Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 28, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: "(5) All moneys paid into the account shall be ringfenced and directed towards those most impacted by the energy sector pricing, as per the Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022.”.

The Minister of State referred to this earlier when he said the money gained by the State through the windfall tax will be ring-fenced and will be used in a targeted fashion because that is what the Council regulation directs. That should be specified in our legislation because otherwise there is no guarantee it will happen. I ask the Minister of State to transpose what is in the EU directive into our legislation. I do not understand why all the elements of this directive except the ring-fencing and the targeting of vulnerable people and those most impacted by energy costs have been included in the legislation. I do not understand why it was left out. It was also left out of the previous Bill although the Minister of State said at that time that he would ensure the money would be ring-fenced. I do not see any legislative basis on a national footing to ensure that will happen. I ask him to transpose all elements of the directive into our legislation

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