Windfall Tax on the Excess Profits of Energy Companies: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Conor D. McGuinness (SF), Waterford

As the Minister of State knows, energy bills are putting huge pressure on workers and families. One in seven households in this State is in arrears on their electricity bills. At the same time, energy companies have been making extraordinary profit from the energy crisis. That is why we in Sinn Féin support a 75% windfall tax on those exceptional profits. Those companies should contribute to dealing with the consequences of the prices. Instead of filling the pockets of their shareholders and executives, the money should go towards reducing bills, tackling energy arrears, retrofitting homes and helping people living in energy poverty, older people, households with young children and families with people who have disabilities. We also need to reform that energy market so that workers and families are not paying the price while companies make huge profits.
In Kilmeaden, County Waterford, the community is facing a massive proposed data centre and, effectively, an associated power plant. I have submitted an objection to that development and people locally are asking very reasonable questions about what this means for the community, the electricity grid and the wider energy system. If it goes ahead, not only will the scale of electricity demand swallow up a huge amount of additional generation in the south east for many years, including any additional energy from renewable means, but it will push up energy prices for ordinary families. That is something this Government needs to contend with as well.
Around Dungarvan, we are also seeing multiple wind energy developments proposed in the hills and countryside. The applications are coming in one after the other, while our national wind energy guidelines are now 20 years old. For years, the Government has promised to update them but repeatedly kicked the issue down the road. Local authorities are asked to deal with modern developments using a framework designed for a very different era and for different technology. That is how we end up with a wild west approach to energy generation and the regulation of energy companies, which leaves workers and families behind.
Communities deserve clear national rules and proper planning and workers and families need a break. Today, there is an initiative taking place across the State, Walk Out for Women, in solidarity with women and girls to take a stand against gender-based and sexual violence. I will be walking out of Leinster House with many of my colleagues to show support for that campaign.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30