Windfall Tax on the Excess Profits of Energy Companies: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Paul Lawless (AON), Mayo

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. The principle is very simple. If a company is making supernatural profits as a result of war and the design of the market, those profits should return to consumers. The profits are certainly there. Let us consider the ESB, which achieved some €440 million in pre-tax profits this year alone, an increase of €100 million. In the same breath, we learn that the salary of the chief executive of the ESB could rise by €161,000 - €90,000 of the pay rise has already been signed off on by the Government. The salary for one individual in the ESB could rise to €410,000. That is extraordinary. It is not just the ESB. Energia made profits of €70 million in a single quarter, an increase of 25%. Bord Gáis made €50 million in six months. The profits are rolling across the sector. The salaries are rolling, in particular in the ESB.
We have an extraordinary situation whereby we have record profits at the top and record arrears at the bottom. Ordinary families at the bottom are suffering. One in seven households across this State are struggling with electricity bills. That tells us everything we need to know. It is absolutely scandalous that at the top of the chain we see supernatural profits. That is, in part, due to market design. The price of electricity is not set by the cost of making electricity. Rather, it is set by the most expensive plant in terms of the auction system and that is generally always gas. When the price of gas goes through the roof, wind farms and solar operators are paid the same sky-high price, even though the cost of wind and sun did not change and has not changed. That is the windfall we speak of. That is why we need to move to address it. It is no longer good enough to blame the European Union. We need to take measures ourselves.

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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