Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the opportunity to bring this Bill forward today. I thank my officials for the work they have done in a very short space of time as well as the Whip's office and the Opposition for facilitating this just the day after it was approved by the Government. I am acutely aware of the pressures being faced by Irish businesses and households.

This Bill is being progressed as a critical response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where the sharp and ongoing disruption to oil and gas production has resulted in higher global energy prices. Around the world, including here in Ireland, we have seen customers face higher prices for transport and home heating fuel. I know the House will share my concern at the immense human cost of this conflict and my desire to see an immediate de-escalation of the conflict and the resumption of normal activity in the Strait of Hormuz.

The amendments being made via the Bill are part of a targeted package of support by the Government to address the pressure faced by consumers. The Bill gives the necessary legal basis for a reduction in the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy from 2 cent per litre to a nominal amount, effectively zero, for a two-month period. The reduction will come into effect from 1 April until 1 June 2026. The Government has reduced the rate of mineral oil tax for petrol, diesel and marked gas oil by 15 cent, 20 cent and 3 cent, respectively. These measures were passed by financial resolution last night, with near unanimous support from across the House. I will not labour the point, but I thought it was opposition for opposition’s sake when Sinn Féin opposed the reduction in excise duty yesterday evening. I hope the House can work in a constructive way today and be unanimous on this additional support, which is time-bound and targeted.

Supports for haulage and passenger bus operators have also been introduced and the fuel allowance has been extended by four weeks, protecting the most vulnerable in society. About 470,000 homes are now in receipt of the fuel allowance. The changes being made to the fuel allowance will mean those eligible households will receive additional financial support of €152.

Looking at it in the round it is a package of about €235 million in initial supports. We have retained the flexibility to be able to go back at this should we need to. The Bill also provides scope for the Government to amend this period by way of order at a later date, if required.

Currently, the NORA levy is a charge of 2 cent per litre applied to most petroleum products sold in the market for the purpose of funding the operations of the agency and the Climate Action Fund. The reduction in the NORA levy for a two-month period is estimated to result in a reduction of levy income accruing to NORA of approximately €20 million and will remove this cost from consumers. The agency has operational responsibility for the day-to-day management of the State's strategic oil reserve. It currently holds 90 days of oil stocks. Stock may be released from Ireland's stockholding in the event of a shortage of refined product on the domestic market, or as recently happened to participate in an International Energy Agency, IEA, collective action, to alleviate a global oil shortage.

Temporary and targeted measures to reduce fuel prices for households and businesses, with additional supports for key sectors of the economy are being introduced and may be adjusted as the situation evolves.

Since the outbreak of this conflict, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has met on a regular basis to assess the implications for the energy sector. Last week, I again chaired a meeting of the national energy affordability taskforce specifically focussed on this ongoing crisis. The group heard from the IEA's chief energy economist, Tim Gould, who provided sobering insight into the scope and impact of this conflict. On the basis of this presentation, it was clear that the conflict has already had a significant impact on the global supply of oil in particular, and that the nature and scale of this impact can increase exponentially as the conflict goes on and if there is additional direct damage to oil and gas facilities. A couple of the facilities that have been damaged and nearly destroyed will take a number of years to be restored into use. Because of the nature of shipping times, we are likely only beginning to see the full impact of the Strait of Hormuz, and while markets have priced this in to some extent, the effect on prices will be more severe if transit through the trait remains restricted.

Our policy response must therefore be responsive to the conflict, and it is clear that there are still myriad scenarios as to how this unfolds. For this reason, I have requested that the national energy affordability taskforce establishes a dedicated expert advisory subgroup to monitor global supply and, in particular, supply to Ireland and to advise on appropriate demand-side responses. This group will be stood up in the coming days and will provide expert insight into me as Minister and to the Government. Supplies in Ireland remain sufficient, but there have been significant price increases arising from the market pressures. While it is clear that Ireland will be affected by this global supply chain, there is an obligation on suppliers to treat Irish consumers with fairness and respect. On this basis, I have written to retail electricity and gas suppliers, as well as the CRU and fuel suppliers, to emphasise the importance of reducing the exposure for Irish consumers from the price shocks that global uncertainty has created. In addition, the taskforce has been established by the Government to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses while delivering key renewables commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability. The first report of this group was brought forward in advance of budget 2026, and a range of measures were adopted on foot of that work. This included increased rates of payment and widened eligibility for social protection payments, a reduced rate of VAT to 9% on electricity and gas through to 2030, as well as the largest ever retrofitting budget. A key output of the taskforce will be the energy affordability action plan, which will identify a comprehensive range of solutions, including measures targeting households in energy poverty. The plan is currently being developed and will be finalised in advance of budget 2027.

As Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, this crisis has only strengthened my resolve to drastically improve Ireland's energy resilience by building our domestic renewables. This reduces our dependence as a country on imported fossil fuels, thereby reducing our exposure to the inevitable fluctuations and volatility in the market. To the end of 2024 we saw 40% of our electricity being generated from renewable sources, more than double the amount of renewables that were in our system in 2015 - all while demand for electricity has grown. We are building on that strong base with successful auctions, both onshore and offshore, with simplifying planning processes in order to accelerate the delivery of new projects, and by providing €3.5 billion in equity into the grid. At individual household level, retrofitting is one of the very best measures which a household can take to reduce their energy bills permanently. This year, I secured a record allocation for fully-funded and granted-assisted retrofits of €640 million which allows us to target 73,000 home energy upgrades this year. That will be added to in excess of 240,000 that have already received grants to retrofit their homes to make them warmer, their energy more efficient and to reduce their energy bills permanently. We need to accelerate the deployment of those grants as well as the grants to businesses. Last year alone, we saw 4,000 businesses avail of energy retrofit supports which reduces their energy use and to look to alternative uses of energy too and reduces their energy bills. These are permanent changes. That is why it is so critically important that the carbon tax remains in place. It is that tax that is ring-fenced to carry out the works we need right the way across residential and business sectors to improve people’s homes and reduce energy use.

Energy affordability remains an absolute priority for this Government. Times are particularly difficult in what is a global crisis on the energy side, particularly with regard to supply and price increases. These are situations that Ireland is not grappling with on its own. The measures we have brought forward - which are immediate, short-term flexible measures - can be compared with our nearest neighbour which has deployed about £53 million, or €60 million, in its initial response. We have done it in a considered and practical way that can be sustained. We have to ensure that any measures we bring forward are affordable and sustainable but that we also retain the ability to respond further should this crisis accelerate and should the issue of price inflation in relation to fuel and electricity worse. It has the potential to increase more later on this year as many of our energy companies are hedged through this immediate crisis and we may see the pass-on effect of the price increases we are seeing now coming onto our electricity retailers to users in coming months. That is the reason we have to ensure the measures we bring forward are flexible and time-bound and that we retain the opportunity to respond as necessary.

If we look at the number of crises this country has faced in recent times, from Brexit to the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis and Covid, at every stage the Government has brought forward measures that by any fair assessment have worked and protected our economy and society. It is to ensure we can come through this particular crisis in the same manner we have to use appropriate supports that are sustainable and we will retain the right and the ability to be able to respond further should we need to. I commend the Bill to the House.

I thank colleagues for their time today and I look forward to hearing their contributions.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Across the State there are families standing in cold kitchens looking at empty oil tanks. Workers are seeing the fuel gauge drop on the school run unsure of how they are going to pay for the next fill as prices at the pump spin out of control. For four long weeks, ordinary people watched with increasing anxiety while prices skyrocketed with the price of diesel up 55% and home heating oil, which was the source of the largest number of complaints I received in the constituency of Kerry, doubling in costs. One bill I saw went from €473 to over €800 in the matter of a week or so.

Meanwhile, the Government sat and twiddled its thumbs monitoring the situation. In truth, the Government was perfectly content to ride this one out leaving workers and families high and dry. However, relentless pressure and massive public anger forced it to act. The package had to be dragged out of the Government yet the Minister has come to the table with only half measures.

Once again, the Government has failed to back the people. It has failed to provide the maximum support that people needed and demanded. This is a political choice - a choice to abandon millions of workers and families crippled under the weight of this crisis, a choice to offer tokenism when real support was needed and a choice that tells ordinary people exactly whose side this Government is on. It is definitely not theirs.

While people cannot afford to heat their homes, the Government sits on a €12.5 billion surplus. While the cost of fuel has gone through the roof, the Government's tax take rises with it because, as the Minister knows, 60% to 65% of every litre goes straight to the Exchequer. When ordinary families came knocking, the cupboard was bare. However, as we saw in the budget when the bankers and the developers came knocking, there was never a shortage. All of this comes on top of a cost-of-living crisis that was crushing people even before fuel prices spiked. A total of 320,000 people and rising cannot pay their electricity bills. Arrears are growing every month. People are choosing between heating and food. Workers are trapped in cars that they cannot afford to fill because there is no alternative. We see that one third of the grants for electric vehicles are given to cars that are worth €55,000 or more and over half are given to cars that cost €40,000 or more. If someone can afford to buy a car that is worth €55,000, he or she does not need an untargeted measure or if it is targeted, it is targeted at people who can afford it. The answer here was a four-week extension to the fuel allowance, a measure that the Government's figures show cannot keep pace with rising costs. Families needed a government of action, but they got a do-nothing government that hoped the crisis would simply blow over.

The 2 cent cut on home heating oil is particularly insulting. It is a slap in the face to the 750,000 households that have seen their prices more than double in the past few weeks. A lot of them are more rural houses, one-off houses and houses that are owned by people who are older. Of all the Government's half-baked measures in response to the crisis, this is the biggest failure because households are now forced to fork out over €1,700 for a tank of home heating oil and all the Government offers them is a temporary reprieve of €20. If this was not insulting enough, the Government is pulling a fast one and taking the public for fools. The 2 cent reduction will be completely wiped out by yet another hike in the regressive carbon tax. Earlier, the Taoiseach said that he does not know what our policy is on that. He obviously has not been monitoring the news too closely over the past year or so.

The Government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other. Those who rely on home heating oil to keep warm, many of them in my own county, have been completely abandoned. You would think that the people of Kerry could rely on some of the loudest critics of the carbon tax during the previous Dáil term to have their back but this is not the case. After all, the carbon tax is neither ring-fenced nor is it a behavioural measure, as the Comptroller and Auditor General report stated as did the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. There was a better and fairer way. We gave the solutions. We have been consistently giving them, including remove all excise on home heating oil, which will save €182 on a €1,000 fill, cut petrol and diesel by the maximum permissible amount, extend the fuel allowance by 13 weeks, not the paltry four, scrap the carbon tax increases, and deliver proper, fair, accessible climate action to address our over-reliance on imported fossil fuels and achieve Irish energy independence by seizing on our incredible renewable potential.

A just transition does not equate to regressive taxes that punish people who have no alternative. These are affordable and responsible proposals. It is simply not true to say that our proposals on carbon tax would mean no money for retrofitting. Every year in our alternative budget, Sinn Féin's shows how the Government could invest more in retrofitting without punishing people who have no other choice. Our fairer retrofitting plan also had targeted measures at those who needed it the most, rather than having it be the preserve of those with considerable means. There is no just transition if ordinary people are locked out of it and punished as a result. Sinn Féin showed how there could be meaningful interventions, but the Government chose not to listen.

The Government then told people in the South what it cannot do. It tried to deflect blame onto Sinn Féin in the North where we do not have control of excise duty, do not control taxation and where the Westminster cuts have gutted public services for over a decade. That is absurd. If the Government wants to address a united Ireland in a meaningful way, it could go about it, but it clearly is not. Sinn Féin will continue to demand meaningful action, not tokenism or half measures.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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This Government led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has abandoned hundreds of thousands of households who rely on home heating oil in the middle of an energy crisis. It has turned its back on the very people who are being hit hardest - families who have seen the cost of heating almost double in a matter of weeks. The Minister should make no mistake about it, there is real anger out there. People who are already stretched to the limit simply do not know how they will afford their next fill of oil. The Government's message to them, whether it admits it or not, is that they are on their own.

Let us strip it back. A 2 cent cut in the middle of an emergency is not help. It is not relief. It is an insult. To add insult to injury, in a matter of weeks the Government will claw it back through another carbon tax hike. It gives with one hand and takes with the other. Let us think about how that looks for families out there sitting in cold homes tonight. At a time other countries are scrambling to bring down energy prices, the Government is preparing to increase taxes on home heating oil, gas and even on a bag of coal. It is staggering and it is completely out of touch. Last night was a cold night. It was cold in homes right across the State. What people were waiting for was Government action. What they got was a Government that abandoned them. It voted down proposals we tabled to remove excise duty completely from home heating oil and to cut the excise on diesel by the maximum amount with the same for petrol. As the Government did that, a grandmother reached out to me devastated. She said:

Pearse, I'm a granny with a disabled son at home. I have taken on an extra job onto my full-time job just to support myself and my son. Even with the second job, I'm emailing you tonight with a blanket wrapped round me because I have no heating oil. I don't care about me. It's my son whom it is affecting more due to me only being at home one day a week. On that day, I have to do my shopping, clean my house, do the laundry, as I have no other time to do it. I'm sore. I'm exhausted. I have no quality of life.

That is what the Government's decisions mean in real life. That is the human costs of its inaction. She is not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of families just like hers doing the right thing, working hard, cutting back and still being pushed to the brink. What people need is real action, and I am going to continue to fight for them. I am going to continue to have their backs. They cannot put up with more delays from this Government because people need a complete removal of excise duty from home heating oil, the maximum cuts in diesel and the same for petrol. They need the Government to abandon its mad idea and reckless plan to jack up prices by increasing carbon taxes in the middle of this crisis.

Here is the truth. There is nothing stopping the Government from doing it - nothing at all. Right now, families are sitting in cold homes under real pressure and being left behind. That is on the Minister.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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The 2 cent cut on home heating oil is an absolute slap in the face for people as it is. The fact that the Government is going to take it back off them in a couple of weeks makes it worse. It is going to give a very meagre amount with one hand and it will take it back in a couple of weeks knowing, as it does, that going into this latest crisis that 320,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills, knowing that people are already under a severe amount of pressure and knowing that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, whether the Government acknowledges it or not. That cost-of-living crisis is very real. The Government's energy affordability taskforce has advised that the cost of fuel would increase by €321. This does not even touch sides of that. Do not take our word for it; the Minister can take the word of his own taskforce. It is telling him what is needed. We have told him what is needed. We have brought forward solutions. We have brought forward a plan that would make a real and meaningful difference in the lives of people who are worried that they will be cold in their homes.

That should be a wake-up call for any Government but even the worst Government - the most out-of touch, tone-deaf Government - would not make things worse. It would not charge people even more in a couple of weeks' time. It would not jack up the costs even further but that is what the Government is proposing to do. The Minister's speech stated that any fair assessment of the Government's plan would see that it is the right thing to do but he should not take my assessment for this. I am going to read out a message I got from a woman who I will call Mary. She said:

In brief I'm a full time career to my son who was very complex needs. My husband works full time, we have a mortgage and we need two cars. My son needs an electric bed, an air mattress, a feed pump, a suction machine, eight nebulisers on two different machines, a ceiling track hoist, a power chair and obviously needs the heating on all night.

She said, "... it is disgraceful for the Government to act like we are being looked after. I just felt I needed to express our disappointment at the announcement of this emergency package and I'm hoping that you can bring it up." Well I will bring up it but what is the Minister's answer to her assessment of his plan?

