Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like other colleagues, I commend our colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney, on a remarkable achievement in 24 months. We all know how slow Government can be in getting things over the line. This was done relatively quickly when one considers the challenges and difficulties and the fact that a committee was set up. It is great that it has happened. Well done to Senator Seery Kearney.

I encourage people who are in business to take advantage of the business energy support scheme. It is designed to help businesses with energy costs. One can claim up to 40% of the difference between a bill this year and a bill last year. The Government is stepping in to give vital supports to businesses to deal with rising energy costs. We can take some hope from the headlines this morning that the cost of diesel and petrol is back to what it was this time last year. Slowly but surely, we are seeing a recalibration in the right direction of the cost of fuel, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, in this very cold period. At least when people fill up their oil tanks, they will not be charged as much as they would have been three or four months ago. It is a small ray of hope in the distance for something that people can benefit from.

I support Senator Buttimer's call for statements on the weather situation. Every six or 12 months, we need to be briefed in this House on our readiness to deal with weather emergencies. Weather emergencies are now happening much more frequently than in the past. As representatives and leaders in our communities, we need to be fully briefed on what the emergency response will be, depending on the weather warnings.