Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has tried to do it again with his three-card trick again and attempt to con the people. He said it is the pandemic and what is happening in Ukraine. Of course, it is the pandemic and what is happening in Ukraine; we debate those issues and their effect on prices with the Taoiseach every day. I raised the third card; the card the Taoiseach clearly ignored in his reply, which is the question of profiteering. The Taoiseach stayed silent on the fact that the parent company of Bord Gáis made profits of more than €1 billion last year. He remained silent on the point I put to him; that the ESB, a State company, made nearly €700 million last year and yet is increasing prices by 25% in the coming weeks. Why is the ESB doing that and, more to the point, why is the Taoiseach allowing it to do it? That is the key question I am asking the Taoiseach to answer.

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