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Let us call out what happened this week. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs voted against Sinn Féin proposals that would have substantially cut the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Instead they brought in measures that fall far short. Now we are arriving with a 2 cent cut in the NORA levy and the Government expects applause. That is not leadership. It is actually damage control. It is far too little far too late. The reality is simple though. In a few weeks, today's tiny reduction is going to be wiped out by another carbon tax increase. It is classic Simon Harris - give with one hand today and take back with the other tomorrow - but people see through it, especially in rural communities, people in communities who have no choice but to use their cars and families who are depending on home heating oil just to keep their home warm. For these people, what the Government has announced is not relief; it is downright insulting. It is the same for farmers who are already under huge pressure facing soaring costs for green diesel and fertiliser. The Government's response does not even come close to recognising the scale of the challenge they face. What is most telling in all of this is that even as the limited measures are being introduced, we have Ministers already talking about how they are going to take them away and when. That tells us everything we need to know. The Government is out of touch with the real pressures people face every day. That has long been evident but I want to make it absolutely clear that the battle is not over. Sinn Féin forced the Government to introduce the bits it introduced this week but alongside workers, families, businesses, carers and farmers, we are going keep pushing for fairness. We are going to force the Minister to deliver the type of support the families we represent desperately need.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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Two cent per litre is €20 for a 1,000 litre fill when people are afraid to turn on their heating - this Government will be remembered as the Government of fuel poverty and energy poverty. It is pushing people into energy poverty. To add fuel to the fire, it is incredible that the Government still plans to proceed with the next carbon tax hike in May. At a time when people are already stretched to breaking point, this decision defies all logic.

This measure is an insult to the people of Mayo who make up some of the 750,000 households that are reliant on home heating oil to keep warm or to have some hot water. We talk about rationing and the possibility of rationing into the future if we have shortages of oil but I can tell the Minister one thing. There are many households across this country tonight who are self-rationing - doing without heat or hot water because they cannot afford it. It is no surprise once again that it is rural households like my own in Mayo that are being left behind.

What does the Government think it is like for the people living in the houses affected by defective concrete blocks when they see the houses crumbling around them? There are cracks in the wall and they are trying to heat them. The Minister was the previous housing Minister and now he is the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment. Can he imagine how cold it is? I got calls from Mayo this morning to say how freezing cold it was.

The Government could have adopted Sinn Féin's legislation to completely remove excise on home heating oil, which would have provided meaningful and immediate relief. Let us be honest about the Government's measure to extend the fuel allowance for four weeks. It cannot even be dignified by being described as a half measure. It is completely tokenistic. It is too little and it is too late. People need decisive action now. They need somebody to have their back and I am telling them here today that Sinn Féin and I will certainly have the back of the people in Mayo because they deserve it.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Today, 500 litres of home heating oil in Cork cost €900. That is less than half a tank. What the Government has proposed is a €10 cut. How insulting is that? The Minister is an intelligent man. Does he not think that this is insulting to people who are struggling to keep the heating on? Does he accept this is not good enough? If he does not accept it, I cannot believe him. The way the Minister is treating people with home heating oil is horrendous. There are people, especially older people, who are afraid to turn on the heating because they do not know how they are going to pay their bills.

The Minister came in here earlier and said the Government is going to write to the energy companies. Forget about writing to them; drag them in here and tell them no more price gouging because price gouging is the same as robbing ordinary workers and people. The minute the war started, they put up the prices even though the price of oil and diesel had not gone up. What is the Minister doing? People are struggling and the Government is giving people crumbs off the table. The Minister needs to get energy companies in here. We have the highest electricity bills in Europe and over 300,000 people in arrears. Does the Minister know what is going to happen on the back of his announcement? More families are going to go into arrears on their electricity and gas bills and people are going to be cold because they will not have money to fill their tanks with home heating oil. People are struggling. A young girl who is going to college said to me yesterday that she is going walk to college because she will not have the money to put diesel in her car. She is going to college and working part time. There are pensioners who are putting extra cardigans on and people who are walking because this Government failed to deliver.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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It took four weeks into this global crisis created by a warmonger in Israel and his boor in the US for this Government to take some action. The reduction in excise duty was a welcome step but it did not go far enough. People will still be paying more for petrol and diesel than they did before the start of this war. On top of that, the carbon tax increase is going to offset every measure the Government is bringing forward. We already know that carbon tax cannot change behaviour unless there is an alternative. The Comptroller and Auditor General reported to the Committee of Public Accounts a few months ago that only 61% of what the Government has ring-fenced has actually been used to help people out. The Government has been found out trying to con the people with more than 320,000 families already in energy arrears.

This legislation looks to protect more than 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil by reducing the price by a whopping 2 cent per litre. That is a reduction of about €20 on fuel that now costs almost €2,000. The Minister is taking the mick. Thousands of people in my constituency in north Kildare rely on home heating oil to heat their homes and have been left high and dry by this do nothing Government. Sinn Féin's legislation would have reduced the cost of a 1,000 litre tank by €183 instead of the measly €20 the Government has proposed here today. These are the protections that people need. Sinn Féin is calling on the Government to scrap the increase in the carbon tax, introduce proper measures that we have handed to it to protect those using home heating oil and invest out in solar and wind to protect families from future actions by warmongers.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I begin by cautiously welcoming the short-term reprieve brought about by the Government's decision to reduce excise duty temporarily; to cut the NORA levy, a measure to which this legislation gives effect; and to take on board one of the Labour Party's proposals, which was to extend the fuel allowance by four weeks. The Labour Party voted in support of the introduction of these measures last night and we will support today's legislation as well as it is going some way to ease the financial pressure on working people across the country but, of course, we believe that more can and must be done. We have seen a huge degree of uncertainty and anxiety as fuel prices skyrocketed following Trump and Netanyahu's illegal and bloody misadventure in Iran began, particularly among vulnerable households that rely on liquid fuels to keep their homes warm and those who need to drive to work.

3 o’clock

This crisis has left no one untouched. In every part of the country, ordinary households are feeling the pressure of rising energy costs in an immediate and seemingly relentless way. All of us in this House will have heard from our constituents over the last number of weeks about the effect this is having on them, about how anxiety-inducing a trip to the petrol station has become and about how heating bills feel like a looming threat. For so many households, the cost of getting to work or bringing the kids to school has now become a financial calculation. We are talking about the lived experiences of working people, older people and families who are struggling to hold things together in the midst of what the International Energy Agency has described as the “gravest energy shock of all time”, and that is on top of our existing cost-of-living crisis. I sincerely hope that the measures announced yesterday by the Government provide some relief to people who are really feeling the pain in this energy crisis but we should not kid ourselves into thinking that these measures are anything more than sticking plasters. They are short-term and limited and they do not provide anyone with any real certainty. The energy market is so volatile at present - determined, it would seem, by whichever side of the bed Donald Trump wakes up on - that any benefit arising out of the temporary reduction in excise duty and the small cut to the NORA levy could be wiped out by the end of the week or even sooner.

The reality is that the measures the Government has introduced do not go far enough. They will not provide much reassurance to households and commuters, only a temporary reprieve that is vulnerable to further price increases. What happens if this war rages on beyond May and energy costs continue to pile pressure upon consumers? These new measures are not a long-term strategy to protect households and they certainly are not about building a more secure future in our energy systems. They are a short-term instrument that the Government has belatedly brought in to get people off their back. As I have said, we support the individual measures, but the overall package is, in the words of my colleague, Deputy Nash, "timid, anaemic and underwhelming".

The Government could and should have gone further to support households and commuters in the short to medium term. The Labour Party has long championed strengthening our remote and flexible working legislation, and that is now more important than ever in the context of the diesel and petrol price crisis. During recent yellow weather warnings, workers were encouraged to work from home where possible. The same logic and support must be provided to workers at this critical time. Remote work is no longer only a workers' rights or quality-of-life issue; it is a real and effective way to protect many people from this present energy crisis. The Government must urgently reconsider its position on the Labour Party's Work Life Balance (Right to Remote Work) Bill 2026. It must institute a genuine right to remote and flexible working, not the tepid right-to-request model that we have at present. In effect, that has been a licence for employers to refuse requests. It should be obvious to the Government that by reducing people's need to travel to and from their workplace, it is shielding them from the sky-high prices we are seeing at the garage forecourts. The Minister does not even have to take our word for it. The International Energy Authority has explicitly said that people should be encouraged to work from home so that the cost of commuting is mitigated. This is a no-brainer - something that can bring relief to many workers without a direct cost to the State - and I have not heard any justification for not doing it.

There are other measures that could be taken in the short term to protect people against prices at the pumps. We should be looking at implementing an emergency reduction in public transport fares by at least 10% and identifying all opportunities to increase the capacity and frequency of services. More broadly, this crisis has exposed the fundamental issue in our transport system - our over-reliance on private car use. That is something that we desperately need to change. I acknowledge improvements that were made over the course of the previous Government, particularly with regard to the roll-out of Local Link buses. We need to double-down on that progress. It has been disheartening to see any momentum that had built up during the previous Government in terms of our commitment to public transport expansion being squandered by this Government. The 2:1 spending ratio in favour of public transport and active travel has been done away with. The national development plan, NDP, review's sectoral investment plan for transport was a damp squib that pushed back the start dates of vital transport projects. The reality is that too many people in Ireland remain dependent on their cars because they have no viable alternative. Public transport is simply not good enough in many parts of the country. Services are infrequent, routes are limited and reliability is often lacking.

While we can take short-term measures to try to reduce the cost of public transport and encourage people to leave the car at home to avoid increasing fuel costs, the bigger picture is that we need to reduce the need for expensive car journeys in the first place. That is the longer-term solution to high costs at the pump but it means investing in a public transport system that is affordable, reliable and accessible. It means expanding bus services, increasing rail capacity and ensuring that rural communities are not left behind. It means creating a network that people can depend on in their daily lives. It means going further in terms of our active travel network.

Cycling is the cheapest, healthiest, cleanest and often most efficient way of getting around. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle may have seen a piece by RTÉ yesterday in which they timed three people making a journey from Knocklyon, in my own constituency of Dublin South-West, into town - one driving, one taking a bus and one cycling. Those of us who make that journey into work in the city centre every day will not have been surprised by the finding that cycling is the fastest option. That said, and notwithstanding the significant improvements that have been made in recent years, the cycle network along that route remains a patchwork, for instance where the incredible Dodder greenway ends at the Rathfarnham Road as you head into town and you are abruptly spat back out onto the road alongside cars. As the RTÉ presenter said, it does not pass the test of whether you would allow your child to cycle on that route. It is a real safety concern, and it is the sort of thing that discourages more people from leaving the car at home and getting them or their families on their bikes. People should not feel like they are taking their life into their hands when they decide to cycle to work.

Returning to my main point, I hope this fuel crisis will serve as further evidence for this Government of the pitfalls of a transport system built primarily around private car use, not only for climate and health reasons, or to deal with the chronic traffic issues and congestion around our cities, but also for how vulnerable it leaves people when petrol and diesel prices shoot up. There will always be a need for private cars, of course, but when people are forced to rely exclusively on cars it leaves them exposed to fuel shocks like the one we are experiencing at present. The solution has to be further and urgent investment in public transport and active travel expansion, improved bus services in our rural communities, light rail for cities such as Cork and Galway and the DART+ projects. I am delighted to see that the MetroLink for Dublin's north side is progressing, but we want to see its expansion out to Dublin South-West and elsewhere as well. We need a well-connected active travel network across our major cities and between towns and villages in rural Ireland. We need to see a renewed commitment, a real vigour, from this Government to get these vital transport projects over the line sooner rather than later.

As I said in the Chamber last week, this crisis must also serve as a reminder to the Government of the urgent need to wean ourselves off imported fossil fuels. Our economy remains far too reliant on them. We are 20 years behind where we could have been in terms of offshore wind generation. We have a wealth of renewable potential off our coasts that is almost entirely untapped. We have literally one offshore wind farm, in Arklow, built more than two decades ago, and it is no longer generating any energy. I have serious questions about our target of 5 GW of offshore generation by 2030, given the pace of developments so far. It is clearly not going to happen.

I was left baffled in many ways by the Taoiseach's performance during Leaders' Questions yesterday. He said at one stage that Ireland is a "renewables success story". While I acknowledge we have made some good progress in terms of onshore generation, I do not see how failing to utilise our greatest asset, which is our offshore potential, can be characterised as a success story. It is not a success to be so far behind in our transition to clean renewable energy that the Taoiseach's predecessor once called our country a "climate laggard", and he was right.

In any case, any new renewable energy that we are generating is not going towards decarbonising important sectors of our economy; it is being gobbled up by the huge energy demands of data centres. Essentially what we are seeing is the good work that we are doing in terms of renewables benefiting not ordinary households or small businesses, but faceless multinationals. That is not a success story; it is an outrage, and it is only going to get worse with the continued data centre proliferation that is being enabled by this Government without putting the necessary safeguards in place. The Government's large energy user action plan has utterly failed in that regard and the proposed private wires law will only further the expansion of data centres and their continued expansion and use of fossil fuel generation.

I acknowledge that data centres have a role in our economy and our society in terms of enabling our access to modern technologies, but we have to be honest: they are huge sources of pollution and they are placing an unbelievable strain on our energy grid. Alongside soaking up all of our renewable energy, it is anticipated that they will account for more than 30% of our total energy consumption within the next couple of years. Even the former finance Minister, Pascal Donohoe, has warned in his new role of the huge water consumption issues that data centres bring and the dangers for countries that go along with that.

I was left further baffled yesterday when the Taoiseach continued to insist on the Government's plans to import liquified natural gas, LNG, a highly polluting fossil fuel, for energy security purposes, given that he later acknowledged that every energy crisis since the 1970s has been due to a crisis in fossil fuels arising out of a conflict.

I appreciate the Taoiseach’s acknowledgement that the source of market volatility, and the reason people are currently being fleeced, is the crises in oil and gas, but I cannot fathom how anyone would think the solution to ensuring energy security in future is further entrenching fossil fuels in our system through the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure. This Government should seriously reconsider its plans for its strategic gas reserve. We need a new energy security analysis in light of this most recent crisis. This was recommended by the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the Government’s LNG bill. The European benchmark price for LNG soared by as much as 60% in the days following the start of Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war in Iran, following the shut-down of a major LNG facility in Qatar. The Government has estimated that its proposed LNG terminal will cost almost €1 billion, paid for of course by ordinary bill payers. The likely increase in that cost arising out of conflicts like the one we are seeing at present underscores the irresponsibility of going ahead with this proposal. We simply cannot secure our energy supply by further exposing ourselves to price shocks like this. We are already vulnerable to an increasingly unstable geopolitical arena, and ordinary households and commuters are paying the price. Charging ahead with the introduction of even more fossil fuels to Ireland will only make matters worse. As I said previously, the solution to our energy security needs lies off our coast. Government inertia in building up our offshore capacity can no longer be tolerated. The urgency we have seen from the Government in rushing through the legislation for this LNG terminal needs to be redirected towards meeting our 5 GW offshore target and getting the projects currently in the pipeline delivered.

I want to touch briefly on the issue of price gouging. The case for an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is clear. Within hours of this war beginning, we saw prices soar for home heating oil and at the petrol pump despite the fact that, as we know, fuel stocks are bought well in advance. The fuels being supplied in the hours immediately after the outbreak of the conflict would have been bought at a much lower rate, but they were being sold based on the present wholesale price. The fuel providers - never ones to waste a crisis - saw an opportunity and went for it. It was frankly insulting to hear Fuels for Ireland, the industry lobby group, tell consumers the other day not to expect a reduction in their fuel costs immediately following the cuts to excise duty and the NORA levy. Its excuse was that the fuels being sold would have been purchased in advance at a higher rate. I would be willing to accept that argument if it did not imply that for some reason, fuels bought in advance of these cuts cannot be charged at a lower rate, but the fuels bought prior to the outbreak of the war had to be charged based on the wholesale price at the time consumers were filling up their cars. It is absolutely outrageous. I welcome the instruction given by the Minister for enterprise to the CCPC to conduct a review of the retail energy market. On many occasions in this House, I have called out the poor behaviour of energy companies and the dysfunction of our supposedly competitive market. However, it must go further than a simple review. The Minister must instruct the CCPC to conduct a stand-alone investigation into potential price gouging in the hours after this latest conflict in the Middle East began, and the failure to immediately pass on any cuts in excise duty.

