The proposer of the motion will have 16 minutes and there will be six minutes for every Senator thereafter.

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

agrees that:

- energy and fuel are essential to everyday life, with households, families, workers, farmers and businesses depending on affordable and reliable access to electricity,

heating and transport;

- the cost of energy continues to have a significant impact on household budgets, the cost of living, business competitiveness and the cost of providing goods and services

across the State;

- high fuel and energy costs can have a disproportionate impact on older people, people with disabilities, low-income households, rural communities, commuters, and those

living in homes with poor energy efficiency;

- affordable, secure and reliable energy is fundamental to Ireland’s economic competitiveness and to maintaining living standards;

- Ireland must continue to pursue a long-term transition towards secure, renewable and lower-cost domestic energy while ensuring that the cost of that transition does not fall disproportionately on households and businesses;

acknowledges:

- the impact that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict in Iran has had on the price and supply of crude oil and that de-escalation will have the single biggest impact on reducing prices;

- the Government has already taken significant action to address energy and fuel costs, including reductions in Mineral Oil Tax on petrol, diesel and marked gas oil during 2026, reductions in the National Oil Reserves Agency levy, enhanced support for the haulage and passenger transport sectors, and targeted supports for farmers, contractors and fishers;

- the Government extended the Fuel Allowance season in response to increased fuel costs and, under Budget 2026, increased the Fuel Allowance from €33 to €38 per week and extended eligibility to families receiving the Working Family Payment;

- the Government has extended the reduced nine per cent VAT rate on electricity and gas until the end of 2030, providing a continuing reduction in the tax burden on household energy bills;

- that Budget 2026 provided a record €558 million for residential and community energy upgrades, supporting measures which can permanently reduce household energy demand and heating costs;

- the Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the EU per head of capita totalling over €1.3 billion, targeted at households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, and businesses;

- the Government established the National Energy Affordability Taskforce to identify the drivers of high energy costs and develop short, medium and long-term measures to improve energy affordability for households and businesses;

- the Government has invested €1.5 billion in the ESB for electricity infrastructure;

- that the carbon tax revenues are supporting the fuel allowance, home retrofitting and the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme for farmers;

calls on the Government to:

-continue support for households most exposed to fuel and electricity costs, with particular regard to pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, low-income working families, those in rural areas, and households experiencing energy poverty;

- examine the impact of increased energy bills on elderly people living alone;

- support those homeowners who rely on kerosene to heat their home, the majority of whom are in rural areas;

- continue to support sectors particularly exposed to fuel costs, including agriculture, fisheries, haulage, public transport, construction and other energy-intensive sectors, while protecting employment and regional economic activity;

- accelerate the delivery of the National Retrofit Plan, with a particular focus on fully funded and accessible upgrades for households experiencing energy poverty and improved access to supports for older and less energy-efficient homes;

- continue to expand investment in renewable electricity generation, grid infrastructure, storage and interconnection, with the objective of increasing Ireland’s domestic energy security and reducing exposure to international fossil-fuel prices but prioritise new solar farm planning guidelines and update wind energy guidelines;

- progress reforms identified by the National Energy Affordability Taskforce to address the structural drivers of high energy costs for households and businesses; and

- continue their engagement at an EU level to explore windfall tax on energy firms that have made excessive profits.

I second the motion.

The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, can indicate whenever he wishes to speak, if that is okay.

I am sharing time with Senator Cathal Byrne.

I thank the Minister of State for being here this afternoon for this very important Private Members' motion that we are bringing forward on behalf of Fine Gael Senators. From the outset, we must all appreciate and acknowledge that this is an external crisis in terms of the incredible pressures that increases in fuel and energy costs have caused to every household right across the country and across the Continent, because of factors outside of our control. People are feeling the pinch and in some cases households are acutely exposed in an unprecedented fashion, whether that be those working in the haulage sector, in agricultural settings or in intensive industrial sectors. This is the worst the world has ever seen in terms of an energy crisis centred on the Strait of Hormuz. It means that families in counties right across the country are feeling a pronounced pressure and pinch. That is why we are calling for additional supports to ease the burden on the families and sectors most affected to make sure that there are supports and ways that ensure those who are most vulnerable in our society - the elderly and those who are in fuel poverty - are given confidence and support to make sure they are warm and looked after in their homes this coming winter.

It is a very timely opportunity for us to bring forward this matter in a constructive way ahead of the budget next week. We also recognise the supports that have been put in place today, with the package of over €1.3 million targeted at the households I mentioned - farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers and businesses. Per capita, it is one of the largest interventions in the EU. We should put that on the record and acknowledge it here today as well. We appreciate that the Government cannot do everything because it is a global energy shock, but it has acted decisively and crucially at every moment and in an agile way. That has been done and more can be done. I look forward to hearing more about that today and in the coming days.

Being from County Mayo, I know at first hand the contribution of renewable energies in terms of decarbonising our energy. The 20% supply of gas that comes from the Corrib field on the coast of County Mayo is also contributing to our supply. We need to make sure that we shield consumers from all of the aforementioned shocks. Something that I have raised on the climate, energy and environment committee is the 13.2% of wasted energy that comes from dispatch down. That is where turbines are turned off because the grid cannot handle the capacity that is required to realise that energy potential. When we think of the opportunity that exists, it is worth over €600 million per annum in terms of wasted energy. I have brought forward proposals on residential battery storage for households that can help to capture excess energy, improve the energy independence of households, reduce bills, address wasted energy and decarbonise our energy use. That is something that needs to be seriously looked at so that we capture wasted energy and allow households to capture electricity at a nighttime rate when it can be one third of the cost of electricity. That would be a strong way to rebalance demand, which is generally higher in the day. Battery storage would allow households to realise and capture energy at night when it is a third of the cost and release it by day. That is something that needs more attention. It is more of a longer term play, but it could be a fairly quick win for the State if it is rolled out.

