Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I do, but that is not our position. We are proposing to defer the increase and in the meantime, if needs be, to take that money out of the massive profits of the utility companies. The Minister needs to review aspects of the PSO levy. Under the old system, when the price of energy was high, the owners of wind power plants had to pay something back into the fund, but that is no longer the case. When the price is high, not only do they receive the guaranteed price, but they also get a bumper payment. If somebody is getting a guaranteed price that protects them when prices fall, they should pay something into the fund, as they used to do, when prices go up. That would help to reduce the PSO levy.

We need to have a serious debate on this, perhaps somewhere outside the Chamber where we can be more consensual. We must look at the types of refit subsidies the Minister is proposing to put in place for offshore wind and other renewables.

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