Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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6. To ask the Taoiseach the extent to which he had discussions during his recent visit to the European Parliament. [30694/22]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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7. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit and address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. [30841/22]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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8. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit and address to the European Parliament. [34513/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together.

I visited Strasbourg on 7 and 8 June. I began my visit by meeting representatives of the Council of Europe to mark Ireland's six-month presidency of that body and took the opportunity to visit the European Court of Human Rights and meet with Irish staff members in that court.

At the invitation of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, I had the honour to address the plenary session of Parliament on 8 June. I reflected on the 50 years since Ireland voted to join what is now the European Union. Our membership has been transformative, with an overwhelmingly positive impact across all dimensions of our society. I expressed Ireland's strong support for Ukraine in the face of the immoral war being waged against it by Russia, and for its application for membership of the European Union.

Membership is the most powerful tool we possess to enlarge the sphere of democracy, peace and security in our region and in my contribution, I set out my view that the EU should move more swiftly and decisively on enlargement, especially in the western Balkans. I also took the opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing support and solidarity of our partners in the European Union through the Brexit process.

In concluding my address, I looked to the future, where our guiding principle should be how we can best prepare our Union to continue to meet the needs of its citizens. The European Union is by no means perfect or complete. It is a project that must continue to develop and evolve. Differences will arise between member states, and between the institutions. However, our capacity to work through these issues together makes the EU something to be immensely proud of. We are stronger together, and we achieve most and best when we work together.

While at the Parliament, I had a number of bilateral meetings. I discussed European Union-United Kingdom developments and the protocol with European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and thanked him for his work in seeking solutions to issues surrounding the protocol. I met Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and reaffirmed to him Ireland's strong solidarity with the people of Ukraine. He expressed his appreciation for the generous response of the Irish people. I also met David McAllister, MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and conveyed Ireland's appreciation for the strong support of the European Parliament on Brexit.

Together with President Metsola, I unveiled a bust in the European Parliament to honour the life and career of the late John Hume. It will be a fitting and permanent reminder of John's unwavering commitment to peace on the island of Ireland, and a reflection of his great work achieved in Europe, including as an MEP for 25 years. John had the vision to see the narrative of Ireland's path to peace in the wider narrative of peace in Europe, a peace built on respect for political and cultural diversity cemented with economic interdependence. As we see the return of war to our Continent, it is a vision that must remain an inspiration and guide to us all.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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This morning President von der Leyen made a speech to the European Parliament about the energy and cost-of-living crisis affecting people across the continent. She said the energy companies are making revenues they never accounted for or even dreamt of. She is right about that. The Taoiseach can look up the figures for the big oil and gas corporations at a global level. I compared profits year on year, quarter 2 versus quarter 2, and Shell, Exxon, Chevron and BP have all tripled or quadrupled their profits. In this country, energy companies, while announcing record price increases for people, are also announcing record profits. It is similar with food companies and big corporate landlords.

The answer of the European Commission is a "deep and comprehensive reform of the electricity market". Is the problem not the fact that it is a market? Should we not recognise that electricity and energy supply should be a public utility in public control, not run for profit but for provision of this essential supply for people and to ensure a rapid and just transition to a zero-carbon economy? I think the majority of people agree with that. That is why tens of thousands of people will be on the streets on 24 September.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I agree with the Taoiseach's words on John Hume's vision and with his reflections on the brutal war in Ukraine, from which we are seeing an enormous impact. We have to recall those who come here fleeing other wars. In recent days, I have heard real concerns around a resettlement programme for Syrian refugees fleeing war and Afghan refugees who are here and in many cases seeking family reunification, and the need to speed up the processing of their applications. That is important, alongside the welcome we need to continue to extend to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