I would welcome the Minister of State's consideration and thoughts on the short-term challenges. The fuel allowance benefits 470,000 households, which is very significant figure. Increases to that cannot be understated. The warmer homes scheme, which is retrofitting houses across the country, is an incredibly good news story in terms of mitigating the exposure we have to the fuel crisis at the moment. While there are extreme challenges at the moment, we need to bring it to a head, understand how reliant we are on external factors and try to repatriate that reliance and have more independence in terms of our energy. We are doing that strategically, but where the grid cannot catch up we need to have novel and creative ways to make sure we can help those who are most exposed to the volatility.

Ultimately, peace in the Middle East is the best outcome in terms of realising all of these challenges, but as Members of the Oireachtas we should do as much as we can and advocate to encourage the Minister of State and the Government more broadly to make sure that we can support the vulnerable and the businesses that are most exposed to it, ensure that we can keep costs down and that we can keep competitive as a country, and reaffirm our efforts towards better energy independence for the country so that when the next crisis hits we are much more resilient and can respond in a much more effective way. We would not need to respond as much if we had the proper infrastructure in place and the proper schemes and programmes in place for households and businesses alike. I thank the Minister of State for being here. I thank him for his work on this. I will hand over to Senator Byrne.

I thank the Minister of State very much for being with us today. There is no question that up and down this country at the moment, on the tip of everybody's tongue is the question of what is going to happen in the budget this day next week. We will know the details but it is very important for me and my colleagues to put forward some of the suggestions we have around what we feel would be an adequate set of supports for people who are really feeling the impact of the cost of living and, in particular, the impact of the fuel crisis. That is what my colleagues and I have set out to do. I very much support our motion. The fact that there are no Opposition amendments to it make the case for what we should have in this Chamber, which is a collegiate sense of doing the right thing to support people who are hard-pressed.

Let us not be under any misapprehension but that this fuel crisis is as a direct result of what is currently taking place in other parts of the world. I am thinking in particular of the war that is taking place in Iran and the knock-on impact that that is having on international fuel supplies, particularly on oil getting out of the Strait of Hormuz and across the world to our island. It is important to recognise that it is not the Government that sets international oil prices but supply and demand.

That is not to take from the role the Government can have in excise duty, taxes and levies. So far this year, we have seen a €1.5 billion allocation directly taken from the Government's surplus to support businesses, individuals, families, farmers and other people up and down the country who work very hard day in, day out and who through no fault of their own really do need support at this time. That money has been spent in a number of different ways. In my area in County Wexford, farmers have needed and benefited from the supports that have been given. As part of this motion, it is important that those measures that were put in place to support farmers be extended and there be certainty for the agricultural sector about how long those supports will be in place. The Government previously came forward and said that the supports would be provided for as long as they were needed. It is very important that we put our case on the floor of the Seanad directly to the Minister of State and say that the crisis is not over yet and the supports must be continued. It is important that we not hide behind anything and that we be upfront and make that case clearly.

The vast majority of rural people heat their homes through home heating kerosene oil. For ordinary families up and down the country, the bills coming through their doors to heat their homes are far too much. We in Fine Gael genuinely feel that there has to be a clear, targeted measure to support families with the price of home heating oil, a price that is set at international level. There are supports that the Government can bring. We would encourage the Government in its budget next Tuesday to bring forward those supports.

I am thinking particularly of individuals who come into my offices in Wexford and tell me that they are grateful for the fuel allowance support. We know that about one quarter of households are receiving the fuel allowance, which is an increase, particularly given the fact that individuals who did not qualify last year were able to qualify this year. We in the Fine Gael group want to see the fuel allowance extended in recognition of the impact that the fuel crisis is having on hard-pressed families up and down the country.

I want to be clear that there are measures that will require the Government to spend a considerable amount of money. It is important to recognise that we are in a position to do so because the economy has been carefully managed through crises in the past and this Government continues to be prudent in how it spends money so that in difficult times like these, it is able to deliver financial support to those who most need them. We hear day in, day out from the Opposition about how there is a need to spend more money in one area or another, but we are all in agreement that the fuel crisis is hitting families up and down this country through no fault of their own. While there will be a drive towards decarbonisation, more solar panels, renewable energy, offshore energy and all of those things, we have to see clear, targeted measures in next Tuesday's budget to support those who are most affected by it and who are not in a position to put in solar panels or benefit from offshore renewable energy that might come in three, five or ten years down the line.

I am very happy on behalf of my colleagues to second this motion.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to deal with this important matter of energy and fuel costs. I also thank the officials from the Department who are here today. It is timely to have this discussion.

At the outset, I want to say that protecting agriculture, forestry, horticulture and farm viability will be the centre of my contribution to the debate on energy and fuel costs. Without a viable agricultural sector, food security, rural employment and the resilience of local economies will be in deep trouble. Energy security must be central to budget 2027 and I have no doubt from utterances from the Government members and, indeed, the Opposition that it will be a central part of budget 2027. That is an important focus that the Government has chosen to take and lead out on. I want to acknowledge that.

