The war in the Middle East is spiralling out of control and the impacts are already being felt. Prices for home heating oil have already shot up by 40% which means people having to find an extra €250 or €300 for a 500-litre fill. Who has that kind of money? Gas prices are also skyrocketing within the UK, with the UK recording a 100% increase in wholesale prices in just two days. That is the biggest ever 48-hour increase since records began. We are particularly exposed to these extortionate price rises in this country because we already have one of the highest prices of electricity and energy in the EU. Electricity and gas prices are still 60% to 80% higher than they were before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Government has done nothing to investigate this gouging. When will the Government do more than just talk about the extortionate cost of energy in this country? We have 320,000 people in arrears on their electricity bills and as the war continues things will get much worse.

There is no question that people under pressure. We introduced targeted measures in the budget. I do not know whether the Deputy agrees with a targeted approach.

We want targeted.

We did that in the budget and one of the manifestations of that is the fact that 50,000 people this Thursday will get the fuel allowance who otherwise would not have got it in previous years - those on the working family payment. They will get back pay of about €380 next week but they are getting notification this week on Thursday. We keep everything under review and it is important that we do that. We understand the potential pressures on people. Agreements have already been reached with the company in terms of hardship cases. People will not be disconnected in any shape or form. The exceptional needs payment is there as well for anyone in particular difficulty or in need.