Paul Murphy: Demands 50% Windfall Tax and an End to Pushbacks
Paul Murphy outlined concerns about soaring living costs, high electricity prices and profiteering, urging a 50% windfall tax to fund home insulation and retrofitting. He criticised the WTO deal on a TRIPS waiver as inadequate, condemned Greek pushbacks of refugees and called for an independent investigation.
Eurostat figures and electricity costs
New Eurostat data were cited to argue that Ireland is now officially the most expensive country in Europe, with prices 40% above the EU average. Electricity was highlighted as a major driver - a unit of electricity costs 26% more than the EU average while electricity companies are reported to be making bumper profits.
Proposal for a windfall tax
Murphy proposed a 50% tax on the so-called mega-profits of energy companies, estimating it would raise 300 million euros. He said the revenue should be used to rapidly roll out attic insulation and retrofitting to help people cut energy usage and lower bills.
TRIPS waiver and vaccine access
He criticised the recent WTO ministerial outcome, saying the EU and others blocked a meaningful TRIPS waiver that would allow poorer countries to produce COVID vaccines locally. Murphy said the Irish Government and the minister backed the deal, criticised patent-protected artificial scarcity by pharmaceutical companies and echoed Oxfam's view that the deal is a fudge that saves reputations rather than lives. He urged scrapping patents to speed up vaccine rollout and prevent new variants.
Greek pushbacks and refugee camps
Murphy raised allegations of illegal pushbacks by the Greek Government, citing the UN Special Rapporteur on Migrants who described pushbacks at land and sea as a de facto general policy. He recounted an alleged March incident where 30 Syrian asylum seekers, including pregnant women and children, were confined on an islet in the Evros River after being detained and handed over to hooded men. He called for the Irish Government to support an independent investigation and an end to pushbacks.
Conditions in EU-funded camps and 'Fortress Europe'
He described EU-funded refugee camps and so-called migration centres as prisons, noting a report finding one in five people have been in de facto detention for two months. Murphy argued the camps are isolated, prevent integration and represent a policy of 'Fortress Europe', and demanded a more welcoming approach to refugees.
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Thanks. There's new figures out from Eurostat which will confirm what people feel which is that Ireland is now officially the most expensive country in Europe. Prices are 40% above the EU average and a part of that is the electricity prices we are paying. Some of the highest in Europe. A unit of electricity here costs 26% more than the EU average and the electricity companies, every single one of them, are making a killing in terms of bumper profits. In other countries in Europe, under pressure from below, governments have been forced to bring in windfall taxes on these super profits. We should do the same. A 50% tax on these mega profits would bring in 300 million euros which could be used to rapidly roll out attic insulation, retrofitting to help people cut energy usage and energy bills. I also want to raise the issue of the TRIPS waiver. Last week the EU and others blocked the calls for a meaningful TRIPS waiver to allow poorer countries to produce COVID vaccines locally without paying massive money to the big pharmaceutical companies. Shamefully, the Irish Government and Minister Tánis de Varadkar have backed this very bad deal. Seven out of every eight people in low-income countries are not fully vaccinated. Artificial scarcity caused by big pharmaceutical companies to protect their patent and to protect their profits. The WTO ministerial conference deal pays lip service to the idea of a TRIPS waiver but fails to actually deliver even a suspension of the patents. As Oxfam says, it is a fudge aimed at saving reputations, not saving lives. It is shameful. The Irish Government support for it is a disgrace. We should scrap the patents and speed up the global rollout of vaccines to save lives and stop new variants. I also want to raise the scandalous and illegal treatment. I also want to raise the scandalous and illegal treatment of refugees by the Greek Government. They are engaged consistently now in what are illegal pushbacks of refugees who are fleeing from horrific situations like coming from Syria. The UN Special Rapporteur on Migrants has described pushbacks at land and sea borders having become a de facto general policy. In March, 30 Syrian asylum seekers, including two pregnant women and seven children, were confined at an islet of Evros River for six days. Following an alleged pushback operation by the Greek authorities. The police arrested them on the Greek shore of the river, detained them for a day and handed them over to hooded men who took them by boat to the islet. Will the Irish Government support calls for an independent investigation and an independent investigation and an end to these pushbacks? Finally, I want to mention the issue of the refugee camps. These camps are funded by an independent investigation and an independent investigation and an end to these pushbacks. I also want to mention the issue of the refugee camps. These camps, funded by European money and so-called migration centres, are nothing short of prisons. There is a new report out that I find that one in five people in the camps have been in de facto detention for two months. They are exactly the case of the people in the camps. They have been in detention for two months. They are exactly the case of an independent investigation. I also want to mention the issue of the refugee camps. They are exactly like a prison, extremely isolated, kept away from centres where people could integrate and so on. We need an end to this policy of Fortress Europe and need to be welcoming refugees.
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