Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

In April I raised the issue of Tara Mines being under serious pressure in terms of costs. There are obviously a range of issues putting the 2,000 jobs in Meath under pressure and we do not have any control over many of these issues. However, there is one element the Government has significant control over and that is the cost of electricity. Electricity is the second highest cost that Tara Mines has and that it is dealing with. The cost of electricity in Ireland is the highest in the whole of the European Union. It is now double the per unit price than the average price in the European Union. In Sweden, mines with similar cost bases to Tara Mines are functioning. The key difference is they have lower energy costs and they are still functioning. Energy companies have been profiteering in this country for well over a year. The ESB doubled its profits to more than €800 million last year, literally winning the lottery every day in terms of profits. The ideology of the Green Party is to keep electricity prices high so as to reduce consumption.

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