Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 July 2026
186. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he has conducted any analysis on the revenue that would be earned by the temporary solidarity contribution per year if it had of been kept in place; if he has considered reintroducing; his reasoning for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50388/26]
View answerOn 17 July 2023, the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Temporary Solidarity Contribution) Act 2023 was passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas and was signed into law by the President.
In accordance with EU Council Regulation 2022/1854, the Act introduced a temporary solidarity contribution to fossil fuel companies that earned unexpected surplus profits (“windfall gains”) for the years 2022 and 2023.
In terms of the revenue that would be raised if the Temporary Solidarity had remained in place, it should be noted that the Act implemented EU-wide emergency measures to address exceptionally high energy prices arising from Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and was designed to avoid creating negative investment signals or a country-specific risk. As Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 called for “exceptional, targeted and time-limited measures” and in accordance with the timeframe set out in the Regulation, the Act only refers to the years 2022 and 2023. In light of this, there are no plans to reintroduce this temporary measure and, as such, the revenue that could potentially be raised by a more permanent solidarity contribution has not been modelled.
