Should Ireland put a price cap on energy - Claire Byrne

Our Head of communications Daragh Cassidy spoke with Pearse Doherty and Claire Byrne on the Claire Byrne show about the possibility of implementing energy price caps in Ireland. 

The trio discuss the rising gas and electricity costs and look at our British and European neighbours and their decision to implement energy caps or not. 

Read the main points from the interview below, or listen back to the interview above.

Key points from the interview

• The average gas and electricity bill in Ireland has gone up by €2200 since the energy crisis began, this has led many to consider the idea of implementing price caps in Ireland to help Irish consumers manage their bills. 
• However, because Ireland does not generate the majority of its energy, the Government is limited in enforcing price caps on companies that are supplying gas and electricity to Ireland.
• According to Daragh, the price caps being suggested for Ireland are not price caps at all but actually subsidies which would be extremely costly to the country. 
• In the UK, the Government has implemented caps on gas and electricity prices, so people’s bills won’t go over £2,500 sterling for the next two years. 
• This decision has put the sterling and the British economy at risk as it will end up costing the British Government billions, especially seeing the Government doesn’t know what price gas and electricity will hit. 
• As a result of this decision, there are fears that the sterling will plummet under the strain of price capping energy prices. 
• In comparison to the UK, Pearse Doherty and his party, Sinn Féin, are proposing a price cap on electricity prices only and it must be time limited. 
• Claire wonders if people will have any incentive to converse their energy usage if energy prices are capped.
• Daragh believes that VAT on energy should be lowered and a universal energy credit should be paid out again. 
• He also thinks that the energy price crisis needs to be tackled at EU level, as the Irish Government can’t do it alone. 

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Simply head over to our free and easy-to-use gas and electricity comparison service to find the best-discounted energy deals on the market. 

To help you on this money-saving journey, take a look at our energy Quickstart Guide to learn about the comparison and switching process.

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