I will conclude by cautiously welcoming this legislation, which will temporarily reduce the excise duty, cut the NORA levy and extend the fuel allowance, but the Government could and should have gone further. We know we cannot tax-cut our way out of our over-reliance on fossil fuels and our overexposure to the whims of a warmongering US President. We need to look ahead towards real solutions to shield ourselves from future oil shocks to the greatest extent possible, and that means building up our renewables capacity.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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I will pick up on what my colleague, Deputy Ahern, was speaking about. We are living in an era in which shock events are becoming more regular due to irrational, unpredictable and, quite frankly, dangerous leadership among the big powers. The world's reliance on fossil fuels has become the source of global conflict. The ultimate impact of this is not only that it causes deaths in those regions where the wars are taking place, but also that it has an economic shock on ordinary workers and ordinary households elsewhere in the world. In this country, we have reacted to the Russia-Ukraine war, to this current conflict and to the Covid crisis by introducing a suite or basket of emergency measures which are then subject to debate, controversy and discussion across this House. There are commonalities emerging in these shock events in terms of how they impact our people and communities. We need to prepare for these events better. We are still overly reliant on fossil fuels, so we are going to have to be able to react quicker to these events.

We do not need new legislation to facilitate a maximum price order, for example, because it is something that the Government, along with a price freeze at the fuel pump, can implement overnight with the stroke of a pen. That can be done based on current legislation, without introducing new legislation, when America, Russia or another power starts a war or escalates continuing conflicts. The Minister's Government has not chosen to do this. Three and a half weeks later, as my colleagues Deputy Ahern and Deputy Nash and the Opposition more generally have said, a suite of measures is being brought in which, quite frankly, does not go far enough. We are not preparing.

We know that work practices in this country are over-reliant on fossil fuels. Too many people have to get into their cars in the morning to go to work because we have not invested enough in public transport. There are improvements and exciting projects on the way, including DART+ and MetroLink in my constituency, but there are still too many people getting into their cars in the morning who do not have to do so. They could stay at home and work productively, efficiently, effectively and happily in the public or private sector. We need to look at the rules in this State. Obviously, we have proposed legislation that would empower people to work from home and give them real rights and protections. Given that the Government seems intent on not supporting that legislation, when shock events happen the Government should impose work from home orders to enable people who can work from home to do so at a moment's notice without fear of repercussions from their bosses.

The suite of measures that are being announced in other European countries, such as Spain, Greece and the UK, go further and deeper. They have reacted a little more quickly than we have. Nobody is perfect and no government or State is reacting perfectly to these shock events, but we have to adapt our responses to the reality of the world as it exists now. There are many articles about a show currently on Netflix that is set in the 1990s that are about how it seems like a much calmer time. Compared to where we are now, it was like another world. We are now in the 2020s, when fossil fuels are being fought over. We have a klepto-fascist in the White House who is engaging in what seems to be, among his many crimes, the manipulation of the markets for profit and the use of the office of the United States President for personal and familial gain. We are in a territory we never thought we would be in, but I think we are still playing by 1990s rules, almost. We are not adapting and we are not flexible, despite all these shock events, conflicts and wars. Despite all the things that are becoming more familiar, and the impact they are having on home heating oil, fuel pumps, congestion and climate, we are still reacting as if it was 30 years ago and not as if it is the 2020s. We need to look at how we are shaping our State to react to the actions of the disastrous leaders of the most powerful states who are tearing the world apart at present.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his time here today. I welcome this legislation - the National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) Bill - and its important and timely measures. It is being introduced in a moment of real pressure on households, businesses and our wider community, when we need a measured response. In recent months, as other speakers have alluded to, global energy markets have been significantly disrupted by conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf, a conflict I hope can be brought to an end. That is fundamentally the element of uncertainty here. When we wake up every day, we hope we will see the end of this conflict and we can bring some sort of normality back to our economies and the likes of our fuel prices. They are far beyond our shores, but nonetheless they have real consequences here at home.

We have seen a rapid and sharp increase in the cost of fuel at the pumps, increased transportation costs and increased costs of home heating, all placing a real strain on our day-to-day expenses.

This Bill is necessary as part of the suite of measures announced by the Government yesterday, measures that I support. I fundamentally believe they will help people as they go to work today and try to heat their homes, and will make a material difference from a Government perspective, considering the unpredictability that we talk about. The reduction in the NORA levy in the next two months will work alongside the reduction in excise duty, the expansion of the diesel rebate scheme and the extension of the fuel allowance.

I support the element of flexibility provided by the Minister in the Bill. While we hope the conflict can be resolved, and hope for market stability to return, we simply do not know what the future holds. The Bill proposes a targeted and practical intervention, a temporary adjustment that reduces the levy for a defined period but also allows the flexibility for the Minister to extend it, should that be necessary. Today, we can directly lower the cost of fuel at a time when we need relief most. However, this is definitely not a long-term solution to energy challenges, nor does it replace the need for continued investment in sustainable and secure energy systems. If anything, these recent weeks and months have highlighted how important it is that we pursue long-term climate and energy goals and strive for more energy independence. The Bill maintains balance and provides relief now. It does not dismantle the framework that ensures Ireland's strategic oil reserves remain robust and secure. Ultimately, the Bill is about being responsive and ensuring stability. It recognises the pressures facing our citizens by taking clear steps to ease them, while preserving our capacity to plan for tomorrow. Under NORA, we are obliged under EU law and International Energy Agency rules to hold at least 90 days' worth of oil imports in reserve.

Many constituents who contacted me this morning expect the prices at the pump to reduce overnight. If some of these companies were half as smart in reducing the price as they were in increasing it, they would do a service to consumers today. It is irresponsible how they are behaving. We are seeing price gouging. What we need to see is the CCPC being given more powers and resources to equip it with the necessary tools to address this as quickly as possible. I would like the message to go from here today that, regardless of the commentary from Fuels for Ireland, we need to see the prices reduce and be passed on as soon as possible at the pumps.

Where we are today is a similar position to the one my county found itself in five or six years ago, when, overnight, a decision on a planning application showed that we could no longer rely on fossil fuels and carbon fuels. The Minister has visited County Offaly in recent times and has seen the progress we have made. That did not happen by accident. We took brave, ambitious and plan-led decisions at times when other counties decided not to because that was the easiest thing to do. We need to plan for tomorrow now. Essentially, what that will entail is reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.

As for what we have done in Offaly, we have seen the development of a significant infrastructure of wind turbines, solar farms and battery storage. In January alone, with only 2% of the country's landmass, Offaly was the top generator of renewable energy in the country. Many speakers come into this Chamber and tell us what we should be doing as a country. Maybe they should take that message back to their own counties. Everyone should step up to the mark and follow the lead that we have taken as a county. That did not just happen on bogland or vast fields. It started in primary schools, with initiatives led by bodies like Midlands Ireland and Offaly County Council, and by individuals like Ray Bell in his work on STEM initiatives, such as VEX Robotics. Less than ten years ago, in Offaly, there was not one primary school engaging in any element of engineering in the curriculum. Today, we can proudly say that every primary school is competing in VEX Robotics. We have a situation where multiple schools every year are competing on a global stage at the VEX Robotics world championships.

We need to invest in education and ensure that we invest in engineers for the future. That needs to continue right through from primary school to postgraduate. Even today, in committee, we heard from some of the engineering representative groups that we need a greater level of funding for postgraduate courses so we continue to see a steady flow of new graduates in the engineering space. One thing that should not stand in the way of this development is funding. In recent years and months, I have dealt with schools that qualified to go to Texas for the world championship of VEX Robotics but they did not have the funding, and they had to go to local companies or the local authority. It should be a no-brainer. We should ensure there is a scheme in place where such a scenario arises. Where extracurricular activities and subjects are contested at the global level, we need to get behind those schools and classes, and ensure that Offaly is excelling at the highest level. I recognise those schools like Tubber National School, the Sacred Heart in Tullamore and Coláiste Choilm, which made it to Texas and represented the county and the country so proudly.

I also look at what we have done with regard to home energy upgrades. In the past five years, we have seen almost 5,000 homes across Offaly upgraded for home energy. This is a county where, in the last census, up to 50% of homes outlined that they had a dependency on fossil fuels. We are taking those steps. There is a step change in Offaly, and we are doing this in an ambitious way. However, we cannot leave communities behind. All too often, where we have designated spatial planning for renewables, we are seeing companies come in where we have not designated spatial planning. That is a total kick in the face for people who took a very ambitious step in recent years to ensure we could meet our ambitious targets.

I ask that the wind energy guidelines be produced and published as soon as possible. With regard to home heating, I ask the Minister to look at measures like the blending of HVO, with a view to increasing that to a level that is sustainable and achieves our emissions targets, and also works for the sector, communities and homeowners. With regard to reducing our dependency on carbon fuels, I ask the Minister to look at a boiler scrappage scheme. There are hundreds of thousands of boilers that have been in circulation for ten years or more, and they are simply inefficient. Yes, the dream is to get everyone to an earth water heat pump or district heating but that is not feasible in many situations. I ask the Minister to seriously consider a boiler scrappage scheme in the time ahead. Greater recognition for wood pellet stoves is another option that needs to be considered. I am not overlooking what the Minister has done in the whole area of deep retrofit grants, where the increased grants have been very welcome. However, they cause disruption, particularly to older people. That is where I would see something like a boiler scrappage scheme, wood pellets or HVO being an intermediary as we move to where we want to go with this whole objective.

As I said, communities cannot be left behind from a benefit fund perspective. In Offaly, there is €50 million in the pipeline for a renewable energy community benefit fund scheme in the coming years. We do not want to spend it all on sports jerseys or scoreboards. We want to see long-lasting legacy projects like community centres and swimming pools developed in towns and villages across the county. The Minister should use Offaly as a pilot. We are ahead of the curve. We are pioneering in this space to ensure we get it right for the rest of the country.

In Offaly, coming from the bogland heritage that we have and the relationship we had with Bord na Móna and the ESB, we are proud of what we have done. We have stepped forward in the national interest. When I hear of companies looking to invest further in renewables, and they talk about the delays with EirGrid, the lack of response and the need to get it done faster, that should not be happening. We are in a state of emergency. We need EirGrid, as much as anyone, to step up to the mark to ensure that investment in the grid is developed at an expedited rate. We need to engage with companies that want to invest, whether that is in further renewable energy development or data centres. I am not going to stick my head in the sand and think that we can just move on and let this data go elsewhere. We see tens of billions of investment in other countries, while we are missing an opportunity to develop ecosystems in places like Rhode Green Energy Park in Offaly. If we can get the planning permission sorted there, and if we can get companies to row in behind it, we can create an ecosystem of economic benefit and job creation in our local communities.

I recognise the €1.1 billion the Government has put together already in relation to budget 2026 in the area of energy. I recognise the significant billions of euro in investment the Government has committed to the grid. There is also the increase in allocation and eligibility of the fuel allowance and the backdating of it to January.

When I talk about the national interest, I have to ask what Sinn Féin's purpose has been in recent weeks. Has it been to increase its ratings in the polls or is it genuine? I recognise the likes of the Social Democrats and Labour, which voted with the Government last night. However, Sinn Féin has proposed nothing in relation to the fuel allowance and has done nothing to support hard-pressed households in Northern Ireland. It has done nothing to get its calculations right. To come into this Chamber and claim a cost of €38 million per week when it was actually €3 million is irresponsible. Sinn Féin Members need to get their act together and realise we need to work together in this Chamber for the best interests of this nation.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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He has left now, but I want to acknowledge Senator Wilson and the officials he brought visiting here, representing Taiwan in their Dublin office. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day in Dáil Éireann.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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While Government backbenchers might not wish to acknowledge it, workers and families are being hammered under the watch of this Government. Petrol and diesel prices are rising sharply and the Government response is too late and nowhere near strong enough. Households are already stretched and we see it not just in energy but across the board: food costs and school costs are up. The costs of getting to work, doing the school run, caring for family and just living in rural Ireland are increasing.

The Government has choices and it chose not to deliver the maximum fuel cuts available. What we saw last night was meanness laid bare - too late, stingy, divorced from reality and frankly insulting. Over 750,000 households rely on home heating oil and they are being left behind. The cost of a fill has surged to between €1,600 and €1,800, depending on what day it is and where in the country you live. The Government's response has been tokenistic: a short fuel allowance extension that will be wiped out by rising prices and a measly 2 cent reduction on heating oil.

The Taoiseach's response yesterday during Leaders' Questions was illustrative when he joked that it is okay because it will be May soon. People are in energy arrears and are struggling to heat their homes. There are cold snaps at the end of March and people rely on home heating oil for hot water, including people looking after older or unwell family members at home. It is not good enough for the Government and the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, to make jokes about these things. Energy poverty and child poverty are growing and people are rationing heat. We have heard some of the stories. Some of us engage with our constituents in constituency offices and clinics. I know it might be uncomfortable for some people on the opposite side to do that from time to time but those of us who engage and listen hear those stories every day. I am not talking about the Minister but many of his colleagues do not operate clinics or offices. The Government could have removed excise on home heating oil and delivered real relief but once again chose not to act.

This crisis is hitting those who produce in our economy. Fishermen and other primary producers face soaring fuel costs without any meaningful support. The impact spreads through coastal and rural communities. When coastal and rural enterprises are squeezed, their local economies suffer. It is kicking a sector when it is already down.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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It has been nearly a month since Israel and its proxy, the United States, began their war on Iran. For the past month, people across Ireland have been hit with what can only be described as rip-off fuel prices. In some cases, Irish fuel prices have increased at eight times the rate of other EU states. It is only now, after nearly a month, that we have seen any action from the Government. To be frank, its measures are an embarrassment compared with the actions of other EU states. While the Government sat on the fence, it quietly cashed in at the expense of ordinary workers trying to get to work or the vulnerable trying to heat their homes. This is appalling conduct from the Government. Let us talk about the measures it announced yesterday.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Give me some examples of what they did in Europe.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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Three cent off the price of green diesel is not support; it is a slap in the face to farmers and fishermen across Ireland. The Government may as well have just told them to shut up and get on with it. These are the people who go out day in, day out to produce top-quality Irish food and to ensure we have food security and our shelves do not go empty. While the reduction will be welcomed by those in haulage, do not forget who produces the food to fill those trucks. Not using farm machinery or trawlers is not an option. Does the Minister expect ponies and traps and carts to be rolled out to cut down on the cost? Is that what he wants them to do? We have seen over and over from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that our farmers and fishermen are always an afterthought. The announcement yesterday is just the latest insult to them. It is simply a kick in the teeth.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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Politics, for better or worse, has made me occasionally suspicious of things. When things happen suddenly or without warning, I wonder what exactly is happening. I am a bit of a nerd, I have to admit. I like maths, numbers and researching things I am interested in. After a few hours of researching this amendment and looking at the Bill, I find what the Government is doing deeply troubling. I want to be really clear here. We in the Social Democrats have supported the Government on reductions in excise and on relief for hauliers. We are even willing to support half of this Bill to relieve two months of the levy. However, it turns out this Bill also authorises something the Minister did not acknowledge in his opening remarks. I am severely disappointed by the lack of transparency from the Minister, his Department and the Government. What he is proposing is the authorisation of a 20-month raiding of the climate action fund. That is what this Bill does. It would be better called the climate action fund reversal Bill.

I will take Deputies through how I came across this. It was deliberately obfuscated from the Dáil.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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It is not a very long Bill.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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It is not, but it is a very significant provision that the Government has put into it. Let me take Deputies through how I came across it. The Government has deliberately obfuscated this from the Dáil and it is a very serious matter for Government backbenchers, in particular.

On the face of it, the change to the Order of Business to add to the agenda an amendment to the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 does not seem like a big deal. Any reasonable person recognises the fallout of the illegal war initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran and its people would have consequences in Ireland. It is far-reaching. Therefore, maybe we needed to do something with the national oil reserves, but when I read the amendment proposed within the past 24 hours and put on the agenda this morning, it did not refer to releasing oil reserves. That power is already granted by the 2007 Act. It did not talk about increasing supply to provide relief to hard-pressed families. No, it had something about pausing a levy of 2 cent per litre. Again, that does not seem like a big deal given excise went down by 17 cent per litre last night, which we in the Social Democrats supported.

