Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the Government's plan to implement a windfall tax. I am seeking clarity on the matter because I have been unable to get a straight answer from the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. When I submitted written questions to the Minister in December, he seemed to rule out bringing in a windfall tax on electricity companies despite the record profits. A couple of weeks ago in this Chamber he dismissed my concerns, claiming he would bring in a windfall tax on private electricity companies for 2022 profits. I again submitted a written question and received the same answer, that is, that electricity companies would get to keep the huge windfall profits from 2022 in full. Workers and families have been struggling to meet crippling electricity bills for more than a year, as the Taoiseach is aware, and electricity suppliers are now telling them they are not going to reduce prices. The prices have been artificially high because of how they were set. This allowed electricity companies to keep the obscene profits. It has been a shocking transfer of wealth from households to corporate profits. Could the Taoiseach please provide clarity? Will the Government be implementing a windfall tax on the 2022 profits of electricity companies - "Yes" or "No"?

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