The cost of fossil fuels has virtually doubled in the last year. I welcome the proposed kerosene boiler scrappage scheme that was announced informally yesterday but formally today. That is a positive and welcome intervention. As part of budget 2027, I am calling for a number of measures. I am calling for a reduction in the levies and taxes on fuel across the board generally, given the set of circumstances in which budget 2027 is now going to have to be framed. I am calling for enhanced financial measures on renewables. I am calling for a halt to the proposal to phase out the selling of solar power back to the electricity grid. It has been confirmed by a number of newspapers in the last week that there is this proposal on the phasing out of selling solar power back to electricity grid. Selling solar power back was a positive intervention and one that was marketed and sold as a positive contribution in terms of people's partnership and active engagement. That is an important issue to look at.

I am calling for greater support for the Irish horticultural industry, which is heavily reliant on energy for production. Greater supports for protected crops and mushroom producers are central to any vibrant, profitable horticultural food sector. It is a particularly vulnerable sector due to its reliance on energy-intensive production - heat, cooling, water, irrigation - all of which requires the use of energy to be successful.

Dairy, beef and tillage farmers, along with agricultural contractors, are facing soaring operational costs, which threatens overall food production and, indeed, profit margins. That is simply not sustainable in the long run. I acknowledge the fact that the Irish Farmers' Association, IFA, made a detailed submission to the Department outlining significant exposure to growers in relation to the increased fuel and energy costs. The IFA works collaboratively with the Government and the Government has engaged with it in pre-budget talks. That is an important facet and one I want to endorse in terms of the IFA's asks of Government in the context of budget 2027. I hope that the IFA recommendations and those of other farm representative organisations and bodies will form part of the Government's central response to the sector in budget 2027. The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Harris, has acknowledged that fuel, fodder and fertiliser are the top challenges facing the sector. He has also acknowledged the need for targeted responses and interventions, and I hope those will be seen in budget 2027.

Turning to solar energy, we cannot have a situation where solar farms impact negatively on highly productive agricultural land and our communities. I have been to counties Meath, Tipperary, Cork, Cavan and Galway where I have met with communities that have real challenges in this regard. There are no specific planning guidelines in place to deal with solar energy development.

I acknowledge Senator Kennelly, who had a Commencement matter in this House only a few days ago. On 22 October 2025, the Minister clearly said there were no guidelines in place at that time. Surely it was important to call that out and certainly that must be happen. This must be a top priority for Government along with reform of the outdated wind energy guidelines. A national planning statement for solar energy needs to be fast-tracked and it needs to include appropriate environmental assessment and, more importantly, meaningful, not meaningless, public consultation.

I draw the Minister of State's attention to the national energy affordable task force interim report of 2025. This document and its successor contain the keys to reform in terms of social intervention and taxation intervention. It has to be measured, targeted and responsive. When I started, I said I wanted to focus on agriculture, horticulture and forestry. These are critical areas that require diesel, green diesel, fuel. I spoke earlier today about the billions of crops that we are importing into this country. This is a country where we grow beet, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and broccoli very successfully. We have to support the horticultural sector. When I talk about protected crops I am talking about soft fruits and crops that are under cloches, tunnels or glass houses. They need energy for ventilation, irrigation and light. They need energy to sustain their businesses. I ask for these matters to be taken on board. I know this is not budget day. I thank Fine Gael for tabling this motion, which allows me and others on this side of the House to make a contribution to the bigger debate about energy, its costs and its impact on sustainable enterprise and sustainable agriculture, food and forestry.

I too welcome this debate, which might be the first of many debates will have on energy over the coming years because, of course, it is one of the frontiers of our geopolitical landscape and something we will be dealing with for many years to come. We all live in the real world. We know that people are under pressure. We know that fuel poverty is a real thing. Many people are looking towards the winter with great trepidation.

The Strait of Hormuz is central to all of this. The Government is very aware of it and very concerned over the ongoing conflict. The diplomatic efforts that we partake in at every level are the key to unlocking this. We have had unprecedented success with our diplomatic efforts in recent years. I think particularly of the visit of President Trump a few weeks ago. Many parties in this House and the other Chamber want this Government to boycott any visit of an American president. It was a coup to actually have such time and have a positive engagement with the president because that soft power is something that we can utilise hopefully to bring about some positive change in the global sphere.

We are well known for our peace efforts. The Government should take a greater role in trying to solve the current Middle East conflict. Of course this is not the only conflict. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on fuel security right across Europe. The Government very swiftly dealt with that when that incursion happened. However, we are where we are. We are in a position to offer significant support and we have offered significant support over the past number of months in particular because of the prudent management of our economy, because of setting up rainy day funds, because of setting up of all sorts of schemes and being able to manage our way through this process.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is actively monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation and its implications. It is a moveable feast and every day we can see the price of oil and diesel going up. There is only so much that the Government can do but the Minister has set up a cross-governmental national energy affordability task force chaired by his Department. It continues to work at pace to assess the implications of the Iran conflict on energy affordability in Ireland and to identify appropriate short-, medium- and long-term responses. This is key to delivering the appropriate responses in the budget next week.

I am in the same boat as most people in this Chamber. We are just reading the reports we are not privy to what is going on. However, I know fuel affordability is to the forefront of the Minister, Deputy Chamber's, mind and the Taoiseach's mind, particularly the cost of home heating oil used mainly in older and less energy-efficient homes. Older homeowners might not be in a position to upgrade their homes as many people have done in recent years. I was particularly heartened to see the boiler scrappage scheme announced yesterday. I look forward to that having a real impact on the ground because, as I said, older people might not necessarily be able to afford the full cost of upgrading their system and decarbonise their home heating.

