Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
278. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will join with Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain to seek a windfall tax on inflated profits of energy companies, similar to 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29618/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile EU Member States can take measures on the taxation of energy companies’ extraordinary profits arising from the Middle East crisis, plans for an EU-wide windfall tax are not being considered by the European Commission within the scope of AccelerateEU. AccelerateEU is the suite of proposed measures to address the energy affordability crisis.
However, Ireland would engage constructively on the development of proposals from the European Commission on a potential EU-wide windfall tax if one was published.
Ireland's preference would be for an EU wide obligation, not on a case-by-case basis. A “Member State-by-Member State” approach would risk fragmenting or unbalancing the level playing field for the single market for electricity. Tackling the energy crisis in a coordinated way between EU Members is preferable given the interconnectedness of EU energy markets.
If this policy area were to be developed by the European Commission, Ireland would encourage significant engagement with Member States, along with sector-specific engagement, to ensure any measures proposed were effective and fit for purpose.
Care needs to be taken to ensure that any new measures do not increase uncertainty in the energy sector at this challenging time. In addition, we do not wish to have any negative unintended consequences on actions to address supply issues and discourage further energy investment.
