Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

By the Government's own assessment, anything above €92 per megawatt-hour for wind- and solar-generated electricity can be considered a windfall gain. Last July, Irish renewable energy companies were paid €182 for wind and solar; in August, €204; and in September, €341. By any measure, these are supernormal windfall profits, but here is the problem. The Government's windfall tax will tax none of these supernormal profits because the cap on market revenues will apply only from December 2022 to June 2023. Other countries - France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands - have recognised the madness of this and will tax, using a mechanism outside the EU regulation, more of the 2022 profits of renewable energy companies. Will the Taoiseach's Government do the same?

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