I dug a little deeper. That 2 cent is the total funding for the National Oil Reserves Agency, coming to about €120 million in income for the agency in 2024, according to its financial statements. The Bill proposes in the first instance to effectively get rid of that levy for the next few months, which is reasonable - laudable, even. We are in an energy crisis, after all.

But then there is this other measure in the Bill, section 1(b). This provision says the Minister can suspend the levy after those two months for a while if he wants. Maybe that is reasonable. The question is for how long, how much it costs and what effect it has. The amendment says he can suspend it to December 2027, a potential 18-month additional suspension of the levy. That is strange. We did not do that for the excise taxes or hauliers last night. It is quite an odd thing to do. What is also odd is that the Minister can do it at his sole discretion. That is interesting. Ministers can do things at their sole discretion all the time through statutory instruments but it is strange to create a brand new statutory instrument within 24 hours, so it made me a little more suspicious.

The Minister will have to forgive me. I decided to look at the finances. It turns out the run rate for the levy is about €10 million per month.

Two months would cost €20 million, which means 18 more months would cost a whopping €180 million. A potential €200 million reduction in the public finances is worrying. With this Bill, the Dáil is being asked, in effect, to pre-approve a tax cut of up to €200 million at the sole discretion of one Minister. It is very strange.

Last night, the Dáil sat until 11 p.m. to authorise a package of €250 million. Today, it seems the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, can just change the fiscal position of the strategic oil reserves by €200 million with the flick of a pen and with no oversight by the Dáil, no authorisation from the Cabinet and absolutely no one else involved. Not even the Minister for Finance can bring in a tax cut without the Taoiseach authorising it. A €200 million tax cut is a very big deal. It has consequences for the fiscal and financial position of the State.

According to its financial statements, the National Oil Reserves Agency collected €120 million in 2024. It did something with that money. Can the Minister tell me what it was? I will yield 30 seconds of my time under Standing Order 61 if the Minister can answer that question.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Hayes should continue.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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Can you tell me the answer, Minister?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I could do so but I will wait until the end to respond to the debate.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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The National Oil Reserves Agency gave €100 million, or more than 80% of the levy, to the climate action fund that was set up by an amendment to the legislation in 2020. It turns out that is virtually the entirety of all funding for the climate action fund. The fund was set up to support a few really important things, as detailed in its 2024 annual report. In that year, it gave €8 million to a community climate action programme for local authorities, €10 million to the school photovoltaic programme to fund solar panels for schools, €17 million to the Bórd na Móna bog rehabilitation scheme, some of which was perhaps spent in County Offaly, and €58 million to the public sector energy efficiency scheme to reduce energy demand, which one might think would reduce prices.

This is not about strategic oil reserves, relief for consumers or good governance. It is an open raiding of the climate action fund in the middle of an energy crisis. The Government gave a tax cut to developers and fast food chains in the latest budget but that was not enough. Now the Minister wants to steal the future of climate action while he is at it, with no oversight and no transparency. Everything is being hidden from the Oireachtas and even from the Government's own backbenchers. The Minister's actions will deprive this country of the climate action this crisis has shown it desperately needs.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I will return later in my contribution to the aspects of the debate my party colleague has raised. The 2 cent reduction in the NORA levy is a drop in the ocean for homeowners and householders who are relying on home heating oil, the hundreds of thousands of people who are not going to benefit from the excise cuts, which the Social Democrats supported, and the people who will continue to find it very difficult to put a half-fill or a fill of oil in their tanks. The Social Democrats have repeatedly acknowledged that we are in the middle of a crisis that will require emergency-type solutions in the short term that can offer some level of respite to people. This reduction of 2 cent is the absolute bare minimum and it really will not make much difference to people.

Instead, what the Minister should have done is target the use of public money to support people who are most in need. We have repeatedly asked him to bring in a €400 electricity credit targeted at the people in the lowest 40% of the income distribution. That would assist 800,000 people in this country with their energy bills. We are not calling for a broad-brush energy credit because that would not be targeted. This was consistently our position in the previous Dáil. There is a huge wastage of public money in the non-targeting of such measures. The best, simplest and quickest way to assist every person who is really suffering from the high cost of electricity and gas following the Ukraine crisis, and now the high cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil as a result of the current war, is to provide a targeted energy support. It is unfortunate that the Government has not done so. We in the Social Democrats hope that at some stage in the very near future it will bring forward that energy credit.

This crisis did not start four weeks ago. There are many people still trying to recover from the impact of the high energy costs incurred as a result of the Ukraine crisis. The ESRI has advised against the approach of introducing measures that are not targeted. It has shown that the last time this approach was used, 50% of the cost of the measure went to the top 40% of households. The statistics are there to show this is not the best way to deal with these issues. A targeted approach is certainly the preference of the Social Democrats.

In the absence of that, we have supported the excise reduction and we will support the 2 cent reduction in the NORA levy. However, as my party colleague has stated, we have concerns about this Bill. It is much more far-reaching than what was originally proposed, which was just a two-month cut. The Social Democrats have consistently supported carbon tax because we understand we need to move away from fossil fuels and fossil fuel subsidies and ensure people who are least able to do so can transition away from those fuels. The revenue collected from carbon tax offered the Government an opportunity to ensure a just transition. There was a chance to use that money to ensure lower income families can have warm homes, lower energy costs and an opportunity to avail of solar panels and electric cars. These are the changes we all need to make but lower income families will find it much more challenging to do so. That is why the Social Democrats have always supported carbon tax.

However, I find it bizarre that at the same time the Government is being critical of Sinn Féin for not supporting the carbon tax on the basis that the money is ring-fenced and will go to energy and climate action measures, it is, in essence, doing the exact same thing with the NORA fund. It is just called something different. A lot of people do not understand where the money from the NORA levy goes and for what it is used. The Government is using that to its advantage and is really just playing with words here. It is incredibly disappointing that the Bill includes a mechanism for ministerial discretion to extend these provisions for 18 months.

The climate action fund plays an incredibly important role in supporting communities, small businesses, households and the public service to implement climate action measures. The ESB availed of the climate action fund to put in charging stations all across the country. Schools are using money from the fund to put solar panels on their buildings. A huge range of very important measures are being supported by this fund. Why would the Minister want to take money out of those programmes? Why would he decide this is the best place to find State funding to support people who are facing huge difficulties because of the war in Iran?

Why is the Government sticking so closely to carbon tax, stressing how important that is and being very critical of other parties for not supporting it while at the same time doing exactly the same thing? When talking about extending this to 18 months, it is important that the Minister explain to us the programmes he is planning to cut. Will he cut community climate action projects, retrofitting of public buildings, electricity charging infrastructure, solar PV and district heating projects? Will he cut all those? Will he cut the climate officers in the local authorities? Which local authorities will he pull climate officers from? These projects are all fundamentally dependent on the revenue streams from NORA.

There has to be some honesty in this discussion and it is unfortunate it has not been there so far. We are only on Second Stage and we have tabled an amendment to that effect. We would ask the Minister to seriously consider that amendment because this provision does not need to be extended beyond two months, in the same manner that the excise reduction has not been extended for longer than two months. So, we would ask that you actually seriously consider this, Minister. Minister?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Tá mé ag éisteach. I can walk and chew gum at the same time. I am actually explaining to the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, what Deputy Whitmore is saying so that he understands the Social Democrats’ position. I am trying to be helpful.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I will speak to both Ministers then. I would ask that they look at the amendments we put forward and not use this Bill to extend this provision to 18 months and essentially pull all the funding that is going into the climate action fund for things like solar PV for schools, EV charging units, the community action funds, and the community and climate officers in the different local authorities. Many really important projects are funded by this scheme. Please do not use this as a way to pull the funding for 18 months. This is €200 million that should be going to climate action and to support communities so that they can actually move away from fossil fuels, which apparently is an aim of the Government. Please do not pull that money from them.

We will be debating this later on but I would ask-----

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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We will helpfully respond to that.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister.

I also want to talk about price-gouging. The CRU was mentioned earlier. The CSO reported this week that wholesale electricity prices have dropped by 72% since the peak in August 2022. We have not seen a 72% reduction in retail prices here in Ireland and indeed many people are still really suffering from the incredible costs of electricity and gas as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. The Minister has called on the CRU to look into aspects of price-gouging in the energy sector and to consider what level of pass-through is occurring from wholesale to retail. That was a recommendation of the task force last year. I have not heard anything back from the CRU yet. Within its legislation, the CRU has the provisions to be able to do this anyway. It is something it should be doing on a regular basis and not waiting for a Minister to direct it to do so. It has responsibility for ensuring fairness in the energy markets for consumers. It should have the wherewithal to use the legislation that is available to it and to do this when it deems it fit. However, it seems very lax when it comes to these kinds of matters. It waits for there to be a public outcry and for a Minister to direct it. I do not understand how it does not see it as a normal part of its remit. Anyway, we have not seen any response or any report from the CRU and it is really important that that happens.

Alongside that, the CCPC also needs to investigate price-gouging by petrol and diesel retailers. It was very clear, pretty much immediately after the war in Iran started, that forecourt prices would skyrocket and that has continued. We all suspect that there has been price-gouging and there has to be accountability for it because if there is not accountability, we will not stop them from doing it every time there is an issue like this. It is really important that that happens and that it happens quickly.

We also need to ensure that any of the excise cuts and now the NORA cut are passed on to consumers. It needs to go directly into people's pockets and not into the pockets of the retailers. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that happens because it is fundamentally important when it comes to not just these measures but the trust the public have in the implementation of these measures.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the measures announced by the Government to address the ongoing fuel and energy cost crisis, which continues to place real and sustained pressure on households, families and businesses right across the country.

I cannot but comment on the pure hypocrisy of Sinn Féin on the far side of the House, whose previous speakers unanimously opposed last night’s motion to help families and businesses right across the country. Last Thursday in this Chamber, the deputy leader of Sinn Féin called for a 20 cent reduction in excise duty. Last night he and his colleagues voted against a 22 cent excise duty reduction. It is all spin and bluster.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Government do the 22 cent reduction then?

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The only thing we ever get from Sinn Féin Members is a permanent "No". That is their contribution to Irish politics, a permanent "No". There is nothing to them and nothing in them. They would want to start coming forward with proper, credible policies instead of just going against everything.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Government do the 22 cent reduction?

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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When you are against everything, you are for nothing and Sinn Féin is for nothing.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Government do the 22 cent reduction?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy, please.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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They are going out and whinging with no credible proposal being brought forward. Last week they said they would bring forward a 20 cent reduction. Why, five days later, do they go against a 22 cent reduction?

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Government do the 22 cent reduction?

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Why did they all vote against it?

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Did the Government do it?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy-----

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The people in the Deputy's constituency want it. Did the Government do it? No.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is talking out of both sides of her mouth as usual. The country can see through it and we are all sick of listening to her and her colleagues. They are going at it the whole time, left, right and centre. There is nothing to them. There is absolutely no substance and they have no credibility. Everybody can see through it.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure all the Deputy's constituents are delighted to see-----

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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It is important to acknowledge that action has been taken and that action is absolutely welcome. The reduction in excise on petrol and diesel alongside a significant cut to the NORA levy will provide immediate and tangible relief at the pumps, not just "No" politics for the sake of "No" politics. For many working people, particularly those in rural areas, who rely heavily on their cars, that relief cannot come soon enough.

Equally the decision to extend supports for home heating, particularly for more vulnerable households, is a recognition of the very real concern and anxiety that people feel when faced with rising energy bills. These are practical steps and they will make a real difference. I welcome the additional four weeks on the fuel allowance, which will make a huge difference to families right across the country.

We must also recognise the targeted supports for key sectors of our economy. Hauliers, bus operators and those who keep goods and people moving have been under enormous strain due to the rise in diesel costs. Increasing the diesel rebate and backdating it is a sensible and necessary intervention to protect jobs, to make sure our economy is strong and to make sure we have a pot of money so that when we are hit with a crisis, we can actually put measures in place to help Irish families. If we have a surplus and keep taking out of it, we will end up with a deficit. I do not know if the Sinn Féin economic policy recognises that, but that is the reality of the situation.

While we all hope that stability will return, the reality is that uncertainty still remains. That is why it is equally important to focus on longer term actions being taken and indeed a lot of work needs to be done. We have seen significant progress in renewable energy in recent years.

4 o’clock

The growth in solar capacity, from just 2 MW in 2015 to over 2,400 MW today, is remarkable. It shows what can be achieved with the right policy focus and investment. Similarly, the increase in the share of electricity generated from renewables, now exceeding 40%, demonstrates that we are moving in the right direction. The expansion of rooftop solar, with over 155,000 homes supported and schools benefiting from insulations, is helping to reduce bills and empower consumers to generate their own energy. This is a positive development and one that should continue to be scaled up.

The supports for haulage and road passenger operations being introduced and the fuel allowance being extended by four weeks are protecting the most vulnerable in society. The extension of the fuel allowance season means that eligible households will receive additional financial support totalling €152. This Bill also provides scope for the Government to amend the time period by way of order at a later date if required. It is also important to note that temporary and targeted measures to reduce fuel prices for households and businesses, with additional supports for key sectors of the Irish economy, are being introduced and may be adjusted as the situation evolves. This is an evolving situation and has been since the crisis broke a couple of weeks ago.

In addition, the level of investment in retrofitting and energy efficiency must be acknowledged. Since 2019 over €1.6 billion has been provided to support hundreds of thousands of home energy upgrades. These measures not only reduce emissions but, crucially, reduce costs for households over the long term. However, we have to ask the question, are we moving quickly enough? Is there more that can be done? For many people who will be watching this debate, the reality is simple: bills are still too high and the cost of living remains a constant worry. While progress is being made, the benefits are not being felt evenly or widely enough. That is why I welcome the targeted measures that were introduced yesterday.

We also know that Ireland remains heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. This leaves us exposed to geopolitical shocks, price spikes and uncertainty that is beyond our control, like the situation we find ourselves in at the moment. The current situation has only underlined that vulnerability. While we acknowledge the steps taken, we must also call for greater urgency: urgency in accelerating renewable energy projects, particularly offshore; urgency in upgrading and expanding our electricity grid in order that supply can meet demand; urgency in reforming planning processes to ensure that critical infrastructure can be delivered without unnecessary delay; and urgency in ensuring that supports reach those who need them most when they need them.

There is also a clear lesson from this crisis. We must ensure that our response as a State is agile, responsive and prepared for whatever challenges may come next. The reality is that global energy markets can shift rapidly due to conflict, supply disruptions or economic shocks. We must be in a position to act quickly to protect Irish consumers and Irish businesses. That means building flexibility into our policies, maintaining contingency measures that can be deployed when needed and ensuring that the Government has the tools to respond in real time. We cannot afford to be reactive; we must be ready. This is not about responding to a crisis; it is about building resilience for the future and ensuring that Irish households and businesses are not repeatedly at the mercy of global energy shocks.

The measures that have been recently announced are a step in the right direction. They will provide short-term relief and they demonstrate that this Government is responding to the challenges at hand. However, we cannot stop here. We have to be agile and flexible and we have to continue to act decisively, ambitiously and with a clear focus on delivering a more secure, more sustainable and more affordable energy future for all.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Ordinary families and workers understand that the Irish Government is not responsible for international energy crises. Where the frustration lies, however, is that what it is responsible for is Ireland's response, and its response has been lethargic, it is lacklustre and it has not been nearly good enough. Not only is it a delayed response but our starting point is actually worse than it need have been, given that the Government pulled the energy credits only a few months ago based on inflation figures it got wrong. With more than 300,000 households already in electricity arrears and a new crisis emerging, what people would have expected is a Government response that prioritised them and looked to protect them from the worst impact of price shocks. Instead they got a wait-and-see response, and now they get tokenism: on fuel allowance a paltry four-week extension, and limited intervention on petrol and diesel that simply does not cut it. It is not good enough. There is not even tokenism for those without a clue how they will pay for home heating oil. There is nothing at all. With all the credibility of snake oil salesmen, the Government continues to tell farmers and rural people that they benefit from the carbon tax, a claim report after report has found to be completely baseless.