Border security, fuel security and food security are to be the central themes for the next number of years. My colleague Senator Boyhan touched on the food security aspect, something I have spoken about time and time again. North County Dublin where I live has a huge tradition of horticulture. For example, we produce 47% of the potato output in country. Across all the fields and in protected horticultural produce, they are very energy-efficient. However, we need to support our farmers and particularly our farmers in Dublin, if I may be parochial, because of the huge food output that we have. They are coming under a lot of pressure from a fuel point of view. Productive land is being taken over for solar farms and for housing. Because we are in the greater Dublin area, it is very hard for them to remain productive.

However, for our security purposes we need to have adequate supports in place for the horticulture industry and perhaps that comes from EU funds. We need be thinking about this on an EU basis. Because we export a huge portion of our agricultural produce to the EU, Ireland is key to keeping Europe food secure. I know the Minister of State will take that back given his own work within the Department of foreign affairs. I know all of these larger geopolitical issues are in his considerations.

The Government has done a lot. As has already been mentioned, 25% of households are now in receipt of the fuel allowance which is really significant. An extra 470,000 households are receiving this financial support which is really significant. The extension of the period for receipt of the fuel allowance has also meant that people have more money in their pocket. We need to constantly look at what we are doing. It is an evolving situation. We need to decarbonise and need to secure our own needs so we are not as vulnerable to these types of shocks in the future. As I said, this is one of the frontiers that unfortunately we will be dealing with. The more aware we all become of the need to be energy secure, the more work we can do in these Houses.

I welcome the Minister of State. I too am delighted to get the opportunity to talk on fuel again. We did not table an amendment to the motion. The simple fact is I do not have time to write amendments that I know will get shot down every single time. We tabled a Private Members' motion on protecting rural Ireland and it was completely rewritten to take out everything that we called on Government to do. My time is better spent by arguing what I think should be in the motion.

I had hoped that by bringing this forward a week before the budget, we would hear something and I am still hoping for that, not for me but for the 700,000 households that use kerosene to heat their homes. Those people have been telling me that they are not filling their tanks and are not buying kerosene in the hopes that next Tuesday they will get some kind of a relief. As others have said, a lot of these are older homes and older people. I know it is not freezing cold outside, but homes are cold especially in the evening and night time. Homes are getting cold and people are holding off. I really hope something comes for them.

The motion calls on Government to continue support for households most exposed to fuel and electricity poverty. I am not sure what those supports are and if it refers to fuel supports or the fuel allowance.

You cannot measure your success on standing up and saying that 25% of the households in this country get fuel allowance. I think that signifies failure more than success. If 25% of our households in this country are earning so little that they cannot afford fuel and need support, there is a serious failure in this country when it comes to fuel and the cost. The motion calls for an examination of "the impact of increased energy bills on elderly people living alone". It goes to show that the Government obviously is not listening to anybody. People have been shouting and screaming about kerosene, which has been increasing since last February with not one cent taken off the tax. Not one cent was taken off the carbon tax. We have been calling for it since last March - we have proposed eight different pieces of legislation - and never has one penny come off it. I can tell the Government that it does not need to examine any further. I am here to say there are serious issues when it comes to older people and heating their homes.

The motion calls on the Government to continue to support the agriculture sector, fisheries and haulage. A rebate scheme was put in place last April after the fuel protests. That rebate scheme is not fit for purpose for a lot of these companies. It is heavy on administration. There were cut-off dates. Some were filling out the wrong forms. Small farmers and small contractors were afraid to fill out these forms to apply for fear they would get chased by Revenue. I am not for one minute saying they should not pay taxes on anything but I am just saying there are a lot of them. The Government knows that because a lot of them did not claim the supports and there was money left over. There are serious issues with the rebate schemes.

The motion mentions the need to "update wind energy guidelines". I love that one because we are waiting about 20 years. There are wind energy guidelines and they are sitting there but I am assuming there is something in them the Government does not like, which is why they have not been brought out. There are all of these wind farms going to An Coimisiún Pleanála and going through judicial review because the communities do not want them there as they are too close. It is not just that. Some of them in County Limerick are even going against the guidelines that have been out since 2006 because the turbines are too close to each other.

The Government talks about solar farms and wind turbines, but the grid cannot hold what is there. These companies are getting grants to put up their turbines and put in solar farms. They still get paid, even though they are not giving us electricity because the grid cannot hold it. We are dumping it. The everyday consumer is paying for this and paying to dump it, which makes no sense. Upgrade the grid first and then bring us the wind farms and solar farms, if that is what the Government wants. I say this every time we talk about energy. Shannon Foynes Port in County Limerick has a massive plan to install offshore wind that would sustain the entire country and a be a major exporter, but the Government started the DMAP on the east of the country, the opposite side to where Shannon is. That is another thing that could be looked at.

The motion calls for continuing "engagement at an EU level to explore windfall tax". That is something for which we have been calling for a long time. It makes no sense that energy companies are earning millions every single year while people are in energy poverty. They need to be held to account and taxed correctly. People are told to get EVs because it will be cheaper and to charge them at night. The electricity companies came out last week or the week before with what I think was a 25% increase in night-time rates. Where do you win? You cannot win if you tell somebody to do something and then the energy company comes in and screws you on the other side.

There is a lot of talk about replacing boilers. What are they going to be replaced with? You cannot put an air-to-water system into an old home because it is not airtight. You will just ramp up electricity bills even higher. There needs to be a proper transition. People are stuck on solid fuel and kerosene. They do not have a choice. It is the way the homes were built back then. They were not built for air-to-water systems as they are not airtight. You will lose energy that way.

