Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We are four weeks into a crisis that has seen fuel prices skyrocket and only now has the Government brought forward limited measures to respond. It has taken relentless pressure from Sinn Féin and massive public anger to force it to act.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Government watched on as fuel prices spun out of control. It has sat back as working people struggle to heat their homes and fill their cars. When households needed a government of action, they got this do-nothing Government. Clearly its plan was to ride this one out. Its package today had to be dragged out of it. Still the Government comes to the table with half-measures. It could not bring itself to provide the maximum support that people need. The reductions in motor fuel do not go far enough.

The Government has it in its power to deliver the maximum excise cut possible on diesel, a similar cut for petrol and to remove excise entirely from home heating oil. Motorists have been hammered for a month at the pumps and the Government could have done more, but instead it chooses to short-change people. However, its standout failure is on home heating oil. It has literally abandoned the 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil. The price of a fill of home heating oil has doubled in a matter of weeks. A measly cut of 2 cent a litre is an insult. It amounts only to a €20 reduction on a fill that now costs around €1,700 - a drop in the tank.

Of course, in any event, the Government will take this back from people anyway when it hikes up carbon tax in just a few weeks. It gives with one hand, only to take back with the other. It could have removed, and should completely remove, excise on home heating oil. That would provide these households with a meaningful relief but instead it chooses to leave them high and dry. Once again when it comes to the crunch, the Government sells working people short with weak half-measures but that is Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil all over. The Government's measure on fuel allowance is paltry. Extending the payment by four weeks will not make a dent in these massive fuel price hikes.

Chuir Sinn Féin iachall ar an Rialtas bogadh. Faraor, tá beartas Fhianna Fáil agus Fine Gael maidir le díosal agus peitril i bhfad róbheag i gcomparáid le cad atá ag teastáil. I gcás teaghlaigh atá ag brath ar ola theasa tí, tá siad tréigthe. Beidh Sinn Féin ag brú le haghaidh fíorghníomh anocht.

These soaring fuel prices are a real emergency for households requiring real action, not the half measures the Government presents today. We will not watch on as the Government lets people down again. These are people who have to get to work in the morning, carers who have to get to the people they look after and people with disabilities, who, it should be remembered, were left €1,400 worse off in the Government's budget.

We will therefore move an amendment to the Government's financial resolution to deliver the maximum excise cut possible for diesel and a similar cut for petrol and to completely remove excise and strip away carbon tax from home heating oil. That is the difference between the Taoiseach and me. I believe that when families are put to the pin of their collar and when the Government can intervene, it should - no delays, no excuses, just action.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Is éard atá faoi chaibidil ag an Rialtas ná cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine ar ioncam íseal agus do na daoine is boichte sa tír. Sin é an fáth go bhfuil, ó thaobh cúrsaí leasa shóisialaigh de, cabhair agus tacaíocht á dtabhairt againn. Tá níos mó cabhrach agus tacaíochta á dtabhairt don tionscal haulage chomh maith mar tá sé riachtanach ó thaobh cúrsaí geilleagar na tíre.

This is a moment of great instability and uncertainty in the world, and the war in the Middle East has created without question the greatest oil supply shock ever in the history of the markets. That is a very sobering and significant reality that has to be taken on board by any responsible government. We have no intention of being reckless or irresponsible with this crisis. We want to be flexible and to give supports to people. Every government is limited as to what it can do in situations like these. All the international advice from the ECB, the IMF and so on is to target temporary, affordable measures because we do not quite know what is around the corner as to how this will unfold, not only in terms of the war itself but also in terms of the Strait of Hormuz and the impact on oil and gas installations that have already been destroyed. There will be a lag time now of a couple of years before some of those are restored to capacity. The wise thing to do, therefore, is to introduce measures of the kind we have introduced today, that are targeted and that give some degree of universal support in terms of the reduction in excise and petrol duties. That is important. Then there is a very specific measure for the haulage industry, which Sinn Féin would not support and which it was warning us against doing yesterday. The reason we are doing that is that the haulage industry is absolutely central to our trading and to our economy. It is extremely important that over the mid-term we make sure structurally that we create a sustainable haulage industry into the future to underpin what is a very strong exporting economy. That is the targeted nature of this.

The fuel allowance has been extended for four weeks, which will take us up to 1 May. I think any reasonable person would say that by that stage - yes, climate and the weather change and so on - we will be in a warmer situation. It is logical to target about 470,000 families on low incomes. I know Sinn Féin opposes that. It believes in allocating about €2 billion to €3 billion right now. What do we do in October, what do we do in December, if the consequences of this crisis continue?