Sinn Féin's proposals would have delivered a €183 reduction on 1,000 litres of home heating oil; the Government's proposals do not. Sinn Féin has advocated a 25 cent reduction on the tax the Government raises from petrol and diesel.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, you are in Deputy O'Hara's time.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You are against everything, Cathy.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Excuse me, Deputy Cleere.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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These are measures that would have meaningfully supported ordinary workers, families and farmers-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You are over time, Deputy.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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-----but what the Government introduced yesterday did not do so.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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This crisis began at a time when households across the State were already bearing the brunt of a severe cost-of-living crisis, with 320,000 households in arrears on their energy bills, having been totally abandoned by the Government in the last budget. The half-measures announced by the Government yesterday are too little, too late. The Government has sat on its hands for the past four weeks, and only now has it brought forward limited measures to respond, very reluctantly and after sustained pressure from Sinn Féin and the general public.

The Government, however, went only halfway. It decided against the maximum excise cut on petrol and diesel. It decided to knock only a lousy 5 cent off a litre of green diesel, with another insulting reduction in the price of heating oil, just 2 cent per litre. It has not gone unnoticed that those in rural communities, farmers and households who rely on home heating oil and fuel for farming or to get from A to B have in particular been failed by the Government and thrown to the wolves when it comes to these measures. Some 750,000 households across this State rely on home heating oil. To make matters worse, the 2 cent reduction will be wiped out in a few weeks' time when the Government proceeds with its carbon tax increase. It could have removed the excise completely. It could scrap its carbon tax increase. That would have given meaningful relief to families struggling to heat their homes. The Government did not do so, however, because it is completely out of touch.

I appeal to Government Ministers to stop gaslighting the public when it comes to the carbon tax, saying the revenue is essential for climate action and ring-fenced for that purpose. That is absolute rubbish. The Government does not have a notion where that money is being spent, with hundreds of millions unaccounted for, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Government's grant schemes represent a massive transfer of wealth from low-income to high-income households, according to researchers in Trinity College. The Government should stop spoofing, stop the carbon tax increases and support households.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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This is a mean Government. We knew it was a mean Government already because we saw the last budget, which was a giveaway budget for the developers, a giveaway budget for Google and a giveaway budget for the fast food giants but it took money out of the pockets of ordinary people and targeted disabled people, in particular, with swingeing, mean cuts of over €1,400 per person per year. We therefore knew this was a mean Government already and we had that in our mind when we were thinking, "What will the Government do when under massive public pressure to do something to protect people from the renewed cost-of-living crisis?"

Looking at this proposal, however, this measure in particular, it is hard to imagine something meaner. There is a crisis out there. Close to one in five households uses home heating oil. The price of home heating oil has gone through the roof, almost doubled.

Many people are at a stage of needing to fill their oil tank after they have been through the winter but obviously still need to use their heating. The Government's response to the surge in oil prices caused by Trump and Israel's imperialist wars in the Middle East is to take off 2 cent per litre. This will then be wiped away in a month and a half by an increase in the carbon tax. It is hard to imagine something more mean and inadequate. People will get €20 off for a full fill of home heating oil. Instead of paying the guts of €2,000 they might pay €1,980, so €20 off. I do not really know why the Government is bothering because it is so utterly inadequate in resolving the crisis that people face. We know that people have entered into a new cost-of-living crisis that has come on the back of an existing cost-of-living crisis. We know the impact of that. Four in ten parents are either passing up meals or reducing their portion sizes so their kids can eat. This is incredible in one of the richest countries in the world in 2026. Over 40% of renters are in poverty or are at risk of poverty and over 300,000 people are in energy arrears.

How does all of that translate into people who are using home heating oil? A person cannot go into arrears on home heating oil. People cannot fill their tank and say that they will pay the supplier later. They have to pay them to get home heating oil. What all that means is that people do not fill up their tanks and they do not heat their homes. It means people, in 2026, living in cold homes, struggling to get by in cold homes. This will be predominantly poorer people and older people at this time when the Government has a massive budget surplus and refuses to use it to protect people. It is incredible. It stands in stark contrast to what went through last night for the hauliers where the Government backdated the reduction to 1 January, forward dated it to the end of June, while any of the measures being talked about for ordinary households are ending much sooner than that and none of them is being backdated. Fundamentally, what does his come down to? Why is the Government taking this approach? There are two reasons. One is the Government represents those who profit from the various crises such as the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis and the health crisis. The second is that the Government is tied to the idea of the market. It cannot use the massive financial resources that we have to protect people because that would mean interfering with the market. The fossil fuel market that the Government is responsible for keeping us so reliant on is not working for ordinary people. Now is the time to interfere with the market in a major way to protect people. The answer here is so clear. It is in our Bill that we introduced two years ago to provide price controls. On the issue of home heating oil, in our Bill, there would be a €1 per litre price cap. The cap would be €1.75 a litre for petrol and diesel, 25 cent per unit for electricity and 8 cent per unit for gas. That is the answer, combined with giving energy credits to people paid for by the data centres and targeted measures for disabled people, those on fuel allowance and social protection payments. The core of it is to say, "We are going to set the price and we are going to give people certainty." Then we ensure that the price is met and that the flow of petrol, diesel and home heating oil continues by doing two crucial things. One is to empower the CRU to ensure profiteering is not taking place with people taking advantage of this crisis as they took advantage of the previous one. The second is to adjust fuel taxes accordingly to ensure that fuel can continue to be supplied. That is the answer and that is what would give people certainty at this moment.

The other thing we need to do is get away from our reliance on fossil fuel. There are also longer-term issues. The Government should please stop allowing more and more data centres. Please do not have the Taoiseach going to Donald Trump and the US and saying data centres are our priority when it has emerged that fewer than 2,000 people are employed in data centres, which use more electricity than all the homes in the State combined. Let us have State investment in renewable energy and a renationalisation of the energy system to give people affordable electricity and to have a rapid transition.

There are immediate things that could happen. We have been calling for free, frequent public transport for a long time. The Government might not be able to, at the drop of a hat, get the frequent part or provide for the expansion that we are calling for, although there are buses and storage that could be brought out. However, we could immediately have free public transport, or at the very least, if the Government will not do that, a 50% cut in public transport fares. People are struggling to get the money to put the petrol or diesel into their car to get to work. They should be given the option of getting on public transport at a significantly reduced rate, which would also create the habit in people of knowing that they could use public transport. These are the kinds of measures that we need to have immediately to break our reliance on fossil fuels.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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People across the country are waking up to the fact that in moments of real need, the Government again has failed to show up. It is completely unwilling to provide meaningful support where it matters the most. People have been abandoned and left to face the spiralling costs alone. What should have been a moment of leadership, compassion and decisive action instead has been a bluster of hesitation, and the people have suffered. They are met with a Bill that has very little to offer people in their real time of need. The Bill will do nothing for the people struggling in County Donegal. It could have given more but the Government has chosen not to. It has chosen not to help the people and they are already on the brink. They are facing a sudden, unexpected surge in costs that they could never have seen happen.

I know the Minister of State is receiving the same kind of calls and emails that I am receiving. People are absolutely desperate and in complete disillusion. They are wondering how they are going to make ends meet, pay their bills, feed their families and heat their homes, which are the basic needs of a human being. People are riddled with anxiety every time a letter comes through the door or the notification goes off in their banking app to tell them that there is less than €1 left in their account. I have had multiples of calls like this from people. My constituents are living basically down to their final pennies because they trying to feed their families and heat their homes. What am I meant to say to them?

The Government is taking 2 cent per litre of home heating oil. At the end of the day, it is frustrating. The Government is giving with one hand and when the carbon tax comes in the next month, that will be taken away and we will be faced with the same crisis again, and the Government has offered them no solution. That to them equals no hope and people are in despair and overwhelmed by their circumstances. They cannot control their circumstances because they are trying to meet the basic needs of a human being. Last month in Donegal, 1,000 litres of home heating oil cost €940 while today it costs €1,650, which is a difference of over €700 in 20 days. The Government solution is to take 2 cent off a litre and give them €20 back from the €1,000 fill. It is crazy stuff. With that, it still costs €1,630 to fill a tank, which is still a €690 difference in 20 days. The €20 difference is a drop in the ocean that families cannot survive on, and the Government pretends that this is completely out of its control. Everybody says to the Government, "Look at what is happening in the North." In the North, 500 litres of home heating oil is €633 whereas it is €800 in Donegal. The truth is the Government can do more but it has chosen not to and the people are being abandoned. Households have seen their bills spiralling out of control. We have the highest electricity costs in Europe and now the highest heating costs as well. It is unfortunate and devastating for my constituents to be left in these situations. A mother phoned me today saying that she put €5 worth of fuel in her car to allow her to do three journeys to take her children to school six miles away. That will allow her to do so today, tomorrow and the day after and that is it, until she gets paid next Wednesday.

That is what we are down to. People with disabilities cannot afford to travel. They are stuck and isolated because there is no proper public transport to serve them. They are suffering because they still have to heat their houses, as do people who are living alone. The heat goes straight out the door for the owners of homes affected by defective concrete. They have to have the heating on all the time to keep the house warm. As everyone knows, with what is going on up in Donegal, the houses are riddled with damp. This is just putting more of a burden on them. Homeowners face impossible decisions every day. It is not getting any better. The families are working hard to provide a good life for their kids but it is now a question of eat or heat. That is what it has come down to. They feel abandoned.

I ask the Minister of State to please consider this because we are going to be back here in a month. There will be mass protests about this. There is no doubt about it. This 2 cent on a litre of fuel shows the Government does not feel what is going on on the ground and does not understand it. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on heating oil. They need help, not 2 cent.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Hundreds of thousands of people in this country are being impoverished and having hardship imposed on them because of the deranged lunatic in the White House, Donald Trump, and the psychopaths who run the Israeli regime and their bloodlust and warmongering. People in this country cannot pay their bills, cannot turn on their heating and, in some cases, cannot travel when they have disabilities because of the mad dog, Trump, and because of Netanyahu and the Israeli regime. Despite this, our Government still cannot condemn what Trump is doing. It cannot impose sanctions on the regime in Israel he is doing it with.

As we speak, there are people outside asking where is the occupied territories Bill to impose sanctions on Israel for its illegal occupation and its genocidal campaign against the Palestinians. There is now another reason to pass the Bill, which is that people in this country cannot pay their bills because of what these psychopaths are doing. We still treat them as normal states. Has the Minister of State ever seen anything like Trump boasting about the murder of people? Whatever we might think about the Iranian regime, boasting and saying you will kill them all is the behaviour of a psychopath. If you wanted to define "psychopath", that is a psychopath and he is running the most powerful government in the world and collaborating with a regime that is in the dock for genocide.

By the way, the genocidal campaign against the Palestinians continues, including in the West Bank, and is being expanded into the ethnic cleansing of Lebanon, the explicit plan to occupy another country's territory, southern Lebanon, and waging a criminal war against Iran, which has now inflamed the entire Middle East and which is costing every single person in this country to the extent that some people cannot turn on the heating. Despite this, the Government cannot condemn it. It is not only that but it is also facilitating US troops, the people who are doing this to our people, at Shannon Airport. Never mind raining death and destruction on people in the Middle East and setting the world on fire, they are immiserating people here and yet these troops are going through Shannon Airport.

I know how forceful the Minister of State has been about Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. Imagine anybody suggesting that a representative of this country should go and give shamrock to Vladimir Putin, or to meet him at all, and say nothing about what he is doing in Ukraine and allow his troops to go through Shannon Airport. There would be outrage, yet the Government quietly allow US troops go through Shannon Airport while Trump and these psychopaths in the White House and in the Israeli regime continue these crimes. People here are suffering for those crimes, yet the Government continues to take no action whatsoever. It then throws back this pittance, 2 cent on the litre. It is absolutely pathetic. It is an insult. Of course, people, Trump's friends, are speculating on all of this. People are getting rich out of it while all this cost-of-living misery has been going on since 2021.

We are not Johnny-come-lately when it comes to addressing the very issues we are discussing. I have been looking back at our motion, which was the first motion on the cost of living to come before this House at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis. We moved it on 6 October 2021. It referred to the need for price controls on electricity, fuel, petrol and home heating oil. It also referred to the need to boost the retrofitting of homes so that people could bring down their bills. It mentioned the cost of disability and addressing the poverty crisis that exists in this country and the number of people in energy poverty. Six years later, we are still dealing with the same issues. They have just got worse.

In all of that time, the profits of the energy companies of this country have gone through the roof. They have gone up and up. ESB profits, Energia profits and Bord Gáis profits have all gone up and up. People are speculating on oil and all of that kind of thing and they are all making profits at the expense of ordinary people who are suffering cost-of-living misery and who are unable to turn on the heating. Some 700,000 people in this country are living in poverty. They are living in poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. Despite all this, this is the best the Government can do.

The Government can do other things but refuses to do so. I honestly do not understand why unless it is because, as Deputy Murphy said, that the Government is not willing to stand up to these corporations. It can introduce price controls. Has that been done anywhere else? It has been done in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Croatia. Forms of price control have been introduced in Spain and I think that has also been done in Italy. It can be done. The prices of these goods can be controlled to give security to people.

How do you pay for that? Just look at the profits that are being made. We should put a bit of a levy on the profits of the data centres, which are sucking up all of the electricity, or on the record €300 billion that was made in corporate profits last year. In fact, it was more than €300 billion. Profits have gone up by 200% to 300% over the past decade while ordinary people are being absolutely crucified. The Government will not do that, however. It is okay for those companies to profiteer while ordinary people suffer with this cost-of-living crisis.

The Government will not even call out the people who are choosing to make it worse, like Trump and the Israeli regime. It is fairly obvious to me. The double standards are clear. We cuddle up to the warmongers and the psychopaths. We refuse to sanction or condemn them. We grovel before them with shamrock and let their troops go through Shannon Airport. Might these people use a nuclear weapon if things do not go well for them? Some of them would. Some of the Republican senators who support Trump are actually suggesting the use of nuclear weapons. That is just how mad these people are. At what point do we call a stop to this madness and stand up to assert this country's noble tradition of opposition to empire? This country's struggle for freedom started with a struggle against empire, colonialism and the First World War. We should remember that history and heritage and show it some respect, along with showing respect for the ordinary people who are being crushed by this cost-of-living crisis.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The world is quite a scary place right now from the war in the Middle East, including in Iran and Gaza and the West Bank in Palestine, to what we are seeing in Somalia and Russia's continuing onslaught on Ukraine. We experienced hikes in the prices of various goods and services, particularly energy, after the invasion of Ukraine. What we are seeing now is a multiple of that because the Strait of Hormuz plays a crucial role in the supply of oil worldwide and in the supply of rare earth minerals that are crucial to the manufacturing of components we use every day. In many circumstances, it is not just about the crude oil.

What the Government has announced needs to be welcomed. Members across the House acknowledge the difficulty people have been experiencing, particularly commuters in Kildare North going to and from work. There has been an increase in public transport and in the use of public transport but there continues to be a demand and a need for private transportation, particularly for people living out of town and for people with young children. This House needs to acknowledge that public transport works for some people but it does not work for a lot. For example, a family might have two or three children with different drop-off and pick-up times, as well as parents trying to get into work. These are considerations for people using private transport. It is not as simple as trying to ensure everybody uses public transport. However, it should be encouraged and recommended for everybody in the context of trying to take people off the roads and reduce congestion in our towns and villages. Maynooth, Celbridge, Naas, Leixlip, Kilcock and Clane are all choked with traffic. Public transport is one of the only means for us to move out of that particular scenario. I am also thinking of things such as ring roads like the one being constructed in Maynooth at the moment.

In terms of the measures being introduced, it has to be acknowledged that they are targeted, and we have to be cognisant that this is very fast changing situation in the Middle East. It makes sense to extend the fuel allowance by four weeks. It makes sense that community welfare officers are liaising and working with families that are hard pressed and struggling at the moment.

