Gas prices will drop by 8 per cent from the start of next month, the Commission for Energy Regulation has announced.
The reduction will apply to the gas used by 600,000 domestic users as well as smaller industrial and commercial customers. The overall reduction in energy costs will be smaller because the standing charge is not being changed.
The commission said it had decided to confirm the 8 per cent decrease sought by Bord Gáis because international gas prices had fallen. It also cited changes in exchange rates and correction factors from last year as reasons for passing on the reduction to consumers as soon as possible.
Bord Gáis welcomed the announcement and said this would be the third reduction in gas prices in less than a year - giving a cumulative decrease of over 25 per cent since May last year.
However, Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar called on the Government to ensure that electricity bills, bus and train tickets and taxi fares are also reduced.
"The Regulator's decision to cut gas prices is a welcome break for businesses and households, who have had to pay over the odds for far too long,” Mr Varadkar said.
He claimed that Fianna Fáil was "notoriously unwilling" to lower prices in its own sectors. "These artificially high prices have imposed unnecessary hardship on households, and have made Ireland one of the least competitive places in the world for business."
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (Isme) said the move provided "a slight respite to hard pressed businesses that have experienced substantial increases in their business costs over the last number of years".
Labour's energy spokeswoman Liz McManus said the price reduction should have been implemented before the cold winter months to help people suffering from fuel poverty.
"Agencies such as St Vincent de Paul have been experiencing an unprecedented level of calls from people asking for help to pay their utility bills. Age Action Ireland have spoken of elderly people forced to choose between food or fuel," she said.
"I urge the Minister for Energy to address the problem of fuel poverty, including the speedier implementation of price reductions, as a matter of urgency."
The commission said it would review gas prices again in the summer.
