Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will pick up where Senators Wall and Eugene Murphy left off in referring to the shocking incident in Ballyfermot. The viciousness of the attack beggars belief. The community is terrified by the actions of these cowboys and their total disregard for gardaí. If we have a debate on this matter, which I hope the Leader agrees to, we must look at strengthening laws in respect of people who attack gardaí, stop them from doing their word or record them and distribute the video on social media. These are areas that need to be tightened up. We must look at longer jail terms for anyone who contemplates going down this road. I back Senators Wall and Murphy in that regard.

The ESB was formed in 1927 to modernise Ireland through electrification. There was a great revolution at the time, which some people referred to as the fire in the wires. There was a big scare about the ESB's electrification programme, which we now know made us a modern country. The ESB should still serve the people. It is not doing so at present. The prices being charged and the bills businesses have received have gone through the roof. The ESB is putting them out of business. The cost of gas and power on the wholesale market is a multiple of what the ESB is charging. The cost of power is lower than what it was before the Ukraine war. The Minister should call the ESB in to have a serious talk. Its representatives should be brought before an Oireachtas committee to discuss the company's policy. It was very quick to increase prices at the first opportunity but when given the opportunity to work with businesses, it is not doing so. This is not good enough.