Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will add a few points. We brought forward various measures that benefit households most in need irrespective of where in the country they are located. These include bullet payments on fuel allowance for people who are genuinely in need and qualify because of the means test and their specific household circumstances, and the way in which we extended the eligibility for that measure. There have also been changes in health and education costs, permanent changes in welfare, and a reduction in public transport fares. I am looking at the way we are spending the very money the Deputy said we will find elsewhere. I am not sure where the Deputy said we will find it, but he said we will find it from elsewhere. Of the €623 million in the current year, €291 million will go to residential and community energy efficiency to help many of those households the Deputy represents that are using oil at present. Of course, we need to help them to make the transition, and make their homes warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to run. That is why the Government has invested massively, using these proceeds for targeted social protection interventions. Some €218 million will go towards incentivising farming in a greener, more sustainable way, including €81 million for a new scheme, and there will be €33 million for the continuation of 2020 carbon tax investment programmes in other Departments. That is how we will spend the €623 million.

The Deputy made the case for households that rely on oil as their main source for heating. The most effective thing we can do to help those households over time is to transition their homes to be better retrofitted so they are warmer and more comfortable, and reduce the running costs of those homes. That is what we are focused on. That is the long-term future. It is why we must have these proceeds so we can fund that change. We will not agree on the detail of it but the Deputy's case is not just about €57 million between here and the end of October. I do not believe for a moment it is. The Deputy is putting a much bigger issue on the table. He is not really committed to the principle of carbon tax. If he were, he would not be saying he would not do this, that or the other. We just will not have the proceeds to make the transition. That is my argument back to the Deputy.