Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for the opportunity to speak on this important and relevant motion. I support this motion for an immediate moratorium on disconnections of households. It is heartbreaking to hear constituent after constituent tell me that they are unable to afford their electricity and gas bills. It is even more heartbreaking when I hear about energy companies making record profits in a year when there were 712 domestic electricity and 309 domestic gas disconnections due to non-payments, which is absolutely despicable. What kind of country are we living in that would allow this to happen and what kind of Government allows this to happen on its watch?

A recent Behaviour & Attitudes survey showed that more than 1 million people in Ireland say they are struggling to make ends meet. Four out of five people say they have less money in their pockets compared to this time last year. Something needs to be done. The budget did not go far enough in providing what people need to get by.

Young people are leaving Donegal and Ireland in their droves in order to afford to live. We can hardly blame them when we hear stories of students living in tents and cars and sleeping on couches due to the lack of affordable accommodation.

Scope, the disability and equality charity, said today that lives are at risk because disabled people fear they will be unable to afford to heat their homes this winter. A recent poll of 1,000 disabled adults found that 63% were worried about being able to pay their heating bills. Some 60% of respondents said they feel the Government is ignoring them, which says it all. People have no faith in the Government and no hope that things will get better. The Government has completely crushed people's spirits. It has failed every section of society in not addressing this cost-of-living crisis, which will sadly cost lives unless we do something about it.

I agree with the motion, which proposes to introduce a windfall tax on excess profits of energy companies, but we must ensure this tax is significant. There is no point in introducing a tokenistic windfall tax, just as this Government has done for fear of deterring energy companies' investments. We cannot be afraid to do what is right for fear of scaring off investors.

As I have said before, now is the time to renationalise the energy industry. The Government should use the windfall tax as a way to do this, using money gained from the tax to invest in nationalisation. We need to take the industry back into public ownership to remove the profit motive and have the ability to implement price freezes for citizens as well. We should not have to rely on private companies to treat our citizens fairly.

The EU solidarity contribution on extraordinary profits made by fossil fuel energy producers is welcome.

However, it does not go far enough. I do not agree with the flexibility member states are given on what rate of levy to apply. Companies making record profits should be taxed at a high rate and flexibility should not be given on this. I also do not agree with the fact that the levy only applies to profits that are more than 20% higher than in previous tax years.

It is my firm belief that nobody should be making additional profits during an energy crisis that is severely affecting our citizens. The windfall tax should apply to all profits made above the 2019 profit figure at the very least. No energy company should be profiting at the expense of others, especially not at the expense of the most vulnerable in Irish society. Energy companies are making eye-watering profits and are the cause of the energy crisis. For the Government to try to put the blame solely on the war in Ukraine is completely disingenuous. It has an impact, but energy costs were rising significantly before the war.

Again, I support the motion and the measures it calls for, such as a moratorium on disconnections, the windfall tax and the reduction in the cap on the price of electricity at summer 2021 rates. However, as helpful as these measures will be, they do not go far enough to address the systemic change needed in our energy industry. We need to renationalise our energy, give control back to the people and invest any money gained into a greener future. One thing is certain: fossil fuels will not be part of this plan in the future. Is this not an opportunity to move away from these expensive and damaging fuels which big companies profit from, and do things for and on behalf of the people?

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