I have never seen such anger as is among the general public in our country at this time. The simple truth that families, businesses and ordinary people are telling me is that this Government is grinding the country to a halt and we must get it out. The Rural Independent Group raised the crisis with the cost of fuel in the Dáil well before the Ukrainian war and with a broad smile on their faces the Government heaped carbon tax on the innocent, good and hardworking people of Ireland. Even after yesterday’s pathetic decrease, fuel is over €2 per litre and for every €2 of petrol bought this hungry Government’s tax takes over €1. For every €2 of diesel bought, it greedily takes €0.98 of tax one way or another. Since this Government took office, carbon tax has jumped from €26 per tonne to €41.50 per tonne, something Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Greens, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats supported at the time. The next jump in carbon tax will take it up to €48.50 per tonne as the Government continues to destroy our economy.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Taoiseach keep talking about their dreams of renewables, knowing full well that they are mocking the public because the renewables we really need are at least ten to 20 years away. I and others agree with the need for these renewables but as they are not here now or anywhere near being here in the foreseeable future, we stay on course with reality while the Government continues to dream.

It was not long ago that I put a great proposal from a west Cork company of putting a floating liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal in Cork Harbour on the Government’s table. This would have given us a continuous supply of energy until other measures come into place but the Government refused to work with the company, a decision which has cost this country dearly and a decision that will come back to bite the Government on the leg. It is because of these shocking decisions the Minister is making, with the aid of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, that the people of Ireland have been severely suffering in recent months.

The Government announced a 20% reduction in public transport fares in its first mini budget in recent weeks and I presume the Minister would have pushed for that. If we had public transport in rural Ireland this would be welcome. This 20% decrease will aid those travelling on the DART in Dublin, those travelling on the train in Dublin and those travelling on the Luas in Dublin. It also aids those who travel with Bus Éireann but most of the people in rural Ireland totally depend on private bus operators.

I mention one private operator, West Cork Connect. It runs the best service available in west Cork, from Skibbereen, Clonakilty, Bandon and Innishannon to Cork and back several times a day and from Bantry, Drimoleague, Dunmanway and Ballineen to Cork and back on the other side. West Cork Connect has invested hundreds of thousands of euro and the Minister and this Government are doing all they can to put it out of business as it is not eligible to pass this 20% decrease on to its customers. The same is true of GoBus and Aircoach. They also cannot get the 20% decrease so they must try to deal with crippling fuel costs and compete with a fully subsidised Bus Éireann, even where the private bus operators provide a service that this State cannot provide. The Government has done everything it can to destroy what they have built.

Transport comes under the Minister’s brief. Will this 20% decrease be given to the private operators that mainly serve rural Ireland routes and that are encouraging our youth and elderly to use these services, or was this farcical 20% decrease only intended for Dublin people in the main?

The switch to this renewable and local fuels future will have to be accelerated and I accept that. It is here and I just checked my phone to get the latest figures. As we speak we are using about 5,500 MW of power for lights, heating and our electricity systems. About 3,500 MW of that is coming from wind, particularly from the west, the north west and the south west, including in west Cork. We can use that and we can start planning to store, share and switch it. We can turn things on and off so that we use it in efficient ways as part of the solution and we will have to accelerate that. Our country will be rich and prosperous on the back of that; we will never be safe, secure or wealthy by giving our money to distant countries and regimes that we do not agree with. Let us work together to deliver that more quickly.

It is not just in electricity but we will also have to do it in transport. I agree with the Deputy and we have talked at length about the need for better rural bus services. The Connecting Ireland bus plan that we have is the most radical and probably the most important public transport project we have. I would love to work with the Deputy on how we would run a bus service from Lowertown out to Goleen and back to Schull, Skibbereen and every town and parish along the route.

I agree with the Deputy that private operators will also be critical; it will not just be Bus Éireann or public bus services. Those companies have done a remarkable job, particularly during the Covid period and we stood with them during that time. I met them at various stages and when they asked for support we agreed. At every turn when I went to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, to ask for more money because their fares and numbers were down he agreed because we needed to keep them running through those difficult times when the passengers were not there. They continue to provide that service and they are also part of our public transport service. We have continued with that support.

Even though the masks are off, schools are back and people have returned to work, we are continuing to provide Covid support to the private bus operators and we did so deliberately for a variety of reasons. For example, we recognised that we cannot provide the 20% reduction as easily, quickly or immediately for those private operators as we do for public transport companies. There is a simple reason for that. It is no lack of regard or respect for those companies or the work they do but we do not control, set, manage, monitor or operate their fare systems. What the customer pays the driver for those services is nothing to do with the public bus service. We have no control or management system to put the sort of change the Deputy would like to see in place. We will continue to work and look to give every support we can to them because they are a vital part of our transport network. Part of what we do in responding to Mr. Putin and saying we will not use his fossil fuels is to switch to public transport, including private operators.

I thank the Minister for his reply but it alarms me on so many fronts. His Department is anti-rural as it refuses to give this 20% to rural bus operators to pass on to their customers. I also have worries on other fronts. In addition to the plight of our fishermen and farmers and the state of our health sector, I have consistently raised the issue of the security of our national energy supplies in the Oireachtas in recent years. Tragically, all of the dangers I have raised and warned the Minister about have come to fruition. For example, we are paying through the nose for our oil, gas and power. Despite my best efforts the Government has refused to address my concerns.

As an elected Member of the Dáil I must act on behalf of my constituents and in the best interests of the Irish nation. The Minister needs to act in the nation's interests, not in the Green Party's interests. I wish to point out that I have asked the Minister numerous times in recent years about the officially commissioned report on security of energy supply. Where is this report and why is it over a year late? We are in an unprecedented crisis and it seems that the Minister is not able to take decisions on the national gas supply due to party politics.

The Minister talks about Connecting Ireland; €350,000 is all that each company will get. In County Cork we will only be able to deliver two services that are there already, not new services. These operators need a 20% decrease. Will the Government give it to them or will it refuse it to rural Ireland and keep it for the capital? That is where the carbon tax of this country is going. It is going to people who stay in Dublin, in the capital but not to the people of rural Ireland.

There is no need to shout.

I am not talking to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, but to the Minister. I am well able to talk to him and I do not need any lecture from the Deputy.

There is no need to shout.

I am talking to the Minister.

Can everyone calm down?

Talk through the Chair.

The Deputy can make his point without shouting.

I can make my point without any interference from the Deputy. I did not interfere with her.

Deputy Collins and I were neighbours for many years in LH 2000 and I am sure he had the same experience as me. Does the Deputy remember the first day he walked through the gates of Leinster House and getting a tingle in his spine? We all share something in our constitutional and democratic Republic that when one is elected as a Deputy for a constituency one represents all of the people in it. The Deputy represents all of the people in Cork South-West and I represent all of the people of Dublin Bay South, regardless of who they voted for. If they voted for Deputies Andrews or Bacik I still represent them. When we are elected as Deputies we have that tradition that we represent all of the people.

If I were to give advice, and I think everyone gets this anyway, when Deputies are elected and are in government, they are not just thinking about everyone in their constituency. They are thinking about every constituency across the country. We all act and serve in the national interest to do our best for all our people. That is the Republic we live in and what the Proclamation tells us.

The report on energy security needs to be concluded quickly. One of the complications is that we have a lot of interest in Cork, as an example, which is looking to see that there is the potential to convert the significant wind energy we have offshore to hydrogen in Cork Harbour, on Whiddy Island, or in Bantry Bay. It is complicated to understand if it is the right investment or what else we need. We will have to conclude that quickly, but we will do it in a way that gives security and looks after the best interests of our people.