We have a budget coming up. We want to protect investment in services, education, health and children right across the board. These are real choices we have to make. I am sure the Deputy herself must realise that. It is probably one of the more generous packages being developed across Europe. I do not know what instructions she has given to her own Ministers in Northern Ireland. I think a total of £30 is the only benefit towards upcoming bills that it is giving. It cannot decide where an additional £17 million that is available is to go. Sinn Féin has two Ministers in charge of this brief in Northern Ireland, and I ask the Deputy to compare their performance with what we are doing here.

There is no comparison. There has been poor enough leadership from those in Deputy McDonald's party who are in charge of that operation. From our point of view, these are temporary measures. We do need to retain some degree of flexibility in terms of how this situation unfolds in the coming weeks and months.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach is always so shocked and outraged when it is a case of families and working people needing support. That is such an "outrageous" thing to say. That is so "unsustainable". It is always so "unaffordable", even when the Government coffers are full. Of course, he takes a take a very different view when it is developers or big bankers or big corporate interests. Mind them every day of the week, but when the families come knocking on the door and when they are under pressure, that is a different story. How very telling and how very Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. It is not wise to leave 750,000 households who rely on home heating oil in the lurch. It is not wise to short-change workers, carers and people who have to get out and about to do their business. These are families and people who are already to the pin of their collar in a cost-of-living crisis. Where is the wisdom of that? Not alone is it stingy and mean and detached but above all else, it reveals the Government's political priorities and, by God, those are not the working men and women of this country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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With the greatest respect, the only party of late that has been courting bankers and developers and every sort of corporate financial operation is Sinn Féin, particularly in the United States, where the party has raised a hell of a lot of money from developers and builders. Spare lecturing everybody else about fundraising from developers and bankers and everybody because Sinn Féin has been doing it on a serial basis for many years in the United States, Northern Ireland, the UK and elsewhere.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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And Australia.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy McDonald speaks out of both sides of her mouth when it comes to all of that playbook that she just regurgitates every time there is an event or a crisis in the world. We do not take Sinn Féin's approach. Exactly what we are doing here is targeting our measures on the fuel allowance, which would help poorer families and low-income working families withstand the impact of the increases in home heating oil and other energy products. That has been our focus and, indeed, in the budget it was our focus. The ESRI bears out that we had a very strong budget in terms of the low-income deciles.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It does not. You cannot keep on lying. It does not. It is not true. I will send it to you.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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You are not leader yet, Deputy. I keep on saying you are not leader of the party; do not be interrupting. The bottom line is that the evidence is there that we looked after the lowest income groups and through the household benefit scheme as well, which was successfully improved as a result of the budget.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The illegal war on Iran launched by Trump and Netanyahu is now in its fourth week. Households across the country are reeling from the energy crisis. Petrol and diesel prices are now well over €2 per litre and those reliant on home heating oil are particularly badly affected. They are facing massive price increases, with the cost of refilling a 1,000 litre tank getting to €1,800. In the face of this, the Government's package of measures to support struggling households, which the Taoiseach has described as generous, is simply not enough. It is too little and very late. True, the excise and levy cuts to fuel prices will give relief to some, as will the extension of the fuel allowance, but hundreds of thousands of households are already in arrears on energy bills. There is no real reassurance here for far too many. Just before I came in here, a woman emailed me to convey what she described as her disgust and deep unhappiness. As a working single parent, her last electricity bill was €637 and she said there is nothing in this package of measures for her. For her and for so many more, we need longer term thinking and measures from the Government that will ensure energy security and tackle climate change.

Labour has championed a real right to remote and flexible working and the International Energy Agency, IEA, is telling us we need to pivot to this and to real investment in cycling and public transport to decarbonise our economy and society, as Deputy Ged Nash has said. This is imperative in the week when the World Meteorological Organization says 2025 was the worst year on record for climate change. Last Thursday, the Taoiseach attended the European Council in Brussels. There he would have heard the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, speaking about how Spain is less exposed to this huge energy shock than other European countries. Why? Because Spain pivoted early to renewables. Last week, 60% of Spain's energy electricity was generated through renewables. The price of electricity per kilowatt-hour is well over €100 here.

