Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It will be over the next year. However, as I said, work needs to be done to decide the rates that will apply and much will depend on what the energy prices are. There is a real complexity with the inframarginal pricing. It is clear that the solidarity contribution will only in effect really apply to one company, the Corrib gas field. With inframarginal it is complex because there are generating companies, such as wind farms, but they may have sold on power through a long-term contract at low rates to a supplier company or supplier-like company. We are saying we will not just apply inframarginal pricing to the generating companies, but we will also apply it to those suppliers and supplier-like companies if they are gaining a windfall profit from these very high market prices for fossil fuel and gas.

Then one is into the complexity of each different generator in terms of what its arrangements are. However, there are many companies which may be purchasing that power and passing on the windfall gain to consumers by reducing their overall bills. Where that is the case, obviously a windfall charge will not apply. It will take a lot of detailed analysis. We can do this through the market mechanisms we have. The exact amount will only become more clear when we understand how much of those long-term contracts are in place and now much of the savings have been passed on to consumers. I still come back to a figure of at least €1 billion to €2 billion. It could be higher depending, more than anything else, on what the price of energy is in the next year. That price is the unknown.