Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is centre stage in everything. We must have a just transition, which is why it involves two thirds of spending going on those sorts of 100% grant-aided schemes.

However, it is not that alone. It goes back to the budget in October, which was specifically designed in that way. The decision to not only target the fuel allowance but include a mix of qualified child allowance, living alone allowance and the working family payment was based on a detailed analysis of how not to leave gaps. If we were just relying on the fuel allowance or the warmer homes or community homes schemes, we could miss some people. The blend of social welfare increases and the budgeted mechanisms are the key.

Another benefit of this universal scheme is that all those households benefit from this too. It is important because for households on low income, the energy crisis represents a much higher percentage of their bills. This is centre stage in our thinking. There will have to be further measures. What we are experiencing is an unprecedented challenge.