Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This is a levy that we are introducing on unfair profits. These are super-excess profits that were earned by energy companies during the period of a war. We are levying them at 75% of the excess profits and we expect to collect that levy. I fully trust that the Revenue will be capable of collecting this money, as it has certainly proven itself capable. It is a very large bill. The companies from which the money will be collected have very large fixed assets in this country. They are not fly-by-night operators. They are going to have to pay. If they do not pay within the specified dates, they will be due for excess charges, which will be in the millions of euro. We must remember that we are collecting hundreds of millions of euro from a very small number of companies, so any late payment outside the timeframes set out will result in multimillion euro excess charges. No company could rationally decide to pay late based on these timeframes.

At the same time, I need to be proportionate in the legislation to ensure it is not challenged. It needs to be legally robust and strong legislation that is effective and does not fall down because it is challenged on the basis of being disproportionate. I expect that a 50% excess charge on profits as a late fee could be challenged and could risk the entire operation.

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