Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to know about the strategy we are putting in place to tackle the astronomical profits being collected by energy companies. This morning, we learned that SSE Airtricity, one of the providers in the Irish market, accrued profits of €2.18 billion. That comes after the ESB recording 12-month profits of €847 million. This is all in the context of historic increases in energy and electricity bills. There are two things we can do straight away. First, many people now have smart meters but at the moment, the cheaper rate, namely, the night-time rate, begins at 11 p.m. We need to put pressure on the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, to bring the time forward to 8 p.m. in order that more people can avail of the cheaper rates. In addition, the companies should be forced to introduce cheaper rates. Second, we need to expedite the windfall tax legislation in order that these massive profits can be given back to people in the form of credits or whatever to ease the burden on consumers, both households and businesses.

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