A recent report has shown that a 1,000-litre tank of oil now costs €1,700 to fill. That is almost double the price of €900 in February and that is the highest on record. Older people and those on the State pension in particular, who are on €288 per a week, cannot afford to absorb that kind of rising cost. The fuel protests were not just about fuel. They were a cry for help from the Irish taxpayers who are tired of seeing their hard-earned money handed over, only to be squandered while they struggle to stay afloat.

What did the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage choose to do in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, while people were struggling to pay for fuel and groceries? He went to the High Court to get an injunction against people cutting turf in Galway. This has had a horrific impact on the local people who relied on that turf as their main source of heating. They are the people who did not accept the once-off payment to allow rewetting because they would not walk away from their right to cut turf. The Government has said that these schemes are voluntary but families are being forcibly stopped from using turf. This country is importing peat from Egypt while telling Irish families that they cannot access the land they have used for generations. It is an absolute scandal that a Minister would seek this injunction knowing the harm it would do to families and that it would cut off their access to fuel. Most of them are elderly people. One in seven homes are in arrears with energy bills. Families have contacted me who are in dire situations and who rely on charities to buy groceries. I cannot tell them to get on the SEAI website and apply for solar panels when they cannot even afford milk and butter. The disconnect is huge. I ask the Minister for housing to reverse his decision and recognise that for many people, turf is their only option when it comes to heating their homes.