of electricity will be coming down?
The Minister for Energy will make a decision on the matter when he has studied the report.
I am sure he will. Will that decision be to reduce the price of electricity?
(Interruptions.)
Would the Minister not agree that the plain people of Ireland, faced with what he is saying now four years after that manifesto promise to reduce the price of electricity after examining the accounting procedures of the ESB, can only come to the conclusion that either they were deliberately misled by the party who became the Government or the party who became the Government did not know what they were talking about?
As the Deputy will recall, the price of electricity was reduced on several occasions, in 1977, 1978 and 1979.
Was the reduction in the price, to which the Minister has referred, as a result of changing the accounting procedures of the ESB?
It was due to a variety of factors.