On carbon tax, I know the Government is saying there are rules. I am not expert on finance. I will put my hand up and say I do not understand what can and what cannot be taken off it. I know that the airlines are not charged and the private jets are not charged. Why is it on petrol, diesel and kerosene when you have private airlines and private jets coming in and out of this country that do not get charged carbon tax?

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank the Fine Gael Senators for giving us the opportunity to speak about this today. We all know that energy and fuel costs are increasing rapidly as a consequence of war and conflict. An unnecessary war of choice has to be named as the number one cause of current fuel inflation around the world. There is a normalisation of war, which our President has spoken about so much, and we are accepting the normalisation of war. As a result of that, we can see the direct impact on prices of fuel and energy. We see an increase in the price of food and other day-to-day essentials.

It has to be called out that while 700,000 people are struggling with fuel poverty, others are profiting. This needs to be called out. It was welcome to see the call for a windfall tax on energy suppliers. Six European countries - Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Austria - have introduced a windfall tax. We did it in the recent past, during the energy spike caused by the invasion of Ukraine. A tax was placed upon excess profits by energy companies too. We cannot understand why we cannot do it again. These companies are still making vast profits. This includes private companies, like Bord Gáis Energy, which made €72.5 million. Among the semi-States, ESB made €640 million in 2025, EirGrid made €429 million and Bord na Móna made nearly €32 million. Private companies need to make a profit but they do not need to make such an extraordinary profit. This is even more the case for semi-State companies. How can such profit levels be justified at a time when so many people are facing a genuine crisis and a winter choice between heating and eating? It is time to introduce this windfall tax - it is good to see it in the motion - to redistribute the income to those who need it the most. Perhaps we should name this an energy solidarity tax, which could end up funding this. As a party, we are calling for targeted energy payments of €400 per household for people earning under €80,000 so that those who need it most are getting it, along with an increase in the fuel allowance.

I rise today to speak about public transport too. As a representative of rural Ireland, it baffles me that the charges for public transport have gone up. Now is not the time to increase public transport fees. It does not make sense. We can see that an increase in public transport fares hits the people on the lowest incomes the most; students, elderly people and commuters. I cannot understand how this is justified. The Just Transition Commission has urged the Government to halt plans to increase fares by an average of 15%, bringing in an estimated €70 million to the Exchequer. However, there was underspend of €65 million of carbon tax in 2025. Why should that not have been pushed over towards public transport?

We must welcome the increase in production of renewable energy in recent years. That has to be said. At a time when we are generating new levels of renewable energy, these potential benefits are being absorbed by energy-hungry data centres. Energy should be getting cheaper as new renewables enter the market but it is not - it is getting more expensive. My colleague, Deputy Ciarán Ahern, introduced a Bill last week which would compel data centres to produce 100% of their own energy from renewables, which is very reasonable. I have asked many times in here why we are throwing money at building new fossil fuel infrastructure, such as LNG storage. Now is the time when we should be investing in and rolling out renewable technologies.

We always hear this argument that carbon tax is used for SEAI grants but we know that SEAI grants are for people who need to have the money upfront. I know there have been changes to it. There absolutely have been changes, which is welcome because we know renters are particularly affected by this. They are living in freezing homes and the landlords are not willing to put the money into it. Let us see how this works out. It is good to see that. The ESRI report has said that the carbon tax hits the poorer homes the most, which I have known for a long time. We cannot tax our way out of it so there is absolutely no justification for an increase in carbon tax.

The Government has responded to this crisis in a reactionary way. You cannot just keep throwing money at something. If we really want to reduce energy prices, we have to invest in renewable energy and not be throwing money at LNG infrastructure. We need to look at people and make sure they are able to use public transport, particularly people in rural Ireland who want to use it. Putting up this price at this time makes absolutely no sense. I hope the suggestions the Opposition have made will be listened to and taken on board, given our opportunity to speak here.

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome guests of Sabrina Brennan to the Visitors Gallery. I welcome John, Joan and Seán Brennan. They are all very welcome here today.

I welcome the Brennans as well. I thought it was the Brennan brothers who were coming in to do the place up and take over from the OPW. They would probably do a better job. I am delighted Fine Gael has put this motion forward because if they put this motion forward, that means the Tánaiste is not out telling everybody what will be in the budget.

I hope he will give them a chance to speak about it today. We have to be very careful in our language and in what we say to people. In the build-up to the budget, I have been struck by the amount of narrative from the Minister for Finance. People are uneasy and uncertain. There are people in this country who cannot get by from one week to the next. They are literally scraping by, surviving on 50 cent or €1, and are on WhatsApp trying to get a son or a daughter to send them a couple of euro to get them through to the next payday or the next payment of social welfare support. That is deeply unfair. We live in a kind of balloon in this building. We are very insulated. We do not understand the scale of the poverty that remains in this country. Senior Ministers and political leaders in particular are largely insulated from that. Their language is very important, particularly when we are speaking about whether the increase for pensioners is going to be €10 or €7.50. Most senior politicians would not see €2.50 as making much of a difference but, for a 70-year-old man living on his own who drinks three pints a day to combat social isolation, to get out and meet someone or to save putting on the heat in his house, that €2.50 is an awful lot of money.

One of the most disturbing things about this budget has been the race to get out there with news or soundbites. The Tánaiste went to the ploughing and came out with the three Fs: fuel, feed and fodder. It was particularly alarming that he did not know that the three Fs were actually fixed, flexible and future, the principles of cost, as any accountant would tell you. If you are doing the budget for one of the most progressive and successful countries in Europe, that is really what you should be focusing on.

