The government must immediately outline how and when it intends to use the proceeds of the energy windfall tax to bring down sky-high bills for consumers, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s energy spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has revealed that approximately \u20ac189 million has been collected to date from electricity producers, traders and intermediaries as a result of the cap on energy market revenues. It was always intended that this money would be used to bring down energy costs for customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the Minister has confirmed that the government has yet to spend any of the funds collected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is at a time when annual gas bills are \u20ac120 higher than other EU countries, and electricity prices are \u20ac350 more expensive. These exorbitant prices, coming on top of skyrocketing housing costs, are causing real hardship for households.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is also a missed opportunity to ramp up State investment in retrofitting, with the government\u2019s target to bring 500,000 homes to a B2 energy rating by 2030 looking increasingly unachievable. We are also lagging behind when it comes to heat pump and solar installation targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister must now clarify when the government will get around to using windfall tax profits to reduce energy costs for consumers. He must also confirm if this temporary tax measure, which has now lapsed, will be reintroduced.\u201d<\/p>\n
May 7, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government must immediately outline how and when it intends to use the proceeds of the energy windfall tax to bring down sky-high bills for consumers, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party\u2019s energy spokesperson, said: \u201cThe Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has revealed that approximately \u20ac189 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[539,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n