What I would say to anybody listening, particularly in Kildare, is to please reach out to a community welfare officer if you are finding things difficult. If people are not sure how to contact a community welfare officer, feel free to contact me and my office. We will be more than happy to help, as we have been helping many families throughout Kildare.

When we discuss the entire package, it is important to put it into context that we did not take a knee-jerk reaction. There was a month of consideration and looking at how things were playing out and things are yet to play out. It is likely that the price of oil will increase drastically again. What are we to do in that circumstance? The State cannot intervene in every single circumstance. It can only do so much and go as far as possible. We have to think about further down the line when there may be a particular and a desperate need and more of a need. I am not saying that there is not a need now but during the winter months in particular is when the need for home heating is most prevalent. I am not saying it is not prevalent and needed now but we have to be prepared for what might come and is likely to come later this year. We cannot use all of the finances and abilities at our disposal at the beginning of such an event. We have to be cognisant of this and think strategically and long term about how to look after the welfare of the people of this State not just in the days and weeks ahead, but in the months and years ahead. That is what this proposal does. It looks at the situation strategically and the Government is trying to be cognisant of that fact. It is also acting responsibly. I make that argument strongly. It was not a knee-jerk reaction. It was done in line with European Central Bank, ECB, and International Monetary Fund, IMF, advice. If we are to do things in an international context, we have to do what is best practice and what is recommended not only by experts in this country, but international experts such as the ECB and the IMF.

This brings me on to the entire issue around energy and energy security in this State. There is a debate ongoing. We went through the pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal in Shannon and there is a lot of opposition to it. I understand some of the opposition because we are trying to decarbonise our economy and I completely appreciate some of the arguments. However, we have to live in the real world. In the real world, if anything was to happen to the gas supply in this country, we would be in serious trouble. We have only ten days supply in this country. Never mind industry, many people's homes in this country are heated by gas. We are speaking in this House today about home heating oil, many houses, particularly in the commuter belt in Kildare, Dublin, Meath and Wicklow, are heated by gas.

We have to be completely honest with the public. When we talk about energy security, it is not just home heating oil that we are dealing with in this circumstance, we need to be cognisant of all types of energy moving forward. That is why the LNG terminal in Shannon is crucial to the energy security of this country. God forbid if something was to happen to the gas pipeline between the UK and Ireland. We would be in serious trouble. We need to get real around what we are doing about our energy security.

We also need to look at the mix of the energy being used, particularly carbon-based energy. Biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, offer alternatives, particularly when we look at home heating because, by and large, it is kerosene. HVO and biodiesel can play a role in terms of the mix people are using at home. It is a little bit more expensive, and that is something that has to be considered, particularly when a lot of hard-pressed families have to pay an increased cost for home heating oil.

HVO and biodiesel can, however, deliver fuel to this country that is sourced primarily within the European Union. When we look at what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran, for example, we are being impacted by global oil supply chains. If we can source far more of our energy in Europe, particularly our fuel, it will help with energy security into the future.

I have raised the question of nuclear time and again in this House with the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I have also raised it in other places such as the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, which I sit on. Many people in the media and in this House have questioned how France, for example, has been able to keep its energy prices so low. The short answer is it is because it has nuclear. As soon as I have ever mentioned the word "nuclear", people literally go nuclear. They completely cut me off. We need to have an honest conversation. I have not called for us to go building huge nuclear plants in this country. I have asked for a reasoned debate and reasoned consideration by the Department and everyone in this House regarding the viability and the possibility of nuclear power in this country. I am not talking about huge nuclear power plants. I am talking about small modular reactors, SMRs. They are about the size of a house but when we compare that to large nuclear compounds throughout the world, they are quite small. This has been adopted by many countries in Europe and by Canada. It is seen as the way forward and the way to address most energy concerns. We are looking to electrify the vast majority of our lives with electric cars and all of the electrical devices in our homes.

Electricity and the generation of energy is already one of the biggest issues globally. We need to ensure our energy security. We are a small island. We have to import most of the stuff. We are doing a lot around renewable energy, particularly onshore wind, but we have a lot more to do with offshore wind energy. We need to open our minds and perspectives into how we can ensure that we have energy security moving forward. It is about having a mix. We want to decarbonise, and we are doing as much as we can to decarbonise but we should do a lot more. We have seen the success of Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and the retrofitting schemes. A lot of people come into my office in Celbridge and I meet people in clinics throughout Kildare. We are helping these people apply for SEAI grants. The grant schemes for windows and doors have been a great success, as has the wraparound grant scheme. It is about extending that. Older people have been able to avail of it with a bit of savings. I am always conscious of the people who do not have some savings there and the need to provide additional supports for them as well.

When we speak of vulnerable people in relation to the home heating oil situation, as well gas and energy security, it is crucial that in any future supports package, we look at a living alone allowance. When two older people live together, they have the ability to combine their pensions, whatever type of pension it is. It is far more difficult for an older person living on their own - their spouse may be deceased or they could be separated - to pay for a fill of oil or for their rising fuel costs.

It is crucial that we articulate that supports are there for people who are experiencing difficulties. What the Government is doing here is being reflective and being cognisant of the impact on people's day-to-day lives by reducing the cost of petrol and diesel and by ensuring that we have the flexibility and the bandwidth as things change - because things will change, and there is a likelihood that things will get worse - to step in. We will have the financial mechanism and the ability to support the citizens of this State not just in the days and weeks ahead, but in the months and years ahead.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I will start by giving my two cents, because 2 cent is all the Government believes people who use home heating oil are worth. A scabby cut of 2 cent on home heating oil is insulting. It will save a person €20 on a fill of a tank, a fill that now costs around €1,700. Not only is it scabby; it is also underhanded. Very soon, the greedy hands of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will yank this measly 2 cent back off ordinary people by hiking up the carbon tax. They give with one hand and will take back with the other. It is smoke-and-mirror tactics.

The Government voted down Sinn Féin's proposals to completely remove the excise duty on home heating oil. This would have provided real, meaningful relief. Government measures are nowhere near good enough. Half measures avail us of nothing. Even before the conflict in the Middle East began, Ireland was top of the charts. We had the highest prices of petrol and diesel in Europe. We are top of the league. We had one of the highest prices of petrol and diesel in Europe, and we are top of the league in electricity and gas prices. This is a league nobody wants to be top of.

Last week, Sinn Féin gift-wrapped the Government the solution to bring down the cost of petrol and diesel. We handed it to the Government on a plate. It dithered while the prices at the pumps went up and up. Right when people needed the Government, it let them down. It allowed companies to price-gouge and increase prices at the pumps. What amazes me is how quickly garages can put up the prices of petrol and diesel. Straight away, up it goes. It also amazes me how slow they are to reduce them. They were not reduced this morning when I came into work. They were not down at all. This is on the watch of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

I will use my time to discuss the fuel allowance. The criteria have to be looked at. The extension does not go far enough, but the criteria for the fuel allowance need to be looked at. A number of people have contacted me recently in relation to fuel allowance, who, as a consequence of the housing crisis, are no longer eligible. Their adult children may have got an eviction notice and had to move back into the family home. Where their parents would have been previously eligible for fuel allowance, they are no longer eligible for that because a working adult has re-entered the home. That is something that needs to be looked at.

As I said already, gas and electricity prices have gone through the roof. The prices are, as I said, some of the highest in Europe. The Government, in its wisdom, decided to do away with the energy credits which would have helped hundreds of thousands of people across the State. There are 320,000 people at this very moment who cannot afford to keep up with their energy bills. Two thirds of people in this country have less than €5,000 in savings. Talking to the people whom I represent on a daily basis, that little nest egg they have of less than €5,000 has been eaten away. If something comes up with an unintended price, they are unable to deal with it, such as a medical bill. People have contacted me in relation to bills for their vets. They are unable to deal with the things that they would have been able to deal with over the last number of years. As I said, the Government should have done better, could have done better and decided not to do better.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The fuel allowance gave a good rebate and relief to people who receive it. I will always acknowledge something that will yield some relief for people who are under serious pressure, but what went on yesterday leaves a lot to be desired. I spoke to Councillor Declan Geraghty. He has lorries and is one of our councillors in Galway. He told me that while the reductions in excise are welcome to everyone on white diesel and petrol, there is a clear difference between the IRHA and the private operators. Fuel companies, quarry operators, hardware companies, manufacturing companies, retailers, etc., that operate trucks for their own collections and deliveries have been left to one side. That does not require a haulage licence. They do not qualify for the rebate scheme. It is totally unfair and will also lead to an increase in costs for the consumer and will have untold consequences for those companies as sole traders. The many companies that use green diesel in the manufacturing of products have also been forgotten, namely, steel manufacturing, quarries, concrete manufacturing, building, groundworks and civil engineering companies, who are large users of green diesel. This is not good enough going forward, especially for housing and commercial development within our nation.

I have to call the Minister of State out on this one. The fishermen are very angry. He is Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, so this is where he should have come in. They are calling me to tell me they have been forgotten also, on top of the farmers. I am not sure. There was a rebate with fuel for fisheries in Europe one time. I am not sure whether that is still available. The previous Government would not look at it because it was a green Government and they had this assumption in mind that you did not use fuel, which is a crazy assumption, but look. God help people who have that mindset. They are not living in the real world. We would all love to think that we could move into a different kind of world where we would not need fuel. We are nowhere near that in this country at this time.

We do not even have wind energy offshore, something I raised with the Taoiseach in 2022 during Leaders' Questions. I spoke about the Barryroe oil field and the chance that it should be explored and looked at. It was kind of shrugged off and laughed off as a joke. I mentioned in 2022 that we could face serious problems. We have and we are because we have no energy independence. We are depending on every country in the world to look after ourselves. We could well look after ourselves without any other country. We are surrounded by water. That is where wind energy comes into play.

We could have strong potential of an oil field off Barryroe. That was not researched, and when I spoke to the Taoiseach yesterday, he said von der Leyen told him not to do it. Von der Leyen is telling us how to run our country. We should be in collaboration with Europe by all means, but we certainly should not be dictated by Europe on how to get our fuel independence in this country. We should have explored the Barryroe field. We should have further explored the Kinsale field. We will throw all our resources out of this country and now we are totally dependent on fuel coming in from Scotland. God help us if anything goes wrong there, because that will close down the country within two weeks, maybe less. There are ways.

We saw what happened with the home heating. A lot of people are very angry about that. We are talking about the fuel allowance, but still 1.5 million people do not get fuel allowance. They are the squeezed middle. They are the people who get up early in the morning and work in this country to put bread and butter on our table, on the tables of their neighbours and the tables of this country. They have been forgotten. Someone said yesterday that the package the Government put together is better than any package in the world. They are totally forgetting that the Government is robbing 65% taxes out of people's pockets every time they go to the filling station. The Government is taking the most tax in the world. It is easy to say it can give something a little extra back, but it has been forgotten that there may be a way to stop the charges from the toll bridge for a while. There are ways and means around facing the crisis we are in right now.

Let us be honest: public transport, where it is being delivered, is fine. For a number of routes in my own constituency, and I presume throughout the country, people have been told there is no more money in the NTA's purses. Routes that they tendered for in Clonakilty, Dunmanway, Timoleague and Grange six months ago have been pulled out. Imagine. Now they are told there is no money. We will just pass away the time now and call the Government again. People in Kealkill have no transport. Not one iota of transport service is passing their doors in Drinagh and Caheragh. I could keep talking for here forever. It is all right to talk about public transport, but it is not there.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. First, any reduction is welcome. I was looking for figures with regard to NORA. Between €2 billion and €3 billion was supposed to be paid into it since 2007 or 2008. My understanding is that the oil reserves are not just in Ireland, but we have a deal with someone else. The way NORA is set up needs more explanation, to be quite frank about it. The levy going is a good thing.

We welcome the reduction in the price of fuel for white diesel and petrol, but green diesel has totally been left behind. I remember the day myself, Deputy Collins and a few others went into government talks. When we brought up the carbon tax, we were told "No, it can’t be touched; that’s from Europe and that’s it". I have got information from Europe on what is mandatory on all EU states. They must participate in the EU emissions trading system, ETS, which is an EU-wide system that puts a price on carbon for power plants, heavy industry and aviation. The Government decided not to go near aviation but instead to tax the person driving up and down the country. The ETS market works on a "cap and trade" basis. It is not a fixed tax. Every EU country must price carbon in these sectors. This is the only compulsory carbon-pricing mechanism in the EU. What is not mandatory is a national carbon tax. It is actually optional. If you can look at some of the different countries in Europe, you will see that in Sweden it is very high, whereas Germany basically has nothing. The Government has constantly said we have to do this because it is EU law, but there is no law to state that you cannot reduce the carbon tax. I ask if anyone can give me information contrary to that. We were led to believe that this was all a requirement of the EU. If we can bring in legislation today to basically get rid of the NORA levy, there is no reason we cannot do the same for the home heating sector and the agricultural and building sectors.

I spoke to a groundworks contractor in Dublin this morning who is working at houses. Every month, it is costing them €240,000 more now in diesel than a month ago. Is that sustainable? What is that going to do? It will put up the price of a house. Every one of the main suppliers has sent out messages saying that tar, concrete and all the materials are going up. House builders are deciding whether they need to pull back. Those are the facts of what is going on. If the Minister of State wants me to verify that, I will do so. If you go to a site, you will learn that it is €120 a day extra for the digger now in green diesel. You can multiply that by the number of plants that are on the site. Even a generator on a site is on green diesel. When you are finished on the site, you have to go to the quarry to bring stones. The crusher, the loading shovel and every part of the quarry bar the lorry on the road will be on green diesel. These are the facts. We cannot see we are driving up the price of houses because we are leaving the price of green diesel at its current level. The excuse that was used about carbon tax was that we cannot stir it. I have looked for the full breakdown of the carbon tax receipts. It needs to be put on the record. Yes, agriculture gets some of this money. Those who talk about environmental schemes say that the money is going to AEOS and REPS, but the fact is that as much money, or more, was going to environmental schemes when there was no carbon tax as there is now. Those are the facts on that.

We heard about insulating houses and doing all of that. Everyone agrees with that but if we look at the figure to see what was spent, we will see that it was €450 million to €500 million. We are taking in €1.1 billion or €1.2 billion. We paid for everything else all down through the years before there was any carbon tax. What has been brought in is another tax like the USC. I am not saying that the Government should scrap it for good but I am asking that at least while people are under pressure, it should be dropped for a few months to try to give people breathing space. Green diesel is €1.61 today. I got the prices earlier. Kerosene is up there as well. That was being bought at 96 cent or 98 cent, including VAT. Those are the facts. The Government needs to have a real look at this.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I do not think the Minister of State really understands how hard people are hurting at the moment or how disgusted citizens of this country are about the damage being done to their lives by the tax policies of this Government with regard to fuel. I do not think the Government has an iota of understanding. This is one of the most disconnected governments from the real existence of so many people I have seen. There is a chasm between the Minister of State’s experience and that of teachers, nurses, doctors and gardaí working in this country. So many people are forced to work in Dublin, for a start. They cannot afford to live in Dublin because they cannot afford a house there. They are forced to live 40, 50 or 60 km away. Because of that, they are forced to pay massive prices for fuel to commute back and forth on a daily basis. Those individuals - the people who get up early in the morning and make this country work - are the ones who are now struggling. Two-income families are struggling to be able to make ends meet because of the policies of the Government.

Let us be honest about what is happening here. There is a view that the Government is a bystander when it comes to the fuel crisis in this country. This Government is the primary engine of inflation in fuel and its cost in this country at the moment. For sure there is a war, but there was a fuel crisis before the war even started. There were 320,000 people in energy arrears before the war even started. The Government was taking 60% to 65% of the cost of petrol and diesel out of people’s pockets before the war even started. The Government has been robbing the people of this country in terms of fuel prices for many years and is looking to increase the price of fuel year-on-year.

