Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do. I did not realise we were on section 2 already. One of my amendments was ruled out of order. That was to argue for 100% of the tax to be taken. That has been ruled out of order because apparently it would have a cost to the Exchequer. There are many problems with the Bill and much that we did not foresee when we saw the heads of Bill. I hoped it would be quite a progressive Bill and would do something really meaningful. It has actually given a sort of veneer or makeover to a thing the Government does not really want to do, which is to impose extra tax on energy companies, but needs to be seen to do. It is only, for example, affecting fossil fuel companies. There are no caps on revenues for renewable companies, in this version at least. It may be added later on. Will we ask wind farms and so on to return some of their profits to offset the crisis for ordinary people? It will not apply to all profits. It is set at 75%. That is why I argued for 100%. Will the Minister of State please explain why it is set at 75%, even if it has been ruled out of order?

The loopholes are absolutely incredible. It is like a sieve. The losses in any of the five previous years can be offset against the Oireachtas liaison. Any capital acquisition in the last years can be offset against the tax. Any tax payable, as I understand, can be offset against corporation tax. It is worth saying again that this Bill is a little too late and does not deal with the systemic issues that the energy crisis has highlighted for us. It will not stop any future price-gouging or profiteering by these energy companies. It does not do anything to address the level of energy poverty or the continued fear that people have of their energy bills. The crisis does not stem, I am afraid, from the Ukraine war. It stems from the privatisation and liberalisation of the energy market back in the 1990s and the 2000s. The Ukraine war has absolutely not helped, it has compounded it, but the fact that this is a totally liberalised market instead of one controlled and sustained for the benefit of society means we will face this again and again. It really makes the case for the re-nationalisation of the energy sector. I am disappointed that these have been ruled out of order. I ask the Minister of State to explain these issues, please.

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