About 300,000 households are behind on their electricity bills and household electricity bills have jumped by more than €320 in a year. My colleague Deputy Ahern has been working hard to stop the greed that is driving this awful inflation and really making things so difficult for so many struggling households. Deputy Ahern has called on the Government to use the EU electricity and gas directives to introduce price regulation in these exceptional circumstances, namely, the complete failure of competition in the energy sector and the failure to protect vulnerable customers.

There are other mechanisms. Section 10 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 allows the Minister to issue policy directions to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Indeed, the interim report of the national energy affordability task force recommended that the regulator conduct a probe on price gouging following the patent failure of providers to pass on cuts in wholesale costs to hard-pressed consumers. The Government could also threaten greed-driven firms with a levy on their profits if they do not cut prices.

Thank you, Deputy.

The winter is upon us. People are already struggling. What will the Government do to help people from struggling even further with their energy bills?

That is why we took measures in the budget to support families and households. As I said, the response around the VAT on gas and electricity was a measure that came with a cost. It was important to prioritise that in the context of the tax package. In addition, as I said, the social protection package we introduced will mitigate costs in the context of the changes we have made to the fuel allowance. Increasing the eligibility for households will help to support families most in need.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is examining the overall regulatory framework as it exists for energy providers. We need broader reform of regulation across our economy in energy and in other areas. There is a need for this to be seriously reformed in the interests of affordability but also in the interests of having balanced regulation and quicker decisions in terms of driving wider economic growth, which is something we are all working on.