Níl ganntanas gaoithe againn in Éirinn; tá neart gaoth againn. A windy island on the edge of the Atlantic, our potential for clean, cheap energy is immense. We could and should be a green energy superpower, exporting electricity to the rest of Europe. Instead, we are laggards. People are stuck paying the highest electricity bills in Europe. There are now more than 300,000 households in arrears. People are unable to pay for the basics in a country that is supposedly rich. Some €523 million worth of wind energy was wasted last year because of our crumbling grid infrastructure. That was 10% of all the wind energy produced. Meanwhile, the Government's insatiable appetite for data centres is cannibalising any increase in renewable capacity. The red carpet is rolled out for data centres while people freeze in their homes. It does not need to be like this and should not be.

Fine Gael has been in power for 15 years and there has not been one single offshore wind farm built in this country. We have had 15 years without proper investment in the grid and 15 years of being chained to volatile gas prices in a time of global uncertainty. Wholesale electricity prices in Ireland are nearly four times higher than in Spain. Spain is now producing enough solar and wind energy that electricity prices are no longer tied to gas. While the Irish Government has dithered and delayed, Spain has delivered. We can act quickly by rolling out solar panels. They are relatively cheap, easy to install and immediately bring down people's electricity bills. However, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, the Government’s grants are out of reach for people struggling to pay their bills. This failure to deliver is not abstract. It is felt by ordinary people every time they are hit with a bill. This is the legacy of the Tánaiste’s party’s decade and a half in government.

The Government has the resources to help people now while investing in our future energy security. We should have wind farms in our seas and solar panels on every home in the country. Our bills should be some of the cheapest in Europe, not the most expensive. Will the Tánaiste support the Social Democrats’ solar for all plan to break our dependence on fossil fuels and give struggling households the clean and cheap electricity they need?

I thank Deputy O’Callaghan. I will come back at a time when we have longer than three minutes to debate my party’s record in government, but I will debate it anywhere, with anybody, at any time in terms of the state we inherited this country in in 2011, the progress we have collectively made with our coalition colleagues since then, and the progress this country has seen across a whole variety of economic and social issues. Perhaps that is for another day, but I am not going to have a widespread, snide slur made on the record of my party.

The Deputy is right on the need to do more when it comes to renewable energy. I have already said in this House that, to be fair, the Deputy’s party has put forward ideas that definitely merit consideration. Some of the Social Democrats’ ideas around solar - I think I said this last week - merit further consideration. We as a Government will be looking at what more can be done in the budget in October to assist with what is an energy crisis for the world and an energy affordability crisis for many people. We have taken a number of measures in the here and now to try to assist people with fuel prices. The Minister, Deputy Heydon’s fuel support scheme for farmers is an example, with more than 3,000 people applying so far. There is the scheme for hauliers and the reduction in the cost of fuel at the pump. There have also been the changes made by the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, in terms of retrofitting grants, which we are seeing good responses to. There has been a very significant increase this year and last year in the number of people looking to get windows or doors replaced or to get solar panels. That is going in the right direction.

I am not suggesting that the Deputy is, but we can sometimes be fatalistic about climate, climate action and our ability to make progress. We saw the most recent emissions report of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in recent days confirming progress for this country. Ireland's recorded overall greenhouse gas emissions have reduced for a third consecutive year. We have managed to grow the economy and reduce our carbon emissions, proving that it is not a choice between economic growth and climate sustainability. We saw a decrease of 6.8% in 2023 and a further decrease of 2% in 2024. Ireland now has its lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years, which is notable, given the fact that our population has increased by 1.5 million people in that time, there are 1 million new homes and there are 1 million extra vehicles on our roads. We are making progress. We have seen electricity generation from renewables increase fivefold since 2005. In February, which was only a couple of months ago, wind energy provided a record 50% of our electricity and Ireland has reached a record circa 8 GW of renewable generation capacity, up from only 4.8 GW in 2020. We are objectively making real progress in terms of our switch to renewables. That is true.

The Deputy is not saying it, but all too often, it is a question of do we want this or that. We have to continue to grow our economy and not suggest it is a choice between being on the side of the planet or of economic growth. It is possible to do both. This country is proof of that. The Social Democrats have put forward constructive ideas on what more we could be doing around solar power, and we will give consideration to them in the time ahead.

Fine Gael is 15 years in government. It does not have a single offshore wind farm to show for that entire time. Has the Tánaiste nothing to say for himself?

We should be a net exporter of clean electricity to Europe. Instead, we are one of its biggest importers of fossil fuels. We have the highest electricity bills in Europe because of the Government’s failure to deliver in terms of renewable energy. It is fine for the Tánaiste to say repeatedly that the Social Democrats are putting forward good ideas, the Government will look at them and they have merit, but we need it to act. People in arrears on their electricity bills need it to act. Why is the Tánaiste just saying that our proposals merit consideration? Why does the Government not actually take our proposals on rolling out solar on the scale we need and bring down people’s electricity bills by approximately 40%, break our dependence on fossil fuels and take the kind of action we need to be a world leader in renewable energy, not a laggard? Why is it taking the Government so long to act in these areas?

I have loads to say for myself, I can assure the Deputy. I am in a Government and leading a party in a Government that is managing to see emissions fall in this country for three years in a row while growing the economy, creating more jobs, seeing wages rise and seeing more homes built. It is entirely possible to do more than one thing at a time in government. It is not fair to say that we are not making progress when it comes to climate. We objectively are. We are proving that despite the ideology of some, it is possible to grow the economy in a sustainable way. I have never bought into the view that it is a choice between one or the other. Yes, we need to protect the planet but we also need to make sure that people have jobs.

These data centres are not the bogeyman the Deputy likes to paint them as. They are a very important part of our economic model, literally fuelling jobs, economic growth and taxation across the country, and the Deputy will come in next week with an idea for how I should spend the taxes. Before we spend money in Ireland, we have to generate it. The National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, gave a very significant warning to the Oireachtas today. When was the last time anyone came into the House with an idea as to how to grow the economy rather than just spend more money?

We will look at more ideas around solar in the time ahead. We have already taken action. There are more people qualifying for fuel allowance and household benefits than ever before. We are reducing the excise on diesel and petrol and there are support schemes for farmers and hauliers. We are not having a mini-budget every Thursday.

Those ideas-----