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

I am sharing time with Deputies Gould and McLoughlin. Deputy Gould will take the second slot. Deputy McLoughlin has not yet arrived.

I am pleased to be here finally to see the introduction of this measure.

We are used to the Government dragging its feet and prevaricating, but we can all agree, even in relative terms, that this legislation has been quite the saga. The EU introduced its regulation in October 2022. The Government announced its intentions in November. Here we are, four days from the beginning July, and we are still at the drawing board. We saw the first draft in March. Pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in May. Almost one month later, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan announced he would be splitting the Bill in two.

The result is that we only have weak and, from the perspective of Sinn Féin, incomplete legislation for the TSC. That is why we will be tabling a number of amendments to this legislation. The first will be to increase the prospective revenues raised. The second will be to strengthen enforcement and make it more robust in terms of avoidance. The third will be to ensure that moneys raised to urgently reduce the cost of energy and offset the increase in the cost of living under pressure of which households are living. Households should feel the benefit straight away. When it comes to the cap on market revenues, we are still none the wiser. These delays would be unacceptable under any circumstances, but are shocking in the current context. Despite the Government having this measure and a range of others to reduce the cost of energy at its fingertips for quite some time, Ireland remains in the same position it has always been. Energy companies have earned exorbitant and eye-watering profits while ordinary families and workers suffer.

Ireland has some of the highest energy prices in Europe. In the 12 months to March 2023, overall consumer energy prices rose by an eye-watering 72%. During the same period, wholesale energy prices decreased by 50%. Household energy costs have more than doubled in the past two years, with the average home now paying approximately €2,000 per year for electricity alone. Moreover, almost one in four gas customers is in arrears. The number in this regard is rising. It is of little surprise, but it is shocking that almost one in three people are living in energy poverty. The Government says the reason for all of the stops and starts with this legislation is that it is extremely complex. Is it telling us that it has failed to do what 18 other European countries have already done because it is too difficult for them? An admission of such gross incompetence could only be a cover for gross negligence. The reality is that the Government never wanted a windfall tax in the first place. As late as May 2022, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, made clear the Government's opposition to any tax on windfall profits. This Government has continually ignored the calls of Sinn Féin and others for a windfall tax. It has blocked all of our attempts to introduce one, which we have been doing since it became possible when REpowerEU was introduced in March 2022. The Government only moved because the EU, as a whole, moved. In reality, the Government has been determined to protect the profits of powerful energy companies, prioritising them over the needs of ordinary workers and families.

I want to ask the Minister of State about the fact that energy companies will be able to deduct losses incurred and capital expenditure from their contributions. Does he think it is remotely appropriate that energy companies will be freely able to significantly reduce the proportion of their eye-watering super-profits that can be targeted? I remind him that these profits were made on the back of war in Europe and the pandemic, both of which took place alongside a cost-of-living crisis. Will he explain the justification for this? Is this not simply a continuation of business as usual in the energy sector? It is hardly surprising that the Government is proposing a weak version of the EU regulation. They defend this by saying they are simply following the regulation. I remind them that this regulation was introduced as an emergency measure to address high energy prices in a sufficiently timely manner in October 2022. Does this feel sufficiently timely to the Minister of State? Does it feel as if the Government is acting like there is an emergency? I feel that it is absolutely not the case. When challenged on these sky high energy bills, the Government points to the war in Ukraine and claim it is out of its hands. The fact is that Ireland is an outlier when it comes to bloated energy bills.

Sinn Féin is not the only one talking about this. In its most recent quarterly bulletin, the Central Bank reported that energy prices are falling all over Europe, yet Ireland's remain inflated. We are told that hedging is the reason for this prolonged lag. However, there is real concern that energy companies are carrying out rampant profiteering. Energy companies claim they will bring down energy prices as soon as they can. In reality, we have no idea whether or not this is true. This is because the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, does not have oversight of hedging practices and because we have a Government unwilling to give it the power and resources to do so. All the CRU can do to get to grips with the situation is encourage energy companies to pass reductions on to customers. This is not good enough. If the past 18 months have taught us anything it is that the seemingly lawless energy market urgently needs proper regulation. While the Government might claim we are wrong, and everything is under control, clearly Sinn Féin is not the only one that is concerned. A recent report in the Irish Independentasked Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity and Energia to comment on what proportion of wholesale energy they use in hedging, and when each of these contracts will unwind. Unsurprisingly, the report indicated that the companies were not forthcoming with answers.

Sinn Féin would urgently get to grips with this situation by resourcing and mandating the CRU to oversee hedging and to regulate standing charges. Furthermore, we would ensure that energy companies give the Irish public the answers it deserves. Despite the Government promising us time and again that energy prices would come down, and that they would hold energy companies to account, nothing has changed. I would like to remind it of its promises. In February, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told us that wholesale prices were falling and energy costs should come down. On 15 March, the Taoiseach told us the Government was going to put pressure on the energy companies to bring down their prices because we should see those fall this year and not next year. He repeated this on 21 April. The Tánaiste confirmed at the same time that the time was coming for reduced prices.

Then came last week's U-turn when the Taoiseach stated that energy costs would remain very high this winter. Moreover, talk of holding energy companies to account has all but disappeared. This calls into question how genuine the Government's claims were in the first place. The Irish people deserve better. Without urgent intervention. the situation will deteriorate further. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul recently told the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action that it has seen a 40% increase in energy-related requests in 2022, with the figure rising to a staggering 50% in 2023. Moreover, Irish living standards have already fallen further behind other European countries. This decline is a continuation of a downward trend since Fine Gael entered power almost a decade ago. In fact, we are now in the bottom half of the European league table. How does this Government expect to turn this around if it delays and dodges all of the actions necessary to provide urgent relief to households? I remind the Government that these are not just figures. This is a devastating reality for millions of ordinary workers and families who are crippled under the strain of astronomical bills, and who are having to manage rip-off prices in energy and food in the face of increasing mortgage payments and rents. The Irish people deserve a Government that will do better and that is willing to fight for them and their future. We can turn this around, but decisive action is needed. Windfall taxes are an essential element, but they need to be robust and fit for purpose.

Sinn Féin will table a number of amendments to strengthen this legislation. We will introduce an amendment to ensure that the revenues raised will be used to reduce the cost of electricity for households, making sure that the savings land in people's pockets straight away rather than the snail's pace at which this Government is operating. We will table an amendment to increase the revenue generated. This will increase the proportion of profits that can be considered taxable, thus providing more of the relief that households desperately need. We will table amendments to strengthen compliance enforcement and anti-avoidance measures. I urge the Government to adopt these amendments and to urgently introduce measures to reduce people's household energy bills. People have waited long enough.

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