The equivalent price in Spain is just €14. That is an extraordinary difference. When I was in Brussels myself last Thursday, I spoke with Sánchez and with the climate Commissioner, Teresa Ribera. The Spanish left Government has shown robust leadership within the EU, strongly condemning the US and Israel for their attacks on Iran and showing real leadership on climate action. That is what we need from the Taoiseach's Government - real leadership. It is clear the best way to address the crisis is to stop the war. European leaders should now unite to condemn the war, to challenge Trump on his so-called little excursion and to stand up to this erratic and dangerous leader, not hand him a bowl of shamrock in the White House.

While the war continues, however, the Government must ensure that struggling households are protected, and we must strive harder to shift away from fossil fuels. Will the Taoiseach join with the Spanish socialists in condemning the US-Israel war? Will he work with EU leaders to stand up to Trump, this bully, and to seek an end to the war? Will he ensure that struggling households are really supported through this crisis and that we now move urgently to end our reliance on fossil fuels?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that people are under a lot of pressure in terms of the impact of this crisis and the cost of energy as a result of this war. There is no question about that. The Government is limited in how comprehensively it can respond. Governments cannot compensate every single person in society. I am sure the Deputy would acknowledge that. We need a realistic assessment of this and a realistic discussion about it. However, we can try to protect those on the lowest incomes and to protect people in general by providing some supports to reduce the impact of this crisis. The reduction in excise duty does that. It does not address the issue totally, but at least it helps and takes a bit of pressure off people. We fully acknowledge that it does not deal with the scale of the increases in the cost of home heating oil or petrol. The focus on the fuel allowance does help with home heating oil, as does the reduction in the NORA levy. It should be remembered that there is a substantial household benefits package of €420 a year for electricity and gas. The supplementary welfare allowance is available for people in real need. The Minister for Social Protection has spoken to community welfare officers and to his Department to make sure they are responsive to anybody in need. We are looking towards the autumn budget and the development of mechanisms to connect what we do on fuel poverty allowances with arrears. We have to focus and work on developing a direct connection so that we can get those arrears down for people.

In terms of the renewable story, Ireland has been very fast in recent years. We are probably the fastest growing in terms of renewable energy. Spain and Portugal have a higher level of renewables. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they managed to get a separate agreement from the EU in respect of the structures governing energy prices on the Iberian Peninsula. There was a lot of discussion about that at the EU Council meeting last week. The Commission's assessment is that gas's connection to the defining of pricing levels is not easily broken. That is a challenge for Europe more generally because it is a key determinant of the overall price of energy.

The Deputy will know the four component parts. We have acted on one of those four component parts, namely, taxes and levies. The ECB spoke to the EU Council meeting, as did the chair of the Euro Summit, and they recommended, as per IMF advice, targeted, temporary and affordable measures. They warned that we do not know what is around the corner and therefore have to keep something in reserve in case things deteriorate even further over the next couple of months.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Of course, the Labour Party supports the introduction of short-term measures to support struggling households. I think everyone does. Everyone here acknowledges that but this package is just not enough. The Government could do more. Look at it this way: the full-year cost of the tax cut the Government gave to the hospitality sector, the burger barons Deputy Nash speaks about, in last year's budget is €680 million. That is the three times the value of the package the Government is now offering struggling households in what the Taoiseach himself has said is the biggest energy shock we have seen in the world.

It is just not enough, and the Taoiseach has acknowledged the reality of fuel poverty for far too many households across the country. This is the reality for the hundreds of thousands of households in arrears already on electricity and gas bills. The Taoiseach must acknowledge the desperate overexposure of Ireland on the liquified natural gas, LNG, front. We are so reliant on LNG. We are so reliant on fossil fuels and we are simply not acting fast enough to roll out renewables in the way we should.

We know that takes a little more time, but we need to see commitment from Government on this. Here is one very quick ask the International Energy Agency, IEA, has called for: move now to a real right to remote and flexible working. That is one way to support struggling households.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a lot of flexible remote working in our economy already and-----

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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A real right for remote and flexible working.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----particularly in the public service, the degree of remote working in quite significant and prevalent now. The Deputy again attacked the reduction of VAT for hospitality. That supports a lot of minimum wage workers in our economy, people the Labour Party should be supporting and defending.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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They are on minimum wage.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Not everybody in the hospitality sector is on the minimum wage but, nonetheless, it was about protecting jobs in an important sector of our economy. With changing job profiles with AI and everything else, it is particularly important that tourism and hospitality are protected and looked after, and that is what we did in the budget.

