Last night, in Baltinglass in rural west Wicklow, I met a group of 12 people. These were small businesspeople ranging from contractors to farmers. What they all had in common was the massive impact of the fuel crisis on their livelihoods. These were very reasonable people whose livelihoods are under threat. The package announced ten days ago will not solve their problem. It does not cover all contractors, such as those working on building sites, and there is little confidence the rebates proposed will happen quickly.

I urge the Taoiseach and his Government officials to do two things. First, will they engage with the contractors not benefiting from the scheme to ensure they are included? Many of these are working on house building sites, which we know is so important in this country. Second, will they ensure the scheme is simple and pays out quickly so that those who are suffering see an immediate benefit?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Material hauliers are covered but I accept some contractors in specific sectors may not be. I will engage and ask Ministers to engage with the relevant groups there because we want the packages either for transport or for the agricultural contractor area to be inclusive. We do not want people excluded. The proposals have been worked up in the Department of Transport and they are being worked up in the Department of agriculture. We are very conscious of the need to get this formulated as quickly as possible so that people can benefit from the rebate, which will be quite significant going back to March for the agricultural areas and for contractors more generally. I will take on board what the Deputy has said, particularly about any gaps for any particular group that might be unwittingly or unintentionally excluded.