The Taoiseach accused Aontú of being populist earlier because we are calling for a cut in carbon taxes. He does not get it. The Government just does not understand this. You cannot levy a tax on people for a product they cannot afford. There is a social contract when it comes to taxation. That is why we have progressive taxes. People pay taxes based on what they are able to pay but the Government is levying it on a staple - a product they cannot live without - at a rate they cannot pay. It is levying it as if it is a luxury good and its purchase is a form of conspicuous purchasing. It is not. This is the difference between individuals being able to get to work, or not; businesses being able to function, or not; and farmers being able to produce food, or not. The Government is levying it at a rate where people cannot afford to pay it. I do not think the Government understands that. That is the key problem with its approach to this.

We have had an understanding on taxation for many years that we do not over-tax the staples of life, such as children’s footwear and food. Now the Government is going down the road of purposely over-taxing these staples. One of the reasons it is doing so is because it is still imbued with the Green Party agenda of using a stick to get people out of private transport. It is as if the Greens have never left the Government at all. The ghosts of the Green Party are still determining the taxation policy on fuel. I suggest that if the Government wants to get people out of private transport, it should use a carrot rather than a stick. It should provide the public transport that hundreds of thousands of people are crying out for. It should help them to retrofit and get the solar panels on their roofs. People want to get out of fossil fuels - they are dying to do so - but they cannot because of the cost barrier.

I listened to Deputy Ó Cearúil on this matter. Most of the world has realised that you cannot keep taxing energy. Europe even realises that it has become flabby and competitive in the last 20 or 30 years vis-à-vis the rest of the world because it is putting so much taxation on energy at the moment. Europe has suffered economically significantly over the last ten years and is changing direction but this Government is the slowest government to change direction on this. He said the Government cannot step in every time prices are rising. The Government is in the middle of the fuel crisis. It took €4.1 billion out of the pockets of people in 2024 in fuel. Carbon tax, which did not exist ten years ago, is now topping €1 billion.

The Government’s response to people who have seen the price of home heating oil double in the last four weeks is to give a 2 cent reduction in the NORA levy. That is astounding. It has gone from €1,000 up to €1,750 and the Government’s response is to drop it by €20.

5 o’clock

In four weeks, it will introduce another carbon tax hike, which will wipe out that 2 cent. The Minister of State must realise that is an abomination. It is an insult. It is a disgusting response to a whole section of society. I am talking about people who do not get the fuel allowance. These are people who are too rich for the fuel allowance but too poor to survive this Government's tax policies.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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It is good to have a few extra minutes to talk about this. Obviously, this legislation is about the National Oil Reserves Agency 2 cent levy suspension. That makes it 22 cent in total on diesel, 17 cent in total on petrol and another 2 cent reduction on home heating oil. As I have said and others have said, it is simply not enough in the current crisis. I know it is a geopolitical issue, but geopolitics hits people very hard, especially the most vulnerable. We had calls earlier in the year for a €400 support for people with disabilities who face additional costs. Imagine how they are faring right now with this. The excise duty cuts are not going to make up for the fuel price increases. The most vulnerable in our society are going to be affected by it. We need to do more. In that context, I welcome the suspension of the NORA levy, but we need to do more on the excise duties in the short term. In the medium term, we have to move away from our addiction to fossil fuels. As I have said to the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and now the Minister of State, it is happening way too slowly.

Looking to 2040 and 2050 is simply not sufficient. We should be treating it like a wartime situation and moving at a rapid pace. There are people in local authority houses who are crying out for insulation and proper air handling systems that will reduce their fuel costs. That could be done a lot faster than is happening. The types of grants out there are insufficient to encourage people to move away. We need to have more measures whereby if a person is going to save €800 in a year, those €800 savings could go to the cost of their retrofit, even if it is over a 30-year period. We have to be creative about this.

The bigger picture is the fact that our planet is warming at an exponential rate. We are going to face massive costs and massive increases in the costs of living if we do not something. Obviously, that is a collective global cost. While little old Ireland is is per capita a high contributor, we are relatively small in the big picture, so we need to move at EU level. We also need to get the likes of Trump out of power, but that is up to the American people. We have to look at our climate measures. The most effective climate measure is a just transition by making sure that we have alternatives to importing fossil fuels and that people can heat their homes from home-grown production, be it from green hydrogen from excess electricity production, better insulated housing or public transport powered by hydrogen, electricity produced at home or biofuels.

I have said this 100 times and I will say it 100 times more. We have the potential to be a net exporter of energy rather than an importer of €6 billion plus, as we are. That is going to cut costs for our people. With the surpluses we have, we need to support people in the short term when they are getting these price hikes, but in the short to medium term, we need a massive investment in retrofitting and home-grown energy. It is too long to spread it out. We have to say that by 2035 we will double the volume of renewables and storage. We have to look at private wires. We have to look at grid improvements, but we are not. We are just doing little incremental bits, which is not enough in the context of the prices that people have to pay at home but also our long-term contribution to the sustainability of the planet.

We need to get real. I fully support measures, and I want to double the measures being introduced in the short term to help people. We have to start putting in the investment that will pay back in a very short period of time on the grid.

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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We are all deeply concerned about this escalating conflict and the scale of the damage we are witnessing. Now is the time to focus on de-escalation, and this can only be done through dialogue and diplomacy. Only yesterday, we learned that 23 sites of both gas and oil have been destroyed in Iran. These are sophisticated structures and will take time to be rebuilt. This will prolong the fuel crisis we are going through. No government can shield any country from this level of volatility. Therefore, I welcome the targeted measures that are being introduced in such unprecedented times. I note the value of these targeted measures of almost €250 million. I welcome the 22 cent reduction in the price of diesel and the 17 cent reduction in the price of petrol. The fuel allowance will be extended by four weeks. This will have a huge effect on pensioners, carers, people with disabilities and those of low incomes throughout Ireland. It will affect almost 400,000 households. I welcome the news that hauliers and bus companies will benefit from the diesel tax rebate scheme. I encourage the public to contact the CCPC if they are not satisfied that these reductions are being passed on.

We need to look at the agriculture sector. These measures are simply insufficient, especially for the hard-pressed tillage sector. The rising cost of fertiliser, up by over €200 per tonne, is also a major concern. It is as clear as night follows day that this will lead to food price inflation as farmers simply try to recoup their fuel price increase. Many experts estimate that this will lead to a 10% increase on the supermarket shelves.

If there is one thing that we have learned from this crisis, it is that we must expand our move to renewable energies. Our goal is 80% by 2030. This crisis highlights our dependence on imported fossil fuels. We simply need more renewables. We need to expand our capacity, protect our consumers from the volatile markets and accelerate our output of renewable energy. That will entail looking at our planning laws, which must have local consent, and we must also invest in the grid. I welcome the key initiatives that have been introduced to date, especially in relation to the SEAI grants for residential solar panels, heat pumps and intensive offshore wind developments. Ireland is hoping to have 5 GW of offshore energy by 2030. The benefits are clear in that we are going to have energy security. We are going to have reductions in emissions and there will be huge financial savings.

We have been here before with major crises through Brexit, Ukraine and Covid. We will get through this crisis by supporting those who need it most while remaining financially prudent, as we simply do not know how long this will last.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I certainly welcome the measures that have been brought forward, which are quite comprehensive and are targeted at the most vulnerable. I wish to highlight two issues that have been raised by others. One is the case of those who are involved in agriculture. Given the costs our farmers are facing, particularly with regard to fuel and the increasing cost of fertiliser, we need to find a package somewhat similar to that which we rightly found for those in the haulage sector and, indeed, in coach travel.

The other area related to heating that is an issue of concern is regarding schools. One of our challenges is that we pay the same level of capitation to all schools, but depending on the quality of the school building, the cost of heating it can be far more significant. If there is an old school building dating from the early years of the last century or even beforehand, often the costs of heating that are significantly more than is the case for some of the modern and well-insulated buildings, yet we continue to pay the same levels of capitation. A review on the capitation side is needed.

In the long run, we need to look at investing in renewables. We are still too reliant on imported fossil fuels in this country. Even in the case of energy coming into the country, far too much of it is imported. Last year, 17% of the energy used in Ireland came through the interconnectors. It was imported energy. That was up from 15% the previous year and up from 10% the year before that. I am very conscious of the multibillion euro investment in the grid, which is really needed. We need to move as quickly as possible on the private wires Bill, which colleagues have mentioned. We have to have a step change in our investment in renewables. At Cabinet level, there is the clearing house for offshore energy. However, we have to talk about what we are doing with regard to onshore wind and solar and how we can make sure we have a more transparent but expedited planning process in that regard.

Of course, we need to fund it. It is incredibly dishonest on the part of those who claim that they are in support of renewable energy while at the same time, they want to get rid of the carbon tax. There are climate-sceptic parties in this House. They are entitled to hold that particular view but we know that climate change is real and that we need to address the challenge. We need to fund that investment in retrofitting and the move to green energy so it is critical, therefore, that we maintain the carbon tax to be able to fund that. That may be an unpopular thing to say but we are going to continue to experience some of these shocks. We have seen it following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and we are seeing it in terms of what in happening at present in west Asia. Once we see any of these disruptions, those difficulties are going to be faced here in Ireland so we have to stand strong and explain exactly where the carbon tax is being spent. That said, the short-term measures that have been taken are the correct measures to provide support - people are hurting - but I do ask that additional consideration be given to those engaged in agriculture and the school community.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the measures that have been introduced. They were timely and perhaps they could have been introduced earlier if we were agile enough as a State to turn around, identify where the problems are and then deal with them but, unfortunately, we are not. It signals that there is a clear dysfunction at the heart of administration in this country and that we do not plan for the future. I hope the measures are a first step because when we look at what was given to the hauliers, and I put on the record that my background is in transport, much more needs to be done and we have to be able to change what we have been doing very quickly if something else should happen to push prices up because the cost to hauliers will simply be passed on to the consumer. It ends up at the door of the consumer anyway. Similarly, farmers produce our food yet they did not get the type of support they should have got in this basket of supports. Again, if they do not get support with their costs, it ends up with the consumer or it ends up in the pocket of some of the bigger supermarkets all over the country. We all know this from previous experiences but we are not translating it properly into the type of financial support that is needed quickly and immediately.

I have my view on renewable energy and wind farms. I think we are destroying the countryside with them. Where are the regulations that were promised way back in 2016 or 2013? Where are they? We were told we would have them in the first quarter of this year but we do not have them. As long as that happens, the bigger companies push ahead with their agenda but the Government, which is responsible for the direction the country is taking, simply stands idly by and does not engage with this House here or with the communities that are affected in any sort of meaningful way.

I have great concern for the elderly, those living in poorly heated accommodation, young families and individuals living in substandard apartments who must fork out more and more money for the heating systems in their apartments and are not getting a direct support in these measures. In reviewing all of this because it will remain under review while the war continues and the uncertainty is there, I ask the Minister to look at and support those that we know need greater support than what was given to them today.

We should have a debate about nuclear options - about nuclear power and what is happening right across Europe. We are prepared to import it because it was produced that way but yet we are not prepared to examine it fully in terms of the State and how we should be preparing for the future.

The carbon tax is another example of being driven down a particular route to suit Europe. We have a war across many countries that is affecting the world and I would say that in wartime, we should be willing to look at every option that is central to the upkeep of the well-being and coffers of the State and be prepared to make the changes that are necessary to make the lives of people much better.

Reference was made to the retrofitting of homes. If somebody does not have the money to do it up front, it is a nightmare as far as red tape and bureaucracy are concerned. If somebody goes through the likes of SSE Airtricity and avails of its home inspection scheme, which costs €650, he or she will find that at the end of it, he or she will have a nice bit of paper but nothing else. What is being recommended is so expensive that there are many households that simply cannot afford it so let us look at those who do not have something and give it to them.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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If a driver pays €60 for petrol or diesel, this Government takes roughly €40 off that so before the crisis hit, Ireland had some of the highest fuel costs in all of Europe. The Government could have chosen to deliver the maximum excise cut possible on diesel and petrol and remove excise entirely from home heating oil but it chose not to do that. Instead it chose to short-change people basically - to give with one hand and take it back with the other. Four weeks into the crisis, it only acted after a lot of relentless pressure from Sinn Féin and a very angry public that is desperately crying out for support. We got a package of half measures that had to be dragged out of the Government.

I see commuters absolutely livid over this - travelling every day to from Wexford and Wicklow to Dublin and getting fleeced. We are talking about farmers getting fleeced while workers, drivers, bus operators and taxi drivers are still being hammered. Regarding home heating oil, the weather has taken a very cold turn today and sleet has been forecast. Two thirds of households in rural Ireland, including Wexford and Wicklow, rely on home heating oil to heat their houses but the Government even plans to increase the upcoming carbon tax. The price of a fill has doubled in a matter of weeks. A measly cut of €2 is basically an insult. We are talking about maybe a €20 reduction in a fill that can cost up to €1,700, which is a massive amount, so this is really a drop in the ocean compared with the surge in prices that workers and families are being forced to pay as well. The Government could have adopted Sinn Féin's proposal to completely remove excise on home heating oil because people are really struggling. We are talking about 320,000 people who are now saying that they cannot afford to pay their electricity bills. One in four people are saying they cannot afford to pay their gas bills. What the people need really are meaningful supports. I was contacted today by bus and coach operators-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I think I have another half minute.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy does not. Deputy Ó Murchú is up next.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with Deputy John McGuinness, which is not the way I expected to start this speech. I agree with him that there has been a lack of flexibility and agility on the part of Government. I do not accept that enough has been done with regard to the cuts to diesel and petrol. I do not think it is sufficient for those out there who are suffering. As little as that was, it would have been better if this had been introduced three weeks, two weeks or one week ago but we could not and we were waiting or the Government was assessing and people already were under severe pressure because of the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting many. If we're talking about particular cohorts that are under pressure, they include those with disabilities, who had €1,400 taken off them from one budget to another, so these are the sort of things that need to be dealt with. Again, I do not think enough has been done.

We do not know what is going to happen. Donald Trump may be negotiating with himself at present. He may intend to bring this to an end or he may intend to start some sort of invasion, and I cannot even imagine what other chaos that is going to bring. The Israelis are quite happy to continue bombing and causing destruction. Whether that is what they have done in Palestine or what they are doing at present in Lebanon or in the wider field of the Middle East, none of it is good.

This Government had one job, and that was to look after the people in Ireland who are suffering. We have all spoken about coach operators. We have spoken about those in agriculture. We have also spoken today about community nurses that are under pressure. This is not going to be enough to facilitate them doing the work they do. The same goes with home carers. None of it is good enough.

Carbon tax is also about dissuasion and that does not matter if you have alternatives. The fact is the Government is taking away as it gives.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Bill is about security and I am blue in the face screaming and asking for quick changes to this.

I also concur with Deputy Byrne about the possibility of using nuclear power, particularly for its efficiency. I propose that we put it in his constituency, because the problem with most issues in this country is the Nimbyism. No one wants it in their own constituency, even though it would benefit the Irish people.

I also concur that we are importing from France and we are going to make ourselves more dependent. I have said before and will say again that during the world war Churchill tried to limit the amount of coal coming to Ireland to force Dev's hand and end our neutrality and one of the worst things a country can be is energy dependent and to not have security of supply and security of infrastructure. Ultimately, this is the truth for the Irish people and for Irish businesses. We have seen that in the past few days.

We are debating oil reserves. We are continuously discussing the LNG terminal proposal at the climate and energy committee. We saw, in 24 hours, a sharp rise of nearly 23% in the global cost of LNG. Does this show that this proposal to add energy security is not doing that at all? Would we be putting it into a decentralised grid? If adding one more point of failure to add energy security is what we are proposing, adding multiple points of failure is what we should be doing. Let us consider what the Germans are doing. They are moving from a petrostate to an electrostate. This is happening across Europe but it seems that we are not acting fast enough.

I welcome some of the work that ESB and EirGrid have been doing and I welcome that there was a huge amount of work done on the system before they started. There are amazing engineers working there who I have met. It is just not happening fast enough. The Government's proposed private wires Bill will speed up the process and I hope that my Bill will get drafted before it passes.

