Windfall Tax on the Excess Profits of Energy Companies: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Paul Nicholas Gogarty (IND), Dublin Mid-West

We know that some of the energy price rises are due to international factors beyond our control. It is a bit like a broken record at this stage. As my predecessor said, we know that because the electricity market operates on a system of marginal pricing and the most expensive form of power needed to meet demand at a given moment sets the price for 100% of the market. Right now, we know that is gas. I mentioned that our reliance on data centres and encouragement of them at a time when they are pushing up to almost maximum grid capacity means that will feed more gas into the system and everyone will pay a higher price as a result.
While data centres give a lot in local rates to county councils, they are still not paying their fair share. That is why I support the motion. There needs to be a dividend for hard-pressed consumers from companies making excessive super profits and the energy and electricity companies which, as others have mentioned, are making way too much at a time when everyone else is stuck to the pin of their collar. In that context, we need to be real.
I disagree with my Independent Ireland colleague who said the carbon targets are way above what we can actually meet. We should go even further and be a leader in Europe. We have that potential in terms of mass battery storage and conversion to green hydrogen and private wires, which I have been banging on about for years. We have the potential to be a net exporter of energy and gain huge revenue. We would then be able to get revenue from data companies because we would have spare capacity. We need massive investment, and borrow if we need to, in order to do that. Unfortunately, we do not have the vision. We are dealing with crisis management at a time when international factors are at play. We need to look at the bigger picture more quickly.

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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