In terms of LNG, Deputy Bacik referred to energy security, the LNG facility is required from an energy security perspective.

A Deputy:

That is nonsense.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not nonsense. It is rubbish to suggest that we should not put in an LNG facility in this country. It is absolute nonsense in terms of-----

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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It is not the way to manage it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry; if anything happened the gas connectors linking this country to the United Kingdom, this economy would not survive beyond ten days. That is the reality. That is the advice we received from an energy security perspective. The Opposition has to twist it - not the Deputy personally - but it gets twisted, it gets spun as an anti-climate measure. It is anything but that. It is an energy security and economic security matter.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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It is nearly a month into this crisis and the Government is finally acting but the measures announced today do not go far enough. A temporary cut to excise duty to provide some relief at the pumps is long overdue but where are the targeted supports for those who need them most?

The Government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing the situation, has come into this House and done the bare minimum. It is extending the fuel allowance for a few weeks but it barely scratches the surface of what is required to support people who are struggling the most. There is almost nothing in this package for low-income households who are reliant on home heating oil and unable to pay the 80% spike in prices. The Government seems to think that it does not have to help because we are now in March, but people must still heat their homes in spring, and there are vulnerable people all over the country who cannot now afford to turn their heating on, including elderly people, sitting in freezing cold homes, whose pensions just will not stretch far enough, disabled people, whose incomes were already cut by €1,400 in the Government's budget, and are making choices between heating and eating, and families at breaking point who do not know how they will be able to keep the lights on.

The Social Democrats have repeatedly asked the Government to introduce a targeted €400 energy credit that would be paid to 800,000 households who are struggling the most. The Taoiseach said again that we need targeted and affordable measures. This is a targeted and an affordable measure. This would help hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers who do not receive the fuel allowance and it would provide a much greater level of support for pensioners, carers and disabled people. It would not go far enough to cover the spiralling price rises we have seen but it would be a big help and represent meaningful support. The Government has not even bothered examining this proposal, so the Taoiseach is already in here today announcing half measures instead of the comprehensive package that should be introduced.

We listen to lectures from the Taoiseach and his Ministers all the time on the importance of targeting supports for those who need them most but there is a huge gap between what they say and what they do. The Government's budget reduced the incomes of the poorest households by more than 4% and massively increased poverty rates among elderly people from 13% to 19%. That is not me saying that; that is the Parliamentary Budget Office.

The Taoiseach comes into this House today, when people desperately need real support, and all he has to offer them is a measure that excludes hundreds of thousands of households who are drowning in skyrocketing bills. Why are there no targeted supports for low-paid workers? Will the Taoiseach examine the Social Democrats' proposal for a targeted energy credit of €400?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy raising these issues in a constructive light. It is not just the Deputy that has made the comment that the Government has waited for weeks and weeks. We are in a war for three weeks. We need some perspective here. The Government does not have billions and billions to allocate on a monthly basis, which is the implication one could draw from all of the protestations from the Opposition today. We need a bit of reality and flexibility in terms of the fiscal situation and in terms of thinking out to the end of the year and making sure we have enough in reserve to cushion and to make sure we can support people if things get worse. That is a consideration.

We also have to protect services. There are increasing costs in education, in health and in other services, and I am very anxious that we have enough in reserve to protect those also. The easiest thing for us to do would be to announce a €2 billion package today, and people would say that is great, but this is only March. We have to be relatively cautious and responsible, acknowledging that people out there are under a lot of pressure. There is no question about that because of the impact of the war on energy markets and because of the unprecedented nature of the supply shock. That has not yet filtered through, by the way. It has not filtered through globally or to our economy. I would disagree with the Deputy's assessment on the budget.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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It is the Parliamentary Budget Office's assessment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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What we did for child support payments was the most significant - record increases of €8 per week for children under 12, and €16 per week for children over 12. As part of the child poverty unit in my own Department, with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, we have focused on that child poverty package, which is permanent. Today, DEIS plus was approved by Cabinet. We have taken a series of measures that have worked on the child poverty issue and that will bear dividend in the coming years. Of that I have no doubt, because of our focus on those key areas.

