asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if he will make a statement on the Government's intentions in regard to the pricing policy in respect of products sold by Bord na Móna.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Bord na Móna Pricing Policy.
17.
The Government have directed that specific proposals be drawn up and submitted to them for an appropriate basis for determing the price of Bord na Móna turf products sold in the domestic market. A small group representing the Government Departments concerned and Bord na Móna, set up for this purpose, have reported to me and I will be placing the matter before the Government in the very near future.
Is the Minister aware that Bord na Móna are seeking a pricing policy which is market related? Is he further aware that, in respect of the sale of certain of the products produced by Bord na Móna, excessive profits are being made by distributors and retailers, profits which should properly lie with Bord na Móna and, because of this, Bord na Móna are being starved of the funds necessary for development and marketing?
I am well aware that Bord na Móna are pursuing a policy of having a market related price available for their products. I am also aware that middlemen engaged in the resale of Bord na Móna products are making quite considerable profits. The intention is that Bord na Móna will test the market. They do not want to lose any sales. They need to discover the price the market will bear for their products.
Would the Minister not agree that, in relation to our only indigenous fuel, the marketing or pricing policy should be production costs plus margins to cover development and sales costs, and that it is contributing to inflation, bearing in mind that one of the key factors in inflation is the high cost of imported fuel, and compounding that situation if the board seek a pricing policy based on energy related prices or market prices, as he says? Would it not be better to make the maximum use of our indigenous fuel by costing it at production plus a margin?
We would want to differentiate between the energy related cost, which probably would apply only to the ESB in burning milled peat for the generation of electricity, and the market related price. I agree that we would be foolish to fritter away our indigenous fuel and sell it at a price that would allow it to be possibly over utilised, at a price that was less than it deserves. This matter is being considered but I think it will be resolved in the near future.
For the benefit of the consumer.