Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 February 2014
151. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the price to consumers of gas, particularly in view of the long cold wet winter this year and that working families and vulnerable elderly people are finding it impossible to meet the costs of heating their homes and flats; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10036/14]
View answerResponsibility for the regulation of the gas market is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is an independent statutory body. The CER continues to regulate the supply tariff for Bord Gáis Energy’s (BGE) domestic customers. All other segments of the gas market have been deregulated and price setting by the other four gas suppliers operating in the domestic market is a commercial and operational matter for the companies concerned. While I have no statutory function in the setting of gas prices, whether in the regulated or non-regulated market, I am acutely conscious of the impact of energy prices on citizens across Ireland.
The Government is most concerned at the impact of higher gas prices on consumers. It is regrettably the case that Ireland is largely at the mercy of international fossil fuel prices which dictate the retail price of gas. My focus is on those elements of energy costs over which policy can exercise some control.
The most meaningful measure is to continue to improve the thermal efficiency of people’s homes and thus insulate them from the effects of rising energy costs. Energy efficiency measures are available free of charge to households in energy poverty to cover the cost of retrofitting their homes under the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme. Since the launch of the scheme, more than 105,000 households have received free upgrades.
In total, around one sixth of all homes in Ireland have received some form of Government supported energy efficiency upgrade to date. More than €57 million euro has been allocated to fund efficiency grant programmes in 2014. This will lead to another 12,000 low-income homes receiving a free energy efficiency upgrade this year.
I am also continuing to work with the CER and energy suppliers to ensure that Pay As You Go meters are available to those customers in financial difficulty.
