We have had announcements of energy price reductions this week but the fact remains that energy companies are far too slow to pass on wholesale savings. Even with these planned reductions, energy prices here are far too high. We have some of the highest electricity and gas prices in Europe. Almost 275,000 domestic electricity customers and almost 160,000 domestic gas customers are in arrears. The Minister will know that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul took 20,000 calls from people struggling with energy bills last year. On these cold days and freezing cold nights, people are afraid to turn on the heat and light. That is scandalous. Does the Minister agree that there is significant scope for further energy price reductions? What will the Government do to ensure these materialise quickly?

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this issue. I am glad to see that energy prices are coming down. The Government has done a lot, paying out a €200 energy credit in the past month, with more to come, and my Department expanded the fuel allowance. These are things we have been doing. Like Deputy O'Rourke, I would like to see energy prices come down further to reflect the market.