Aside from that, this is a very important budget for the Government. It is a collective Government and both parties are in it. I will put my hand up and say that the last budget did not reflect the ethos and values we have as a Government and as a caring society that values all people. We reined in supports that we had provided previously and we did so too quickly. We were not there for people when they needed us most. I hope that we have learned a lesson from that. We faced a public backlash for it. I hope we will see the result of that lesson in this budget. It needs to be a budget that emphasises care, empathy and, above all else, the support that underpins and defines the Fianna Fáil Party. We have been there since the foundation of the State. We have been through many a crisis but we have always been there to help and support people. It is now more important than ever that we do that.

I would certainly support a windfall tax. I was particularly disappointed when we provided the energy credits. We gave a huge amount of money to energy companies and got no commitments from them in return. We probably improved the enterprise value of every one of those companies by several percentage points by giving them that large amount of money and bringing down their credit base, and we got nothing in return. We did not get a commitment from any of them that they would not increase their profits or anything. We should rain fire on them with a windfall charge. They did the country no service in what they did after getting that money. They more or less gave two fingers to this House and to society in general. I would certainly welcome a charge.

I would also like to see a hospitality tax introduced in the budget. It is very important for tourism in Ireland. It is important for rural Ireland. I was in Dublin at the weekend and nearly everybody there was from either America or Canada. I do not think Dublin needs to benefit from a windfall tax. That money needs to be ring-fenced and needs to go back into the promotion of tourism across the rest of the country. The likes of Longford and Leitrim need to be able to retain that tax locally and to use it to develop tourism in the locality. Just like the local property tax is used to benefit other counties in the country, this new tax, when it is brought in, cannot benefit Dublin, Cork and the other big cities. It needs to go where tourism is struggling, where we do not have small hotels because we allowed them to be used to take in refugees. We need to build our tourism base back up. The Americans I spoke to at the weekend spoke about the dearth of accommodation on the west coast, saying that they found it incredibly hard and that they could only stay for one night because the accommodation simply was not there. We need to address that. We have a very nuanced hospitality offering in this country. You either go to the big cities or you do not go anywhere. In a similar way, the hospitality providers only want to invest in Dublin. They do not want to invest in new hotels in any other part of Ireland.

Renewable energy is very important. It is great to see progress on that. I spoke in the House earlier today about a frightening scenario. There is now the prospect of the largest ever wind farm in Ireland. This is being brought in by stealth through three separate planning applications, which cover over 800 acres between them. It is bigger than the current largest wind farm we have, which is in Meath. It is only marginally smaller than the largest wind farm in Great Britain. If a wind farm is proposed in Ireland that is almost on the same scale as the largest wind farm in England, something has got completely out of control. The largest wind farm in Ireland - the one in Meath - is on the market for €250 million and is likely to be bought by an overseas investment company. In all likelihood, the combined worth of the assets of the three solar farms and the wind energy facility being promoted by Bord na Móna on 4,600 acres, if they all get planning, will be in the region of €1.5 billion. These projects will account for 6,000 acres of land in Longford. It is inevitable that these will be sold in the future. Right across the country, we are engendering, promoting and encouraging the wholesale and rampant development of alternative energy with absolutely no checks or boundaries. We have reached the point at which, as a Government and as a society, we need to say "Stop". The next generation will potentially be faced with the prospect of selling off 6,000 acres in County Longford. That is a step too far.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Richmond, as teacht isteach chun páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht. Tá sé tábhachtach a rá gurb é seo an ghéarchéim is deacra ó thaobh fuinnimh de atá feicthe i stair an domhain. Níl a leithéid feicthe againn le blianta anuas. Dá bharr sin, tá formhór na ndeacrachtaí atá againn ag teacht ó chomhthéacs idirnáisiúnta. Nílim ag iarraidh éalú ó na freagrachtaí atá againn mar pholaiteoirí agus mar Rialtas ach is tábhachtach an méid sin a rá.

At the outset, I will make what may be an obvious point to many. The energy crisis we are experiencing at the moment is primarily caused by international conflict and the escalation in prices that has resulted from the supply issues we are experiencing with oil, petrol and gas throughout the world. I do not seek to abdicate our responsibility or to make excuses; it is just a fact.

Looking at the progress that Ireland has made and the measures that have been introduced since this crisis reached a peak in March and April of this year, it is interesting to compare where we stand to our international partners, particularly in the EU. Back in March of this year, when preparing for a debate on the same subject, I did an analysis of petrol and diesel prices throughout the EU 27. At the time, Ireland was ninth on the list of the EU 27. I compiled the list by simply looking at the price per litre of petrol and diesel and adding them together to come to an aggregate figure. There were obviously variations between countries. In some, petrol prices were higher and, in others, diesel prices were higher. At the time, Ireland came in ninth. Conducting a similar analysis today of the EU 27, again looking at aggregate prices, Ireland ranks 14th. The measures that have been introduced are having an effect. It is also worth pointing out that, of the 27 EU countries, 25 have seen an increase in the combined price of a litre each of petrol and diesel while two have not. Those two are Sweden and Ireland. I make that point not to deflect from the challenges that are being faced. We acknowledge that the challenges are difficult. They are challenges being felt by households throughout the country. However, it shows that the measures that the Irish Government has taken since the crisis reached its peak are having an effect. We look forward to seeing further measures that will help alleviate concerns in next month's budget.

