Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That advice to slow down got a lot of criticism yesterday but it was in answer to a straight question about what sort of efficiency measures we could do. It is just a fact. The people in rural Ireland are most exposed. Consider the drive down from Donegal, for example, which is a long distance. If you are on a motorway, which would not be on the Donegal route but elsewhere, going from 120 km/h down to 100 km/h could save about 20% plus. This is real and is the absolute law of physics. That measure and such efficiencies are important. Yes, we will look also at whatever other measures we can do.

I was speaking to the Taoiseach last night in advance of his going to Versailles today for a meeting of the European Council. He will be working with European colleagues to see if we can we go further and do more. There is a certain point, however, where we are actually exposed. That exposure is the reliance on fossil fuels. This is why efficiency also matters and making the switch matters.

People are very upset this morning because they were looking at the forecourts and they see that the price has not changed. The problem is the price was probably set several days ago, and it depends on different petrol stations as to when the excise was applied. The situation is highly volatile and subject to real change. We are absolutely attuned to the difficulties that Irish families are having. This is why we continue to make the measures such as those we have introduced.

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