I return to energy and the EU policy thereon. We welcome moves at EU level to introduce a windfall tax on the excessive profits of energy companies. I referred earlier to the Corrib gas field and there is something the Government should do now to address the profits being made there. The revenues from Corrib increased almost fourfold last year, though nothing has happened to increase the cost of production or supply, nor is there any international competition that would boost the price of Corrib generated gas. That price has increased dramatically solely as a result of factors which should have no direct impact on the Irish market. It makes no sense that Corrib gas should be priced as if it was internationally traded and could power German factories in the Rhineland when it is being used here. I propose the Government invoke existing legislative powers for the duration of the emergency on a temporary basis, to ensure Irish-produced gas is sold to the State on a cost-plus basis, bringing down costs for consumers.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I also raise the issue of energy. We know the emergency meeting of EU energy ministers last week in Brussels was to discuss a cap or some way to control energy prices across Europe. That is welcome and needs to happen. It is accepted the challenges may be long term in nature. The Taoiseach referred to that today and we all know that. Much of this comes from the brutal war being inflicted on the people of Ukraine and its outcome across Europe.

We all understand that but the most vulnerable people are being hardest hit, particularly in this country. Many families and businesses are under huge pressure. I have been contacted by many retail businesses, including Centra and SuperValu shops, in my constituency and across the country.

The owners run their fridges and try to run their businesses but their costs are going through the roof. Gourmet Parlour, a bakery in Sligo town, was on to me a couple of months ago about the significant increase in the cost of the energy it needs to produce its products. It obviously has ovens and so on along with fridges to store raw materials. All of this has put great pressure on small businesses. As we know, in many parts of the country where there is no foreign direct investment, we rely on small businesses to keep our economy going. Those small businesses are under real pressure and a significant input from the Government is required to put a cap on their energy costs.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Paul Murphy was first. He spoke about President von der Leyen. I agree with her that excessive profits have been made on the back of the war and the crisis and that there has been a very substantial increase in revenue. By the end of this month, Europe will have made a decision. We are leading on that. We are working with our European partners. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has been involved. As a country, we have made it very clear that we want a mechanism developed, ideally across Europe, to deal with wind generation companies, which is what largely what we have in Ireland. We have one fossil fuel company, which operates on the Corrib gas field. Any excess revenues raised on the back of the crisis should be used to help the governments of member states, including our own, to support households and to protect jobs. That is the agenda. The gas market is European so it makes sense that this is done across Europe. A deeper reform of the market is also required. A key issue is decoupling gas prices from those of energy generated from wind or other sources such as nuclear. It is not simple. There are many complexities with regard to the markets. We are not going to nationalise the entire European Union market. That is not going to happen. We have to deal with reality. We are not going to do that. We are not in a position to do so. Every member state is entitled to its domestic policies within the European Union framework. I am also not necessarily sure it would lead to the kind of efficiencies the Deputy has suggested. Neither system is perfect, whether a completely market-led approach or a hybrid approach involving State involvement regulated by regulators along with other actors and players in the marketplace. We need a strong regulatory framework with strong capacity. That is what we support.

On Deputy Bacik's point regarding the other resettlement programmes, without question, the Ukrainian situation has put great pressure on our system. Some 50,000 have come into the country, of whom approximately 38,000 or 39,000 are housed by the State through premises that have been procured such as hotels while others have been housed through the housing provided voluntarily by people. There has also been growth in the normal asylum seeking process. There are also programmes for those fleeing war, specifically Afghans and Syrians. I will check on these programmes. I have not been alerted that they are under pressure. There are other newer arrivals, not all of whom are fleeing war. This is also putting pressure on the accommodation situation.

I have already referenced the Corrib gas field, which has been of enormous importance in supplying Ireland. We have not had much success with fossil fuel extraction in Ireland. The Kinsale gas field was the original and the Corrib gas field has been a very important contributor. We import most of our gas. We are very dependent on importation. Again, the EU instrument will cover both. We are supporting that.

I believe that same point covers what Deputy Martin Kenny referenced with regard to the emergency meeting in Brussels. There is to be another meeting and the Commission will publish a proposal with a view to reaching a decision at a meeting of energy ministers on 30 September. Apart from that, the Government will have to help alleviate pressures on people and protect jobs in the weeks immediately ahead of us through the budget and associated cost-of-living package using our own resources and surplus.