Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 seeks to address windfall gains in the energy sector by collecting excess revenues from those companies that have unexpectedly benefited from high prices and redistributing those revenues to alleviate pressures on affected consumers. As per Article 22(2)(c) of the regulation, a cap on market revenues shall apply from 1 December 2022 to 30 June 2023. In November of last year, the Government decided to approve the implementation of the Council regulation. In March 2023, the Government approved the general scheme of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) Bill 2023, which will implement the temporary solidarity contribution and the cap on market revenues in line with the regulation.
I received the agreement of the Government this week to advance and present to the Dáil immediate legislation to deal with the contribution from the fossil fuel companies, which we hope will pass all stages in the Houses before the summer recess, and to publish, in a separate Bill, legislation to deliver the market cap which, as I have said, applies from 1 December 2022 to 30 June this year, in this term and before the recess. In that way, we will be able to collect all of the revenues that are due, subject to the Houses' agreement. The legislation for both the solidarity contribution and the market cap will be in line with European law and with the social solidarity that people expect the energy sector to provide in redistributing some of the surplus supernormal profits that have arisen because of the war.