Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
193. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the action his Department is taking to ensure that price gouging does not occur under energy grant schemes, including the deep retrofit grant scheme and the solar PV grant scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27574/23]
View answerOn 5 April 2023, Government approved an amendment to the Finance Bill 2023 to apply a zero percent VAT rate for the supply and installation of solar panels on residential buildings, from 1 May 2023 onwards. It is expected that the new 0% VAT rate will be of significant benefit to homeowners, as it will reduce the average cost of a domestic solar PV installation by approximately €1,000 if fully passed to consumers, and help households to reduce their energy bills. The Revenue Commissioners have prepared guidelines concerning the application of VAT to residential solar panel installation; these are available at revenue.ie. It is important to note that while there is no guarantee that a reduction in the VAT rate will ultimately be passed on to the consumer, especially in the context of inflationary and supply chain pressures in the global economy over the last year; it is expected that with the broad range of solar PV installers across the country, that any companies which engage in price gouging will ultimately lose business to the majority of their customer-focused competitors. The retrofit and solar installation markets are served by a broad range of providers; the SEAI list registered energy professionals and companies at www.seai.ie/grants/find-a-registered-professional/.While price-setting is a commercial decision, price signalling or price-fixing through a cartel is illegal. Participants in a cartel can face criminal prosecution. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutory body responsible for promoting compliance with, and enforcing, competition and consumer protection law in Ireland. It is important that any allegations of anti-competitive behaviour are escalated through the appropriate channels for further investigation. Such allegations should be raised directly with the CCPC, which can be done through their website: www.ccpc.ie/business/contact/make-competition-complaint.
