Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2026
27. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether he or his officials participated in discussions with Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal or Austria about calling for an EU-wide windfall tax on energy companies; to provide details of any such discussions; the reasons he did not co-sign such correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35380/26]
View answerThe current energy market disruption and implications for long-term energy security, together with the imperatives of decarbonisation and increasing the production of renewable energy, are central to many discussions at Ministerial and official level in EU fora.
The European Commission’s AccelerateEU communication addresses the EU’s rising energy costs on volatile fossil fuel markets and aims to accelerate the clean energy transition and strengthen EU energy resilience. While the communication notes that Member States may take domestic measures with regard to windfall profits, no EU-wide approach has as yet been agreed.
As the Deputy may be aware, a Temporary Solidarity Contribution (TSC) was introduced in line with Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 to tackle windfall gains being made in the energy sector at the time, following the commencement of war in Ukraine. The TSC formed part of a co-ordinated European response, reflecting the highly interconnected nature of EU energy markets and a view that an emergency intervention to mitigate the effects of high energy prices at the time could not be sufficiently achieved by Member States individually.
It continues to be the Government’s view that tackling the energy crisis in a coordinated way between EU Member States is preferable, given the interconnectedness of EU energy markets.
We will engage constructively with EU partners on these matters and aim to ensure that any joint European response to these challenges is coordinated and effective.