The working family payment cohort of people who, up to the last budget were excluded from the fuel allowance, have now been included. That is an extra 50,000 working families. That means about 470,000 families or people overall are now benefiting from the fuel allowance. The extension will be welcomed by all of those families as a targeted measure. It is an instrument or mechanism we have within the Department of Social Protection to enable us to pay people and to give them additional allowances to help them to try to cope with the very large increases that have occurred over the last number of weeks. That will take it out to the end of April, in addition to the reduction in excise on diesel and petrol.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach can disagree with my assessment all he likes but I was quoting the Parliamentary Budget Office, which is independent. Is the Taoiseach saying he does not accept its independent analysis of the budget? The proposal that we have put forward is fully costed - €362 million. It is targeted and affordable, as the Taoiseach says measures need to be. That would leave plenty of room for further measures later in the year, if, when and as they are required. Why is the Government not adopting our proposal? The Government is doing nothing extra for low-paid workers who do not receive the fuel allowance at all. Does the Taoiseach not see the difficulty they are in? If you are on low pay, do not qualify for the fuel allowance and your home heating oil bill to fill the tank has gone up by 80%, what are you meant to do? Are they invisible to the Taoiseach? Why are there no measures for them? In terms of people who have disabilities, carers and pensioners, why does the Taoiseach think the increases of just a few weeks to the fuel allowance is sufficient? It does not make a dent. A huge number of them were already in arrears before this crisis began. A total of 320,000 households were in arrears. Why is the Government not taking the targeted measures it needs to support them?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The working family payment was generally designed with low-income workers in mind. They are now included in the fuel allowance, which I think is a significant targeted measure by the Government, and the correct one. It is a framework that exists already. This package is about €250 million. I am not sure what the Deputy is saying he would take out. I am not clear on his costings, and I would need to get it costed properly by the Department of Social Protection and others in respect of that but we have an alternative suite of measures that cost about €250 million.

In the United Kingdom it is £53 million. If the Deputy goes around the European capitals, he will not see a packet as big as this one. As I said earlier, we have to think ahead in terms of other potential challenges that may come our way in respect of this crisis. It is now only March. We need to be cautious, notwithstanding the pressures that are on people and will manifest themselves in other parts of the economy as well if this continues.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Ireland has walked blindfolded into an energy crisis, not by accident or misfortune but because consecutive Governments chose to leave our country exposed and dependent on others for the most basic lifeline we have – energy. The price of those choices is now hammering every single household and business in this country. In 2022, during Leaders Questions to the current Taoiseach, I raised the Barryroe oilfield and demanded that Ireland build real energy independence. Later that year, I spoke of a floating gas terminal off Cork harbour. I warned that relying on imports was reckless and dangerous, and the Government laughed off my warnings saying it is fine. Well, it is not fine. The people of Ireland are paying dearly for that Government arrogance. Fuel prices have jumped again and again in recent weeks. Hauliers are warning they cannot keep the wheels turning. Farmers, tradesmen, fishermen, home help, carers, school bus drivers, ordinary squeezed-middle families and 1.5 million elderly people are being squeezed until they break. What does the Government do? It tells people to wait. Last week we were told by the Government there will be no knee-jerk reaction and to be patient. Even yesterday, a coalition source said that the Government cannot shield people. While it cannot shield people from everything, the complete green agenda of the previous government is coming home to roost, which was to make sure to never prepare our country for the future but tax the living daylights out of every citizen in this country with 65% fuel taxes, like VAT, the NORA levy and carbon tax, making the motorists of this country a cash cow for the Government like no other country in the world. This is a total failure of planning, leadership and responsibility by this and other Governments. A country that imports nearly all its energy, taxes fuel at 60% to 65% and blocks practical solutions for security is not transitioning; it is stumbling.

While Irish families struggle, other countries are securing their futures. Europe and the rest of the world is planning. Ireland is panicking and being called the laggards of Europe. In 2022, I spoke to the Taoiseach about the Barryroe oilfield because it represented something bigger – not just an oilfield but a political system that refused to even access its own resources while continuing to rely on foreign fuel. It is complete neglect by government. Beyond Barryroe, Ireland still has no clear, credible path to energy independence. Imagine after a Green Party in Government, solar systems cost up to €20,000 to run a home only gets a measly €1,800 grant. This is not transition; it is a slow motion collapse and the Government is participating in what is happening. People are paying more because of the choices made at the Cabinet table, choices based on ideology instead of practicality and choices that have left Ireland more rather than less vulnerable. We did not just leave ourselves open, we left ourselves defenceless. Today’s announcements help those on fuel allowance. That must be welcomed but the squeezed middle gets 20 cent a litre off diesel, which is the same amount as it went up last week. There is 2 cent a litre for the farmer and fisherman, which leaves the country in a very angry state and both those sectors furious. Ireland needs an immediate, urgent national plan for energy independence and not in 2050. Will the Taoiseach outline this plan today?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We do have an energy plan. At the European Council meeting last week, there was a very interesting presentation by President von der Leyen, which went back from the late 1970s through every decade to the present day. The one constant was that every energy crisis was a fossil fuel crisis generated through war and conflict with the most recent being the Russian invasion of Ukraine before this war. The Deputy attacked the wind and solar energy agenda and so on. He is actually creating a scenario where there would be more energy dependence into the future and an energy dependence on fossil fuels, which would be a disaster for the country. If this teaches us anything, it is the necessity to double down on our focus and investment in renewables. There are hard choices to make on this. I was in the Dáil recently when a Deputy, in one contribution, complained about a gas generation station, a wind farm and a solar farm in one location. I asked the question: “How are we going to turn on the lights?”