I mentioned the Laffan facility, one of the most important LNG hubs, previously and how it has driven up the price across the globe. Through higher bills, higher costs for businesses and a loss in competitiveness, we are importing the vast majority of our energy. However, if other European countries had the potential that we have on our seabed, with offshore renewable energy, ORE, and with wind, they would be grabbing it and supplying it. They would be a producer of green hydrogen. They would use gravity storage. They would be use everything and benefit their people as much as possible.

What happened to the majority of our oil and gas? We gave it to a foreign country to benefit their people. There are people in these countries who were benefiting from Irish oil and gas.

We still are not building quick enough. I welcome some of the developments from ESB in respect of ORE but it is not being done fast enough. Ireland is reliant on foreign direct investment, FDI, and if it leaves us exposed, it is not good. We cannot build an energy system based on dependence.

At a meeting of the climate and energy committee earlier, I was reading the recent data comparing energy prices across Europe. We had representatives of Engineering Ireland before us. It was a great discussion. The other Deputies and the Senators on the committee were talking about the cheaper countries, Sweden and Finland, and the most expensive, the UK, but who is coming in near second only Ireland? The conclusion is unavoidable. If that gap continues, business people are the people who are struggling but we can protect them.

As I always say, I do not like to come in here and give out; I like to offer a few solutions. We all know there have been some changes to port marshalling where now we can invest in ports. I, again, welcome the investment in Cork Port that has allowed for possible more ORE to be developed but I know from replies to my recent parliamentary questions that other ports are being examined. This needs to be done. Belfast has a backlog of free bookings for its ORE for another country. Why cannot we have more ports that can develop ORE?

Onshore wind facilities are much easier to build but it is not as efficient. It has a longer lifespan, though.

We are still in many ways a petrostate. We are dependent on imported fossil fuels. Now we were going to be spending close to €1 billion on energy security, which will last us how many days if we did lose connection? It is one more point of failure.

What we need is private wires, of course, but also a simpler system that gives the regulator, the CRU, the authority to approve projects whether they make sense without the unnecessary barriers or certain exemptions, because we see how that happens. We need a single regulator as the decision maker. We have seen it across planning, for example. When there are too many people making decisions not in parallel but systematically, it delays everything. If we put one person in charge of this decision-making for our energy system, it will benefit the Irish people.

It is all about resilience. We are saying that, whether it is invested in our long duration energy storage so we stop wasting renewable energy - millions of euro is being lost by solar farms and wind farms when there is too much sun and too much energy - the acceleration of our offshore wind, which I have spoken about, marine energy or green hydrogen, which we could speak about. Professor James Carton, my old engineering professor, has spoken to the Department about this. He might have persuaded me while he was teaching me in college to be pro-green hydrogen.

I spoke about the delivery of port infrastructure and, crucially, the decentralisation of energy production.

Another issue that we have constantly referred to, and other Deputies have mentioned in the debate, is a very quick solution. People in apartment dwellings who do not have access due to a management company owning their apartment building cannot build their own solar systems. A plug-in solar system scheme implemented by the German Government has had a brilliant uptake, so much so that it is doing it again. When I asked why plug-in solar was not allowed in Ireland, I was told by the Department that there was a consultation done in 2024. I have asked who gave the bad reviews, because I presume that it is solar installers who do not want someone to be able to plug in a system in their apartments. In north Dublin, I represent people who are financially struggling and living in apartments who would love to lower their energy bills. This is a quick simple fix that needs only a regulation change that we can provide. Constituents have been crying out for it since I have been in here, for instance, renters and single mothers who are struggling at the moment who can lower their bills. Plug-in solar is a clear option. If it was not safe - one of the answers I got back from the Department was that due to EU regulations it cannot be done - how are the Germans doing it? It is low cost, it is scalable and it empowers people. That is the best part. We are still behind and if we are serious about energy independence and reducing people's bills, it is a quick fix.

Another issue we need to discuss is how we are still relying heavily on gas. I understand, and think it is funny, when people say, "the energy transition". It is more like the energy demolition and rebuild, because the changes that we need in the State to be energy independent are going to be huge.

I welcome the investment that the Government has committed to ESB, but the speed at which things are being done is the reason the private wires Bill is being proposed and why we are missing out on investment opportunities. Foreign multinationals, when they are coming to Ireland, cannot believe the delays in building small-scale infrastructure for renewables to power high energy users, industrial users or someone who requires energy. The problem is we are within a system where expensive gas is setting the price of electricity even when most of the power generated is far cheaper and we need separate low-cost renewables from the expensive fossil backup and we need to expand long-term contracts, which was mentioned at the committee, and reward storage and flexibility.

It would allow consumers to benefit from cheap electricity when the price changes. We should not have a fixed price, but we should also not be averaging low-cost energy into permanently high bills. The Irish people should benefit when the Irish system built by us is producing energy. We also need to rethink the grid and building more infrastructure.

I have to let Deputy Danny Healy-Rae in. I wish to conclude by saying this Bill matters, but it is only part of the answer. The real challenge is bigger. It is about moving out of dependence and into independence. I welcome the development of the Minister, Deputy Chambers' critical infrastructure Bill. I hope Government will use that to benefit the Irish people and to make a change as fast as possible. I have given the Minister of State one solution about plug-in solar, and I would love to see that implemented.

We can go back to private wires and long duration energy storage another time.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to have the opportunity to speak again on this very important and emotive subject. While I thank the Government for the positive elements with the increases and the help it is giving to some of the haulage industry, a great portion of hauliers will not benefit from the tax rebate because they do not have a haulage licence. Even the live exporter members who were in our committee a while ago will not benefit from the rebate. They will benefit, of course, from the reduction at the pump, and I asked for that here last Wednesday. The people who are paying at the pump should benefit at the pump.

We are told the Government is benefiting by almost €40 million extra each week since the price went up. For the next ten weeks, the extent of what is being spent is around €25 million a week. Of course, we welcome whatever we are getting but the talk on the phone today, and every Deputy's phone is busy, but mine is exceptionally busy today because of the number of people with tractors who are up in arms and who are saying they are going to do this and that and that they will have to be heard. Three cent, when the price of diesel has been increased by 70 cent, is not sufficient and is not good enough. The people with kerosene or home heating oil are also very hurt by this. Two cent a litre for them is not enough either.

I spoke twice last night but I am here tonight to ask Government to go back and if there is no way to give a reduction, it must give a subsidy. The Government must do something for these people. We were able to do it for the Ukrainians and for many other things but we have to do this for our own farmers who are producing food. Some of them are small farms and some of them are big enterprises, but they are all paying a massive sum now for diesel. It was 98 cent per litre before the bombs and now it is €1.68. There is no change in that.

One fellow told me he had ten tractors and he is a contractor. When he fills them in the morning, it cost €6,500 for one day. That is the extent and amount as they are tractors to do big work. The Minister of State will know, as Clare is no different to Kerry, that since Christmas and before it, no farmer could go outside the gap to spread slurry or to do anything. Most of it is there to be done now, and many fellows are wondering whether they will bother planting the grain now. I ask the Government to get together to come up with some formula for next week. It is more important than anything else to ensure this important sector of our community.

There are many industrialists coming and going, and we wish them all the best, but every farmer tends to stay where he is. None of them is going to emigrate and they are not thinking of doing anything else. If they start their farm and get stuck in, they generally finish up. They were proud to get the places they inherited from their parents or grandparents or whatever but they want to hand it back in the same fashion or better than they got it. They want to hand it down to their sons and daughters but they are having trouble with that because of generational renewal problems at present. Many young fellows are now asking why should they be working the weekend when all the fellows they went to college with - because all these farmers' sons and daughters went to college - and all their friends are not working the weekends. When they see something like this happening with fellows going around with their caps in their hands and who do not know what they are going to do, how they are going to continue or pay the oil man, people will stop up. I ask the Government not to let this go farther than next week and to do something positive together to help these people.

Some people are saying that because there was no excise on green diesel, they will not get it back. We must give them a subsidy; there is a way around it. There is now 70 cent of a difference since they were working away and farmers were under pressure enough to keep going with all the rules and regulations they have at the present time. The price of diesel was dear enough before it went to that and before it finished up at that price. It was only 39 cent per litre back in 2020, which was a short five years ago. They are worried now that this will be the same, where they could finish up at €1.40 or €1.50, and it will not work that way. I am not fighting. I have no gripe in the world, personal or otherwise, with the Minister of State but I am explaining it to him here and to tell the Government clearly that this cannot continue without being addressed. The cut of 3 cent was a proper insult, as well as the 2 cent cut to the home heating oil. Not everyone is getting the fuel allowance as many people who should get it are not getting it for one reason or another. The home heating oil is all they have.

As I have said to the Minister of State previously, the cost of electricity has gone up day by day since the day Bord na Móna was scrapped. We have no control in the world; we have no regulator. There are different ESB companies that are charging different amounts and putting it up by so many percent, and others are bringing it down. There is no law and order with these ESB providers and the regulator must be brought to task. I do not know whether it was by design or whatever but on what I will call the day before last night, all the pumps jumped to €2.28. It is not only one or two here and there, but it is every pump along the road that went to €2.28 and I am worried about that. Did this happen to the Minister of State on his journey here? That is what I have seen. That is very unfair if what I think has happened is happening.

I appeal to the Minister of State. We are trying to work together here for the benefit of the country but a whole lot of people are very dissatisfied with what came out of here last night. I ask the Minister of State to address it next week and as soon as possible. If the Government cannot refund or take money off it, it must give them a direct subsidy towards it whereby when they show you a receipt, they will get so much back. I appeal to and urge the Government to do that, on behalf of the farmers and the tractor men all over the country. On another small thing they do, which is not a small thing really, last Sunday, about 50 tractors landed into the sports field in Barraduff to fundraise for the cancer link bus from Kerry to Cork. They do all that kind of fundraising out of their own pockets. We would not have the cancer link bus if it were not for those fundraising efforts, which mean so much to people who get sick in Kerry.

The Government should think of that in its deliberations. That is happening Sunday after Sunday, week in, week out. The Government should think of what that means in real terms to real people who are sick.

My main focus when coming up here last week was to look for help for hauliers and tractor men. That is the greatest demand I have today. I will be back again next week, asking the same things. I appeal to the Government to work to do something about the price of green diesel and to lower the price of heating oil. It has to be done, one way or another.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the contributions of all who spoke in the debate today, some down standard political lines, but others fully understanding and cognisant of where the Irish economy and the various sectors are at. They are really negatively impacted by the massive disruption to the supply of oil from the Middle East to the Irish economy.

At the outset, I thank Deputy Danny Healy-Rae for his comments. I know where he is coming from. As the Minister of State with responsibility for the fishing sector, I know there is no immediate solution because the oil that is used does not carry the same taxes as petrol and diesel at the pumps, so there is a difficulty. I take the Deputy’s point with regard to the subsidy. The difficulty with subsidies is that they have to be paid for from somewhere else, and it is a challenge to try to burden some other sector of society. It is a transfer, effectively, or a tax that would have to be raised elsewhere, so that is a challenge.

What the Government did this week was to look at the tax model through the excise. I know that some have sought to represent that as being mean or not being an appropriate response, but it was the only response that could have been taken, unless we were to start looking at raising taxes elsewhere. Others have sought to undermine the carbon tax. In fairness, Deputy Healy-Rae did not go down that road.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am against that as well.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that. The reality is that the carbon tax funds significant investment in reducing aspects of our economic dependence on fossil fuels.

Some Deputies talked about a weakness in the SEAI grants scheme. We have brought forward simplification measures, which I am sure we will get to in due course. We are bringing in a grant scheme for windows and doors to help people to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes, so their dependence on fossil fuels is thwarted in the best possible way. We have to continue that, notwithstanding the price shock that is there at the moment. It is the appropriate way. There are good grants for wall and attic insulation, and increased grants for heat pumps. We have to drive that ahead. The funding for that comes from the carbon tax.

I sat on the committee. I managed to get the party that I represent, from an Opposition perspective at the time, to support the introduction of the carbon tax. There was a political challenge, frankly, but the members of the party bravely took the decision at the time. We did not suffer electorally for it because the public actually wanted to hear how we take difficult decisions. It is not always possible for the Government to rectify issues that are from a different source. This shock to the oil system comes from outside our shores. It is beyond our control. Yes, we can reduce certain excise duties or try to assist people who are in greatest need in a targeted way, but that comes at a significant cost.

Nearly everybody had an ask this evening. I respect and understand that, because my phone rings too, my office is busy and we hear the concerns of people. However, it is beyond the capacity of the Exchequer to resolve every aspect or facet of this. We hear how the European Union intends to address the consequential rise in interest rates. They will rise as a result of this, inflationary pressures will increase and it will have an impact on food stocks. There has been a kind of knee-jerk reaction by some to immediately get in and address the price increase on fuel alone, but there will be other consequential impacts that will have reverberations throughout the economy. The Government cannot carry all of that. The only way to do that is to raise taxes elsewhere, which will further add to the burden. We have to be careful. With any measure that we bring forward, we have to be able to sustain it. All of us in the House, regardless of which side we are on, know that there is no clarity as of today on where this ends. We would like to hope that this issue will come to a head shortly, that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened up and that oil and gas will start to move around again. However, there are backlogs in the system, refineries have been taken out and the entire supply chain has been disrupted, so there is a significant way to go.

Others sought to have the standard go at the data centres and said they only create a small amount of money. Data centres create a very significant reduction in the use of energy, when we see, in a co-located environment, the racks that would ordinarily sit in offices or other buildings dotted around the country. That consolidation leads to an energy reduction. Some on the hard left seek to set that at naught.

I want to pick out Deputy Gogarty, who, in fairness, is on the message here. Carbon taxes are about reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and we have to move ahead with them.

Deputy Whitmore had a concern that the funding that comes from NORA and is used for significant other investment streams would, somehow, be lost as a result of this. NORA is significantly well funded and has the capacity to meet all its demands in that regard. The Deputy talked about bringing forward amendments because she felt that, somehow, the reduction of moneys going to NORA would go on for 18 months. That is not the case. My understanding is that the provision in the legislation gives the Minister the flexibility to retain this in exceptional circumstances, if there is sufficient necessity, but it is just for the initial period of time, as set out. However, rather than having to go back to primary legislation in the event of any further uncertainty, this provision is there. My feeling is that the Government is aligned with Deputy Whitmore, but rather than having to burden the House again, flexibility is created there.

As the Deputies are clearly aware, the Strait of Hormuz is a key transit route for approximately 20% of global oil supply, but this has effectively been closed since 20 March. That is the cause of all of this. Together, we have a responsibility to the economy as a whole to try to hold our trajectory.

I know that people have identified that this is the transport sector versus the tractor men, as Deputy Healy-Rae would have said. We support farmers in so many different ways. However, by also supporting the haulage sector, we are supporting employment and supporting the capacity of our productive sector to get goods to the market. I know that farmers and fishermen will rightly make the same claim, and we will have to look at that in due course.

With regard to home heating oil, again, because it does not carry the same taxation model, it is not possible to adjust it in the way that was done for petrol and diesel. However, we have looked at targeting the most vulnerable by a further month’s extension of the fuel allowance. That is significant, particularly at a time of year, May, when we would hope the weather has improved, and there is not the same dependence on oil or gas to heat the home.

We have tried to bring a proportionate response. We are trying to be responsible with taxpayers' money. When anybody is looking for more money to be spent here, it is taxpayers' money and money that has already been allocated in the budget. Some political parties have the stock answer that there is a surplus. Multiples of that surplus get spent on a daily basis here and we must be careful about that.

We have to continue with the transition away from fossil fuels. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle indicated a desire to look a nuclear reactors. That may or may not be something the Government will look at. I have my worries about it. In my constituency it is a phenomenal challenge to get a wind farm built. There is a lot of push-back. I regularly ask constituents if they would take a nuclear reactor instead. I have to say the response is not all that positive. Maybe it is different in Kilkenny, or is it Carlow the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has in mind? In all seriousness, we have to respond appropriately, with compassion and in a way that is sustainable. We also have to show, as a Government, flexibility to the vagaries of what is going on in the Middle East.