Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Bríd Smith, Paul Murphy and Barry. We are happy to support the Sinn Féin motion on energy price increases and the proposed measures, but we also will move an amendment to the motion that the Government needs to use the powers it has under the Consumer Protection Act to put caps on prices to declare an emergency in respect of the supply of energy and fuel and put caps in place. The reason we are proposing this - and have done from the beginning - is because, essentially, the Government and most European and global leaders are peddling a lie as to the reasons for the staggering increases in energy and fuel prices. The increases are not happening because of the weather. They are not even happening because of the war in Ukraine. While hundreds of thousands of people are suffering as a result of these energy price hikes, huge numbers of corporations are profiting. The crisis results from profiteering by energy companies, oil producers, electricity producers and suppliers. Our Government and EU and global leaders do not want to do anything about it because they are in cahoots with these companies that are making enormous amounts of money.

By way of some facts, a Saudi Arabian oil company's profits last year were $49 billion, up from previous years. Russia's Surgutneftegas made $9 billion in profit, also up on the previous year. Shell made $20 billion profit last year, which was up on the previous year. BP made a profit of $7.5 billion last year, an eight-year high. Here in Ireland, the ESB's profits were up again last year, standing at just under €700 million. Energia profits were up 46%. In the previous year, they were up 45%. I could go on.

Given that Ukraine is being cited as an excuse, another group of companies making enormous amounts of money out of the crisis there and the global arms industry are those that produce weapons. Last year, with global expenditure of $2 trillion, profits of up to $520 billion were shared between American, Russian, UK, Chinese and Saudi Arabian companies. I say to the public out there: "Do not believe the lies of governments to the effect that everybody is losing in this crisis." Actually, some people are making enormous profits and, sadly, our Government, as well as European and global governments, are facilitating them in doing so.

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