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

I extend my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and supporters of Councillor Damien O'Reilly. I attended his funeral in Dunboyne this morning. He was 40 years of age. It is dreadfully sad. He was a great public representative and staff member in the Houses of the Oireachtas too. I extend by deepest condolences on behalf of my party and, I am sure, colleagues in the Houses too.

I am pleased to finally have the opportunity to speak on this legislation and that it has been introduced. It is incredible that it has taken this long to get us here. The delay would be unacceptable in normal circumstances but in the context of today's surging and enduring cost-of-living crisis, it is shocking. As it stands, Ireland has some of the most expensive energy prices in Europe. The average energy bill is now over €2,000. Even the European Central Bank has pointed out that we are completely out of line with other EU member states. Prices are falling steadily all over Europe. Despite some small decreases, on the whole, prices remain stubbornly high here. Energy poverty affects approximately one in three people in Ireland. That is completely unacceptable in an economy that is supposedly booming. The reality is that only very few are reaping the benefits of economic growth. The majority are left out in the cold.

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 requests relating to energy in 2022, which rose 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 came into power almost a decade ago. In fact, we are now in the bottom half of the European league table. How does the Government expect to turn this around if it delays and dodges all the actions necessary to provide urgent relief to households? I remind the Government that these are not just figures. This is the devastating reality for millions of ordinary workers and families who are crippled under the strain of astronomical bills and have to manage rip-off prices of energy and food in the face of increasing mortgage payments and rents.

The EU regulation was intended to be an emergency measure and introduced in a sufficiently timely manner when it was agreed in October last year. Does 11 months feel sufficiently timely to the Minister of State? Does it feel like this Government is acting like it is an emergency? I would say it absolutely does not.

When challenged on these sky-high energy bills, the Government points to the war in Ukraine and claims it is out of its hands. The fact is that Ireland is an outlier when it comes to our bloated energy bills. After 11 months, almost a year of dragging its feet, we may finally see the introduction of this measure. The first draft of this Bill was introduced in March. We completed pre-legislative scrutiny in May. Almost a month later, out of nowhere, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, announced that he was splitting the Bill in two. As we entered the summer recess, all we had was a weak scheme for the temporary solidarity contribution. The legislation for the cap on market revenues, the measure which had, if appropriately drafted, the potential to address profits when they were at their peak in 2022, was nowhere to be seen. In fact, this Bill was only published on the last day of August.

The Minister tells us that the reason for these delays is the apparent complexity of the legislation. Is the Government telling us that it failed to do what 20 other European countries have already done because it was too difficult for it? Surely not. Other EU countries were straight off the starting blocks while Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party seemingly sat twiddling their thumbs. Whether due to gross negligence or incompetence, this Government seems content to let ordinary workers and families continue to suffer. After all of that, one would think this Government would at least get the Bill right. However, it has disappointed us all yet again because what it has produced is overdue, weak and incomplete legislation. Shockingly, the Government's Bill fails at what should be its most basic function. It failed to address profits when they were at their peak in 2022. These obscene, eye-watering profits will remain untouched. Let us not forget that energy companies earned this revenue off the back of a devastating war in Europe, an unprecedented global pandemic and a crushing cost-of-living crisis. Ordinary people suffer while private interests profit.

What is the Government's excuse this time? It says it cannot introduce retrospective measures. That argument simply does not stand up. First, this measure is already retrospective, given that it is September and it will be applied from December to June this year. Second, other EU countries, including Greece, France and Belgium, applied it retrospectively. This Government acts like its hands are tied but, as the experience of other EU members shows, there is a better, fairer way.

To add insult to injury, as a result of all the delay and the refusal to apply the measure in a way that is most effective, nearly €2 billion in potential revenue will be lost. It is revenue that could have been used to help families with the spiralling cost of energy. Estimates have been revised down from €1.9 billion when it was first announced to now somewhere between €280 million and €600 million. This becomes all the more frustrating when we consider that these figures do not even include the potential revenue that could be earned by extending the measure beyond June, as many other EU states have done. Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain will all apply the measure until 31 December 2023. In Slovakia, the measure will be in place until 31 December 2024. Other EU member states stand firmly in the corner of the hard-pressed citizens but that is not the case in Ireland.

Other EU member states also have more stringent measures in place for the rate at which the cap is set. France, for example, has set the cap at €100 per MWh for wind, solar and nuclear. We are told that €120 is fine for Ireland. Perhaps the Minister will tell us what the refit price is. The State has already assessed what a reasonable profit is for energy companies. Perhaps some light should be shone on that. We can then compare where €120 per MWh stands.

Yet another glaring gap in this legislation is the fact that it gives zero detail on how this revenue will be spent. There is, therefore, no guarantee that the Government will use the revenues to provide the urgent and necessary relief that hard-pressed businesses, families and workers need. Can the Minister of State commit that revenues earned will be applied to reduce the burden on ordinary families and workers due to sky-high energy bills? Why should companies be allowed to make exorbitant profits off the back of ordinary workers and families? How can the Government justify this?

The fact is that Ireland continues to have some of the highest energy prices in Europe, which are falling far more slowly here than they are all over the eurozone.

The Government will almost certainly argue that it is simply doing what was provided for under the regulation and its hands are tied. This spin is far from the truth, however. The Commission made it explicitly clear that member states have the flexibility to decide on how to apply the windfall measure. Other EU member states can implement the cap on market revenues and the temporary solidarity contribution in diverse ways. This is exactly what they have done.

This Government can and should do more. It is clear that chaos reigns in the energy markets while the Government sits on its hands prevaricating and making false promises. All the while, ordinary workers and families suffer. The reality is the Government never wanted a windfall tax in the first place. As late as August last year, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, made clear the Government's opposition to any tax on windfall profits. This Government has continually resisted calls from Sinn Féin and others in the Opposition to introduce extensive measures. It only moved because the EU did so a whole. In reality, it has always been determined to protect the profits of powerful energy companies, prioritising them over the needs of ordinary workers and families. Despite the fact there have been growing concerns over anticompetitive behaviour and profiteering in the energy market, the Government has also failed to equip the Commission for Regulation of Utilities with regulatory teeth to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

In truth, we have an energy system that is a basket case. We have a crisis in our energy system. We are burning more coal than ever and renewables delivery has fallen off the edge of a cliff. Let us look at the renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, 3 auction results next week, which will give us an indication of where renewables are under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. We have a regulator that is oblivious to the issue of rip-off energy prices and the Government is exactly the same. We have the risk of blackouts and brownouts. EirGrid is struggling to deliver back-up generation capacity on time and on budget. We have the McCarthy report that nobody has seen but which we should see, and data centres are being rolled out to beat the band. It is completely unacceptable and it has to change.

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