Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I should have said from the outset that we all know the backdrop to the discussion we are having. Some people might paint the windfall tax as a panacea for all our woes, which it certainly will not be. Many commentators have more or less said that in the past few weeks. An article I read said that the best benefit of a windfall tax might be in the name of social cohesion. I am not so sure if that is why we should be making these types of decisions. Many people will argue that the introduction of a windfall tax would be negligible in terms of its benefit for us domestically in terms of reducing prices. That said, the backdrop is still the same. Profit margins are going up for all electric and gas companies. Profit margins have increased by 10% for ESB and by 74% for Centrica. Internationally, Shell and BP posted massive profits of $11 billion and €14 billion, not to mention SSE, the parent company of SSE Airtricity, which reported £1.5 billion in profit.

Notwithstanding the likelihood of a windfall tax coming in, are other mechanisms being looked at including those that are being considered in the UK, such as the 25% profit levy?

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