The Government now has a legal obligation to cut peak-hour electricity demand by 5% over the winter and a voluntary obligation to cut both gas and electricity demand by 10%. What policy tools has it identified to deliver this? As well as protecting people from higher prices, it is very important that we help them to reduce their usage so we become more resilient. I suggest that the revenue from windfall tax be put to facilitating this. Smart meters, shallow retrofits, sharing platforms and solar can all be part of a national resilience campaign. They would get a massive boost from such revenue to do that. The Tánaiste has said how fitting doors to fridges in many of our supermarkets could help to transform usage, but there is not sufficient support for that to be undertaken. Will the Tánaiste consider that?

The policy tools are differential pricing, which now exists, and also the Government ad information campaign encouraging people to reduce energy use and, where possible, to use energy at times when it is more efficient. I would never tell anyone when they should or should not cook the dinner but it is fair to say that when it comes to things like using the washing machine or putting on the dishwasher, it is possible to do that in the morning or at night-time, rather than between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The windfall tax does not quite exist yet; it must be legislated for. We have not raised any money from it yet, so no decisions have been made as to how it will be spent. It is additional revenue that we will have next year to assist us in reducing the cost of energy for people and businesses, if needs be.

I agree with the points the Deputy made about solar and micro-renewables but I would be disinclined to fund that from windfall tax because it will have to be sustained rather than being a once-off.