Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have just seen an energy company leave Ireland. The prices being charged by many of the energy companies to which the Deputy refers are determined by the purchase price of the energy they need. I strongly reject Deputy Boyd Barrett's suggestion that the cause of where we are at the moment is corporate malpractice or companies charging more for energy than they should. I do not accept that. The cause of where we are at the moment is a war and it is rippling through the world and the global economy. As to whether I believe there are firms making more profit than they should be because they have seen no change to their costs but the price at which they are selling has gone up, yes, there are very high levels of profit being made there. That is why there will either be an EU or national response to it. I am not here defending that profit.

It is not fair that while one company that is still producing something at the same price sees its profits go through the roof, another company cannot afford to stay open because the price of energy has gone through the roof. That is why there is a place now for tax measures to tax that additional profit or regulatory measures such as those being proposed by the European Union. Ireland will adopt either depending on what we believe is the most effective and efficient. We will conclude all of that in the next few days.