This morning I was informed that the price of fuel will increase by 7.5 cent per litre on the wholesale market. This will mean a 9 cent increase at the pumps within 48 hours. I predict that by St. Patrick's Day we will have passed the €2 mark. We understand much of this has to do with the very unstable situation in eastern Europe, which seems to be getting worse. Whatever happens, and we all hope there will be peace as quickly as possible, we are still months away from the stabilisation of fuel prices. This will hit people throughout the country in urban and rural areas. In rural areas, where we do not have the transport network, it will really come down very heavily on families in particular. I know this is difficult for the Government but I suggest we should look at trying to freeze fuel prices for three months because it is a huge crisis. This will have a knock-on effect on food prices, as we all know. I understand fully the difficulty for the Government. I understand it is a massive challenge. I accept that we will all have to suffer a little if we are to stand with the Ukrainian people, which we all want to do. At home the time has come to look seriously at freezing fuel prices for a couple of months at least. I know it is difficult because the revenue is needed for other areas but we need to do something. We will have a terrible crisis here in a very short time if we do not do something.

I concur with Senator Murphy's comments on fuel. We seriously need to look at this. I have a small station and I got a delivery at 7.30 a.m. this morning. The price has increased by 5 cent a litre. It is only on an upward spiral. As Senator Murphy said, we will be looking at a price of €2 by St. Patrick's Day. This is having a serious knock-on effect on the transport industry. I have been speaking to people in the bus industry in recent days. They have been severely hit by it. They are day-to-day consumers. We have to address this issue in some way.

I have raised the issue of the N4 on a number of occasions. The Deputy Leader is well aware of the section I am speaking about as she travels on it also. The lead local authority is Westmeath County Council with regard to the design office. Instructions have been given to the consultants that the funding is not there to continue with the project. Funding has not been provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. There are ten identified routes in play at present, particularly in County Longford. We need funding to be put in place to find a preferred route, to continue the consultation process and put the preferred route back out to consultation so we can have a final identified route. Let the people know where they stand. A serious amount of land is frozen. Family homes and farms cannot be built on. People do not know where they stand. This has to be a priority. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and TII must put the funding in place to allow for these projects. It is not just the N4. There are other projects in the south of the country. My priority is the N4. It is the most important project that should be funded.