Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The introduction of this measure and the process leading up to this legislation has been quite the saga. We are aware the EU introduced its regulation in October 2022 and the Government announced its intentions in November. However, here we are and it is coming up to summer recess and the finishing touches are still only being made to the Bill.We saw the first draft in March and pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in May. Almost one month later, the Minister announced he would split the Bill in two. The delays in finalising this legislation are unacceptable, especially considering the current context. While the Government had ample time to address high energy prices and the struggles faced by ordinary families and workers, Ireland remains in the same position. Energy companies continue to earn exorbitant profits while households suffer. Ireland has some of the highest energy prices in Europe. Over the past year, consumer energy prices rose by 72% while wholesale energy prices decreased by 50%. Household energy costs have more than doubled in the past two years, with the average home now paying approximately €2,000 per year for electricity alone. We know that the number of gas customers in arrears is also rising and almost one in three people are living in energy poverty.

The Government and Minister claim that the delays in the legislation are due to its complexity but that is not a sufficient excuse. Eighteen other European countries have implemented similar measures successfully. The reality is that the Government never wanted to impose a windfall tax on energy companies. It has consistently prioritised the profits of these companies over the needs of ordinary workers and families.

While it is welcome that we have this legislation, we need to ensure that the benefit of the revenue goes to people who are struggling. One might think that is a given but, unfortunately, it is not. The most recent time the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, introduced a windfall tax was in 2009, through the Carbon Revenue Levy Fund Act. The revenues were, believe it or not, ring-fenced for large energy users and not a single cent went to households. A total of €151,326,365 of a windfall tax was given to large energy users between 2010 and 2012 in a shameful act of corporate welfare. There was public fury last year at the revelations that at the same time that windfall tax was being given to large energy users, the Government also designed a secret scheme to rebalance network charges whereby households were subsidising data centres and pharmaceutical companies. It would be unacceptable to repeat the same brazen contempt for ordinary people today.

The EU regulation, unfortunately, allows the Government the latitude to distribute the money to large energy users. Under Article 17 of the regulation, the Government can give financial support measures to support companies in energy intensive industries. The Minister has the power to give that money to corporations when households are crying out for support. We simply cannot repeat what was done on the most recent occasion the Green Party was in government in 2009. Will the Minister of State please give a guarantee that no data centres, pharmaceutical factories or other so-called large energy users will see a single cent of the funds and that it will all go to households?

Energy companies will be able to deduct losses and capital expenditure from their contributions under this legislation. This raises concerns about their ability to reduce the proportion of their profits that can be targeted. These profits were made during times of war and a pandemic, alongside a cost-of-living crisis. The Government needs to justify this approach, as it appears to be business as usual in the energy sector.

The prolonged lag in reducing energy prices in Ireland is unjustified. Energy prices are falling across Europe, yet Ireland's remain inflated. The Government attributes this to hedging but there are concerns that energy companies are engaging in profiteering. The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, lacks oversight of hedging practices. The Government has failed to provide the CRU with sufficient power and resources. Encouraging energy companies to pass on reductions to customers is not enough. An online petition, as Fine Gael put forward, is not going to cut it. The energy market requires proper regulation.

Sinn Féin proposes resourcing and empowering the energy regulator to oversee hedging and regulate standing charges. We demand that energy companies provide answers to the public. Despite promises from the Government that energy prices would decrease and companies would be held accountable, nothing has changed. Urgent intervention is necessary to prevent the situation from worsening.

When its representatives came before the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action recently, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul reported a significant increase in energy-related requests, indicating the growing burden on households. Irish living standards have fallen behind other European countries and this decline must be reversed. The Irish people deserve a Government that will fight for their interests.

Sinn Féin will introduce amendments to strengthen this legislation. We will endeavour to ensure that the revenue raised is used to reduce the cost of electricity for households immediately. Additionally, we will propose increasing the revenue generated and enhancing compliance enforcement and anti-avoidance measures. The Government should adopt these amendments and take urgent measures to lower household energy bills. The people have waited long enough. They are struggling now and need action. I hope the approach to the Sinn Féin amendments will be better than that taken in the Dáil, otherwise we will be left with a mere shadow of what a windfall tax has the potential to be. I hope the Minister of State will engage with us in the Seanad and accept the Sinn Féin amendments, which are brought forward constructively. I also hope the Government will ensure the regulator has adequate oversight to ensure there is no avoidance by energy companies but also that we can monitor the hedging practices of those energy companies.