We do need a societal discussion about this because the bottom line is we are importing a lot of fossil fuel, which is subject to volatility in the markets and to various crises that can occur.

The Barryroe oil field has been a long time - long before 2022 - handled by, or dealt with, within the private sector. It never really bore fruit, even prior to any decisions that we took both as a Government or as an Oireachtas in terms of any new fossil fuel developments. The recent 2025 energy in Ireland report showed that about 41.3% of our electricity demand in 2024 was being generated by renewable sources. That is very good progress. We have made a lot of progress in the past decade or so and beyond. We have a target of 80% of electricity demand to be made by renewables in the near term and to go to net zero out to 2050. We are a renewable success story. That is the trajectory of travel. We receive more of electricity from onshore wind farms than anyone else in Europe. We are among one of the global leaders in integrating variable renewables onto the electricity grid. That is something that runs contrary to the narrative that the Deputy was representing.

Regarding the carbon tax, €175 million of that went to farmers through ACRES. In 2026, €173 million is going to the Department of agriculture for farmers. We have 55,000 farmers in ACRES. That improves best outcomes on climate, air and water quality, biodiversity, green agricultural pilots and so on. Deputy Collins would be the very first Deputy coming in if any farmer in west Cork had reduced funding as a result of the carbon tax being removed and he would be singing a different tune if that turned out to be the case.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Taoiseach. Deputy Collins to respond.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I will be a singing a different tune because the farmers of west Cork were disappointed this morning that they are only going to get 2 cent off the green diesel. Those are the facts. The facts are that the Government made these promises to me in 2022 about renewable energies. It has not delivered. That is the bottom line here. Ireland's energy security is hanging by a thread. We cannot keep relying on imported diesel in global markets we have no control over. The Government's promise in 2022 was more offshore wind farms but the only one we have has sought a decommissioning licence. When will the first of these offshore wind generating plants be developed in Ireland?

I am bringing forward a proposal for Ireland's first zero emission freight corridor pilot scheme from Cork Port to west Cork, not alone as a climate measure but as a real energy security solution. We have the experts to do this. Electricity heavy duty trucks supported by a battery swapping and hybrid charging depot in filling stations would slash our dependence on foreign fuels. Every diesel truck on this route today burns fuel that Ireland does not produce and cannot guarantee. Battery swapping turns trucks around in about five minutes powered by local renewable energy keeping supply chains stable even when a global fuel market goes wild. This protects family run haulers by giving them a secure affordable energy source. This is not experimental. This system is already fully operational in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan and works. This deserves full support from the Government. Will we get it?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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On the offshore wind, we held the onshore RESS 5 and the offshore Tonn Nua auctions, which have delivered wind energy projects at competitive prices for consumers. The Department expects the five projects that bid into the offshore one auction to be in construction by 2030, marking a new phase in electricity generation in Ireland. The second offshore auction was the first to be held under the new spatial plan for offshore renewable energy development in the south coast designated maritime area plan and so forth. We are making progress. It is challenging. I have established a clearing house within my Department involving industry, regulators and Departments to drive this forward and accelerate it as quickly as we can. I think it is vital for the future of country's economy in terms of that particular agenda.

By the way, I never laugh at anything the Deputy proposes or suggests. He has a good old turn of phrase where he says he was laughed out the window, or he was laughed out of something three or four years ago. The point is that we have had a very poor record historically on fossil fuel discovery in this country. We have Kinsale and Corrib. That is about it. Independence in terms of energy in-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Time is up. Thank you, Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----this country will be grounded in renewables, wind, solar and battery storage.