Rising costs are blowing a €2,000 hole in average household budgets this year. That is in today's Irish Independent. The cost of food, health insurance and energy are all soaring. Ireland has the highest household electricity prices in the EU, as Eurostat has confirmed. The Government's words of sympathy for struggling families are meaningless because it is failing to take action to cut energy costs. It is hunting with the hounds and running with the hare and the hare has got its brains too, it seems. We saw a hare-brained notion from Deputy James O'Connor that nuclear power somehow represents a solution to the crushing cost of energy here but as the Deputy has not acknowledged, in countries with a planning system that actually works, nuclear still takes 15 years to come on stream at a minimum. The stakes for hard-pressed households and PAYE workers are just too high for this sort of public brainstorming exercise form Fianna Fáil TDs.

We in the Labour Party welcome national conversations about energy security but not at the expense of actual delivery. Let us look at delivery. In Ireland, we are still at best four years away from delivering any offshore wind energy. That delay is due to lack of Government ambition and government focus. It is deeply regrettable because unlike nuclear, wind power offers feasible, scalable projects. Other countries have led the way on renewables. Let us take Spain, a European leader. More than half of Spanish electricity is generated from renewables. Its government, a labour government, saw which way the proverbial wind was blowing four years ago when Russia mounted its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Spain rapidly ramped up renewable energy capacity, achieving 75% low-carbon electricity generation last year. Solar and wind power are significantly lowering energy bills in Spain. Why are we not doing the same? Our climate boasts plenty of wind but without turbines it is going to waste. As a result, people here are wasting hard-earned money filling the coffers of oil and gas giants. Households here pay €500 more per year for electricity than the EU average. Why does the Government not focus on rapid delivery of renewables? Instead of delivery, it seems that Fianna Fáil are the Don Quixote of Irish politics; it is frightened of windmills. What else can explain the delay? There is so much more we could do. It is not just wind energy; there is also plug-in solar and enhanced battery capacity. Renewables can drastically reduce household bills. We need them to cut emissions and meet climate goals too.

The Government is failing to insulate people from the cost of energy now and failing to ensure the future of our younger generations. Its go-to solution for energy shocks is subsidies for fossil fuels and energy companies are reaping windfall gains. Where is the windfall tax that could fund targeted energy credits, as Labour has sough,t and where is the climate action plan for 2026? It was due in January and still has not appeared. When will we see the Government take action on renewables to cut costs for struggling households?

The Deputy mentioned that Spain was at 50% renewables for electricity generation. Last February, 50% of our electricity generation was renewable. I believe the Deputy is misleading the House in her political characterisation of the Government in respect of renewables. We have been driving renewables for quite some time over successive Governments. In terms of offshore wind, I established a clearing house in my Department that meets with the industry, Departments and regulators to remove systemic potential barriers to offshore wind delivery. We have had a series of auctions. We have a number of offshore wind farms in the planning process. Surely the Deputy must know that. While she exaggerates and makes silly statements about Don Quixote and all that nonsense, it is far too serious for that. She says she is interested in national conversations and then lambastes Deputy O'Connor for initiating a national conversation. Where is the consistency in that approach or the logic in what she is saying?

France is a good example where there is a combination of sources, with nuclear being one. It will take time but we have to have these serious conversations and examinations. I made it very clear last weekend that our main focus was on offshore wind, and we have made substantial progress on onshore wind. The reason for the high cost of electricity in Ireland is, yes, an isolated grid with a lack of interconnection. We have two gas interconnectors to Britain and we are on the cusp of completing an interconnector with France. We have also initiated discussions with Spain about an interconnector with it because Europe needs a comprehensive grids package to reduce our historic dependence on imported fossil fuels. We rely substantially on imported gas, which increases and exacerbates the price situation in Ireland vis-à-vis other countries. In purchasing power parity in the European Union, we are the fifth highest, which is too high. Structural reform is the way to deal with that but that will take time. There is no point in pretending it will not. We have our offshore wind targets to 2030 and 2040 of up to 20 GW and I believe we can achieve that. If the Deputy talks to those in the industry, they acknowledge that Government is engaging proactively on that topic. However, we also have to alleviate pressure. The Deputy scoffed at the idea of subsidies for fossil fuels. At the moment, people need supports. I am surprised. Is the Deputy now against what we did in subsidising the costs for people out there motoring or involved in our trade, or in farming and agricultural matters?

Things are serious. They are serious for the many thousands of families and households in arrears on their energy bills. They are far too serious to be toying around with distractions about nuclear power when we know the solution lies in the scalable projects of renewables. The Taoiseach speaks about a Government focus on renewables, but it is clearly evident, particularly since the Green Party left government, how there has been a slowdown in Government commitments on climate and on renewables. Last week almost 60 countries met in Colombia for intensive talks to forge a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. Ireland's decision to send a senior civil servant rather than the climate Minister speaks volumes. The Government is not taking this seriously. I used Spain as the example. Let us look at the Eurostat figures. Last year, Irish electricity cost 40.42 cent per kWh. That is 40% over the European average and well above the Spanish cost of 24 cent. The figures speak for themselves. The figures for the households in arrears speak for themselves and we know the answer. In opposition, we supported the MARA legislation, but there is still no urgency on rolling out renewables to help struggling households.

It is a big political untruth to suggest that since the Greens left, we somehow reduced our commitment to renewables.

It is evident.

It is a deliberate misrepresentation for political purposes, and that is all, but it is false and it is untrue.

Since this Government was formed we have established a clearing house, which my good colleague, the former Minister Eamon Ryan, refused to do, although industry wanted to engage. The one difference we have made here is to facilitate the engagement of industry to stop the them-and-us approach and work systemically on the barriers to successfully deploying offshore wind farms. We are making progress. There are significant challenges globally in that respect, with supply chain issues and the United States approach to wind. We are in a good position in terms of the auctions we have already held and the submissions to An Coimisiún Pleanála that have already occurred. We have had engagements with MARA and with An Coimisiún Pleanála. The Critical Infrastructure Bill will be very significant in enabling us to prioritise-----

The time is up. Thank you, Taoiseach.

-----what is a critical issue for the country-----

I call Deputy Holly Cairns. The time is up. Thank you, Taoiseach.

-----namely, the development of offshore wind.