Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. It is always difficult to speak in the House having heard the eloquence and colour of Deputy Ring. It is always interesting to hear his point of view but it must be difficult for the leader of his party to listen to him and still bring some coherence to the policy, presentations and matters which his party seeks to advance when we hear the tribalism and playing to the local gallery in which Deputy Ring engages. Unfortunately, he has painted a rather negative picture of the Government's approach but I argue it has been one of forward thinking.

Like Deputy O'Connor, I would be very much of the point of view that one tries to protect the most vulnerable and one does so at all costs and on all occasions. In doing so, one must identify the most vulnerable and that is probably the most difficult thing to try to establish in the current environment. The groups in society who were vulnerable in the past are no longer vulnerable in comparison to those who have suffered most as a result of the downturn. There is little doubt of the necessity to keep a home warm; providing for one's family in that regard is an absolute requirement and the State must ensure that is possible.

One cannot be blind to the approach the Minister has taken in encouraging people to better insulate their homes under the warmer homes scheme, which has been successful. I spoke to a contractor recently who told me the number of homes to which his business had carried out external cladding, which is suitable for insulating older houses, the walls of which are not suitable to pump with insulation beads and in which houses the normal type of insulation common in many other homes is not suitable. The advances that are being made in this area are truly the way forward.

This approach is about ensuring that we do not continue to consume a resource with a finite existence. We need to promote that idea in a way that grips people's imagination and attention, rather than relying on the old adage that it is the Government's duty to effectively ensure that everybody's home is heated through the conventional methodology. We must examine the alternatives. In the current tight financial constraints in which we find ourselves, we must be smart about how we spend money in this area while the underlying policy must be to protect those who are vulnerable and need our assistance. However, the only way to do so does not have to be a direct payment on a weekly basis. If we can assist people with some capital moneys to ensure that their long-term requirements are significantly less than they were heretofore, then that is the way forward.

We must also invest significantly in the security of our energy supply. I am disappointed Deputy Ring did not make greater play of the characteristics of his county, particularly in regard to the harnessing of wind and the development of the generation of electricity through wave and tidal power. Much of this technology is at an embryonic stage but it is at a stage where Ireland can be a world leader. If we invest money in research and development in this area, we can provide for the future.

If Deputy Ring and others suggest that being in government is all about nearsightedness and looking in on oneself rather than having a policy platform or an agenda for the future, they need to reprogramme their thinking before they face the electorate whenever that be. The approach being taken requires a much broader level of thinking and a much better understanding of what the future holds, recognising that carbon fuels are finite resources, whether they are used to provide heat or generate electricity.

The Government has grappled with, mastered and effectively controlled a twin-track approach in this area while keeping a focus on those who are vulnerable, where they are at and who are the emerging vulnerability groups.

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