ISME seeks urgent Govt action to tackle energy costs

Business groups are calling for urgent Government action to tackle rising energy costs following a sharp jump in the inflation rate last month.

The CSO says inflation increased to 4.2% in July, up from 3.9% in June, mainly due to rising interest rates and spiralling oil and gas prices.

Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME) is demanding that the Government reduce excise duties on oil in order to ease the situation and introduce and implement an alternative energy policy as a matter of urgency.

It also wants responsibility for regulating the energy market to be taken away from the current regulator in order to help control the rising cost of electricity and gas.