Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate "RTÉ Investigates" on last night's heart-wrenching and infuriating programme on domestic violence. I say "infuriating" because there are so few practical supports for people who suffer from domestic violence. We cannot stand in this Chamber any longer and allow this gender-based violence to continue and increase. This morning, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, said that the third strategy on domestic and gender-based violence would be released very soon. I ask that as soon as that happens we have a debate in the House about it. This strategy needs to be robust, well financed and ensure that at every step along the way the victim is minded. They just need to be looked after to make sure that they are safe and that they have a safe place to go to be looked after.

During the Order of Business a few months ago, I asked for a debate on the rising cost of living. We all hear that. We all live in the real world and, no matter what sound bites the Opposition likes to throw out, we know that the rising cost of living is a real and major problem for people. We all go to our petrol stations and we all have our bills, but this week the Government will, hopefully, have a real robust list of targeted supports for people who are vulnerable.

I also ask for a debate on how we will expand our energy market and make the transition from fossil fuels to wind and solar power. There is a major debate to be had on how we make sure that we have a proper energy supply in the interim before we are carbon neutral. We all want our energy to come from sustainable and renewable resources, but there has to be a strong debate on how we get to that point fairly for all our citizens.