The analysis I am just after making reference to does not make reference whatsoever to home heating oil. However, it is important to acknowledge it because there is a little bit of misinformation out there in relation to calls on Government to do measures A, B, and C. With regard to home heating oil, the Government cannot because of commitments made at EU level to reduce the rate of VAT on home heating oil below the current 13.5%. That is not to say those who are experiencing difficulty in that regard do not require support. That is why we have the fuel allowance, the extension of the winter heating season by four weeks, which is an important measure, and the warmer homes scheme, as alluded to by Senator Duffy at the outset of this debate.

I am making these points not to deflate or abdicate responsibility, as I said at the start, but rather to say that in the teeth of an international crisis we are taking measures. Those measures are having an effect. I am not going to stand here today and pretend everything is rosy in the garden because of that. However, as referenced by Senator Byrne in his contribution early in this debate, because of prudent management of the country's finances, we are in a position to provide supports to people who most need these supports. That is because of the efforts of people like Paschal Donohoe, Michael McGrath and, more recently, Simon Harris since he has taken over as Minister for Finance. I welcome this afternoon's motion. I think progress is being made. We are not blind to the challenges the country is facing, and I look forward to further support measures in next month's budget and beyond.

I thank the Minister of State for being here for this important debate. I thank my colleagues and, in particular, Senator Duffy, for leading on this motion that the Fine Gael team has put forward.

We sometimes forget that we are in a lucky position to support our citizens across the country. As a Minister of State who travels within Europe and outside of Europe, I do not need to tell Deputy Richmond about the struggles other countries are having in managing their budgets and deciding not whether they can support citizens but rather where they can make cuts, which can impact and cause real problems for their citizens.

It is also important to be honest with people. There is no government, not even a government with a surplus or economy as strong as ours, that can actually shield households from the price increases that have happened in the past year. Most people who think rationally understand that the price increases on kerosene or oil in the last 12 months are not because governments have made decisions and increased taxes. They have gone up because of geopolitics, because of a war in the Middle East and, predominantly, because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. When we make decisions next week in the budget, our decisions, certainly within Fine Gael, will be about making sure we can support people who work hard, support people to be able to get ahead, finance people to be able to build more and, as a Government, be able to deliver better for our people. We have an economy, surplus and tax intake to be able to make some decisions to do that.

We have already given over €1.3 billion in financial support. When the crisis started in the Middle East in Iran, we made a decision to give €750 million in packages to support people during the initial crisis. That was obviously not supported by many in opposition even though it was one of the highest, if not the highest, support package per capita in the European Union. Even though Opposition Members were calling for more and more at the time, one of the reasons we said we would not go beyond €750 million, even though that was the highest in the European Union, was because we felt in a couple of months' time it could be even worse. Where are we now? We are in a situation even worse than it was in April.

The money with which we are talking about supporting our citizens in this country would have been spent by the Opposition in April. They would not have the money themselves for all the things they are calling to be funded or supported because they would have had it spent. That is not just this year; that is in every single budget. I know people talk about the budget, and last year's budget was mentioned, but in the round, the budgets that have been delivered, particularly by Paschal Donohoe, have always had a core element to make sure we never end up in a situation like we did 15 years ago. That is why we are in the lucky position to be able to make these decisions next week.

A number of people spoke about fuel allowance, the 470,000 people that impacts on, and the extension to that. That was a real relief for people. In Tipperary and when I was canvassing in the Galway by-election for Seán Kyne, the issue of home heating oil did come up an awful lot. We have spoken about this as a party in terms of wanting to prioritise home heating oil and making decisions in the budget that can support those people. I am confident the Minister of State and all Ministers understand that home heating oil has become quite challenging for people, especially in rural Ireland. Even though we have extended fuel allowance, which is hugely welcome, home heating oil is a one-off payment. I suggest, as the Minister for Finance is aware, a one-off lump payment of some kind to support pensioners in particular who, being realistic about it, are never going to be in a position to change their whole heating system in their later years. It is just not credible, but they do have the financial burden and struggle more than most people. I am sure a number of my colleagues will talk about farming and supporting farmers, and I will echo and agree with what they say.

I was surprised when Senator Collins stood up to say the reason she was not putting down amendments was because she was not bothered.

I did not say I was not bothered.

I genuinely thought the reason was-----

Did you think it was because I agreed with everything?

-----because of the developments in Northern Ireland. I came in here tonight thinking there would be a whole load of amendments from all political parties in opposition. Amendments are accepted in this House.

No, they are not. Our motions are not even accepted. They are rewritten every time.

They are certainly accepted more regularly than in the other House.

They are not.

Who gets elected to this House to say that they just do not bother putting down amendments or putting down work?

I never said I did not bother. I did not use those words.

What this means for the motion we have put down, unless they vote against the suggestions we are recommending-----

I will be voting against it.

-----which would be remarkable, is that they would support it.

No.

Why would they not support it when this is about supporting people throughout the country? Just like in previous budgets and at previous times of crisis when this Government has always been there to support people when they need it, I have no doubt that next Tuesday that will happen as well.

Senators Linda Nelson Murray and Gareth Scahill are sharing time. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome this motion and thank my Seanad colleagues, especially Mark Duffy, for working on this. Energy and fuel are not luxuries; they are actually essentials. When we talk about energy affordability, I want us to remember the people behind the figures. The two things I want to talk about are older people and those people going to work.

Only last week, ALONE published its latest cost-of-living survey and the findings were really concerning. Three quarters of older people surveyed said they had been affected by the rising cost of living this year and 58% are struggling to pay their bills. However, the figure that stands out the most to me is that 45% of older people said they are going cold to save on energy costs. That means almost one in two older people surveyed are making a decision on whether they can afford to properly heat their home. No older person should have to sit in a cold room, put on another jumper or go to bed early because they are afraid to turn on the heat.

