There is finally some good news on energy prices. Gas prices have dropped by more than two thirds since the summer. Yesterday's benchmark futures dropped to €92 per MWh, down from an astronomical €340 per MWh in August. A number of factors are feeding into this. The EU set a target for having its gas stockpiles at 80% by 1 November. This figure has been exceeded, with storage currently at 92%. Demand has also reduced, and is down by 7% across the EU so far this year. Finally, consumption across the EU is around 20% lower than for this time of the year. It may well be to do with the mild weather, but people are also fearful about turning on the heat. I understand there are a number of variables feeding into the price reduction. However, the key point remains that wholesale gas prices have significantly declined from the exorbitant peak we saw earlier this year.

Energy companies in this country were quick to increase their prices for consumers when gas prices started to rise. Electricity prices have gone up by more than 90% over the past 12 months, and energy prices are up by 80%. This means workers and their families are paying up to an additional €2,000, on average, this year on their energy bills. It is also important to note the annual price increase did not come in one fell swoop. Companies have been steadily increasing their prices every three to six months in response to what they say are increases in wholesale energy costs. This month alone, Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity and Flogas, to name a few, have all hiked their prices by 50%. While prices have soared, the number of discounts available for customers has been slashed. The discounts customers get for switching providers are now minuscule. Switching was the mechanism for ensuring competition between suppliers. Potential savings for switching have been cut from between 25% and 40% to barely 10% right across the board. The result is that the energy market here is increasingly resembling a cartel, with almost no real choice for customers. To put this in context, those who switch their accounts are now missing out on savings of up to €1,000 a year. That is coming on top of increases in bills of up to €2,000 a year. Many families facing into the winter will be choosing between feeding their families and heating their homes. Any reduction cannot come soon enough.

How quickly can we expect to see reductions in energy prices passed onto consumers? What power does the Government have to ensure energy companies are passing on reduced costs and are not gouging their customers? In the interim, has the Government acted to give the energy regulator the power to regulate the exorbitant standing charges?

First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, and by prefacing her remarks by referring to some good news. It does not normally happen in exchanges between the Opposition and the Government sides. However, I do take the point made by the Deputy. Today's price is the lowest since June, and it is down more than 70% from the record level of 640 pence hit in August. That is the gas spot price in the UK market. It is around 190 pence a therm today.

That is the lowest since June and considerably lower than the price of 640 pence a therm in August. That may be the result of temperatures but we also need to reflect on the fact that the European Union working together has an impact. When the storage policy was first announced more than a year ago, people did not think it was credible that the European Union member states could get to the levels of storage they have. That has created an impact on the markets. The work the European Union has been doing to move towards a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to price caps and so on is also having an impact on the market, as is reduced consumption, which is clearly the result of people being fearful of the prices involved. However, it also points to the inadvisability of moving to a blanket cap of the kind the UK Government originally proposed, and which was also proposed in Ireland. That would incentivise consumption. It is a complex matter and the discussions at the EU Energy Council at the moment are complex. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. All the markets are different with member states having different energy mixes. For example, we import 75% of our gas from the United Kingdom and get 25% from the Corrib gas field. Even to a certain extent, we are more dependent on what happens in the London market than on other markets within Europe. Security of supply is a key issue for us. We have prioritised security of supply for the country. Given that many companies and most utility companies base their prices on future and forward contracts, the recent drop in spot prices may not immediately translate into lower electricity and gas bills for customers. This country spent €8.3 billion on the importation of energy products in the first eight months of this year compared with €3.4 billion last year. It is an extraordinary gap.

Therefore, hopefully it will, but there are other issues also. Future markets are pointing to higher prices in the coming months. There is still a certain degree of uncertainty because of political uncertainty, the war in Ukraine and the need to start preparing for winter 2023-24 in terms of further storage and necessities across Europe. It is by no means certain but it is good news so far in terms of what is happening.

Europe is focusing on stabilising the spikes in prices we witnessed over the past eight months. If we could stabilise the market, it would give us greater certainty to plan.

It will only be good news if that is passed on. That was the key point in the questions I asked the Taoiseach. The market looks more like a cartel arrangement. There is now only a minuscule benefit to switching provider. Will the Taoiseach address the issue of standing charges? Has the regulator the power to deal with that?

The Taoiseach might also address the following point. It was reported in an EU publication that 15 member states, including France, Italy, Poland and Spain, supported a price cap while other countries, including Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, opposed it. There is no unity on a Europe-wide price cap. Why is Ireland taking that approach? I ask the Taoiseach to address, in particular, the issues as to how any price decrease can be passed on to consumers. What mechanisms are available to do that?

The regulator has powers in respect of these issues. This is the worst energy crisis we have had. It surpasses even that of the 1970s. By definition, it is feeding into the price in the market and that is why the Government has taken unprecedented moves in the recent budget to provide substantial payments across the social protection system between now and the end of the year. The energy credit and a whole range of other reduction of costs initiatives have been undertaken to try to enable people to get through the winter. I hope this trend will continue beyond the winter. That would be great news all round.

At European Union level, different member states have different energy mixes. Gas has been the determining factor in electricity prices. Some countries have up to a 70% dependence on gas for electricity while other countries' dependence is as low as 20%. The Iberian Peninsula has a different energy mix than most of Europe, with a very strong performance on renewables. It has carved out a particular model and the European Commission is examining that to see could it have a wider application.

In short, we are all coming at it from a different perspective. The Irish perspective puts security of supply first. Our relationship with the UK is key. We do not want any unilateral decisions to impact security of supply from the UK to Ireland.