‘Families and businesses will feel this’ – MEP warns of impact of gas price surge on Meath and Louth households
European gas prices have surged by as much as 45pc in recent days, raising fresh concerns for households across Meath and Louth amid disruption to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Qatar.
Meath MEP Nina Carberry has urged the European Commission’s Gas Coordination Group to activate its crisis protocol and increase joint EU gas purchasing from a broader range of suppliers.
She said the spike underlined how exposed Irish consumers remain to international shocks.
Ireland imports the bulk of its gas supplies, leaving households and businesses vulnerable to international market fluctuations, meaning any sustained rise in wholesale prices is likely to add to the cost-of-living pressures for consumers across the region.
Speaking from Brussels, Ms Carberry said: “With the crisis in the Middle East escalating, we have seen how quickly international events can have consequences at home,” she said.
“Families and businesses will feel this. More than 70pc of households across Meath and Louth are primarily dependent on gas or oil – and that is why I am calling on the Commission to trigger its crisis protocol.”
According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures, 41pc of households in Meath and around 48pc in Louth are connected to the mains gas grid. A further 34pc of households in Meath and about 31pc in Louth rely on home heating oil.
Ms Carberry said the EU needed to show “the same level of urgency” as during the early stages of the war in Ukraine.
“That means the EU Commission must immediately look at increasing the joint purchasing of gas at the EU level from other partners,” she said.
“It also means, in the long term, looking at expanding gas storage, and having faster rollout of anaerobic digestion plants and renewables.”
The MEP also warned of knock-on effects for the farming sector, saying higher gas prices could drive further increases in fertiliser costs, which she described as “already at record highs”.
She has sought an update from the EU Fertilisers Market Observatory on any additional price pressures arising from the latest surge.