Both my parents have now passed away, but for the nine years my dad was alive after my mam passed, he became obsessed with the gas and electricity bill coming in. He took great pride when he could get it down on previous months. I am using my dad as an example to show how so many people think about heat, weather and cost, particularly older people. I would not count myself as an older person, but even in my friend group we talk about good drying weather, which makes it sound very sad.

I know it is quite funny but the reality is everybody is looking to save a few bob when it comes to energy.

To ladies on the other side of the room, we have made great progress. The fuel allowance has increased to €38 a week, eligibility has been extended and there is significant investment going into retrofitting homes. A warmer, more efficient home can reduce a heating bill for years to come. That is why I strongly support accelerating retrofitting, which is what the carbon tax is used for, particularly for older people living in older, less energy-efficient homes.

I want to highlight another side of this motion, that being, the cost of getting to work. For many people, particularly in rural Ireland, driving is not a choice. It is how they get to their job. It is estimated that 59% of people commuting to work drive a car and the percentage is 72% in rural areas. This is hugely important in my county of Meath. Meath has the longest average commute in the country. In fact, 19% of Meath commuters travel for more than an hour a day. That is about 17,000 people every day. We have also seen a massive increase in fuel prices. Some workers who travel 100 km every day reported that the increase was costing them an extra €20 a week just to get to work. For many workers, fuel is not a luxury or a lifestyle choice, but the price of getting to work. If people cannot afford to fill the tank, then they cannot get to the workplace. Even though we are at a good level in the economy in terms of work, with an increase of 26,000 in quarter 2 of this year in the number of jobs, it is a bit scary because the more that is in the car's tank, the less there is at home. This may impact the weekly grocery bill, the extra education you want to give your child, or your membership of the local Ladies Gaelic Football Association, LGFA, club.

We know there are pensioners who are afraid to turn on the heating and there are workers who are afraid to look at the price at the pump. Both are telling us the same thing. The cost of essential energy is putting a real pressure on people's lives. We need to continue supporting those most exposed to these costs. We need to accelerate the retrofitting of older and inefficient homes. We also need to support rural communities and workers who have no realistic alternative to the car. We need to continue working towards an energy system that is more secure, more domestic and less exposed to international shocks.

I am glad that Senator Kelleher has shown us that Ireland has been rated as No. 14 out of 27 in the EU when it comes to fuel.

The Senator is sharing time.

I am nearly finished, sorry. To date, this Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the EU per capita. This is a really good thing. I think that most of us here in this room recognise how important that is and the urgency of doing more.

The lesson there is to never go second. I thank the Senator.

I fully support the motion. I will not go over a lot of the points that have been mentioned, but I want to highlight that this motion is targeting assistance for vulnerable households, which is something that I have regularly raised in the House. I have been a big proponent of the warmer homes scheme and ensuring that those who need it most - those who are getting the assistance that many of my colleagues have mentioned - get the actual retrofitting that they need in their homes.

I have spent a lot of my time in the House focusing on skill sets not being there on the ground to deliver this in a timely manner. We know that there are individuals eligible for these schemes all over the country who are waiting 24 and 36 months for these schemes to be put in place. Over the last couple of days, I have had a number of meetings and I have found that the actual delays to the system is not actually the lack of skill sets on the ground. The contractors are out there. They are bringing in people to do this retrofitting, where needed, and sourcing materials, where needed. However, the system that the SEAI has in place for assessing the properties that are eligible and for awarding the contracts for retrofitting them to contractors is not working and takes 12 to 18 months. This means that some of the most susceptible people in our economy, who should be benefiting from these schemes for which the Government is putting money in place and that is available to draw down, are not getting them in a timely manner and are looking at a second and third winter without having this retrofitting in place. If the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was actually here tonight, then I would be calling for a review of the system so that the money that the Government is allocating to these schemes can be spent.

Another issue that I have raised on numerous occasions in the House is that of PV solar panels for medically vulnerable individuals. I welcome the news from the SEAI this afternoon and from the Minister's Department that batteries will be included in this scheme. I have called for assistive technologies to be available and for that money to be used for this scheme and for the house adaptation grants, and I welcome the fact that these batteries are going to be in place in that regard moving forward.

We are doing a hundred things really well but one thing that probably has not been mentioned here is the road transport support scheme. Last year, the Department of Transport paid €6.9 million to the Department of Education and Youth to support school bus providers who were in three-, four- or five-year contracts to deliver a service. They entered those contracts before the price of fuel increased to the level it is at today. I would like that we look at this matter. We have called for that within my party. I hope that the Minister for Transport has heard that call because the bus drivers have never taken to the streets. They have continued to provide a school support service throughout this crisis. We want to ensure that all of our kids continue to get to school during this crisis in the winter ahead, so I hope that something will be done in relation to that.

The Cathaoirleach was not here but I was docked a few minutes beforehand.

Were you?

That is why I ran over a small bit.

Was it for bad behaviour or anything like that? I am sorry about that. The Senator can take it up with the rules and procedures committee or something. Anois, an Seanadóir Tully.

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I am delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the cost of fuel and the devastating effect it is having on people. It is having an effect on everybody across the board but certain sectors are affected more. As we head into the winter and as the weather gets colder, older people and disabled people will end up being forced to live in one room because that is all they can afford to heat or they will go to bed earlier and get up later or sit with several layers of clothing on them in the house, and that is not right. That should not be happening.

Carers are adversely affected, especially in rural areas. People are dependent on their cars in rural areas because there is very limited public transport. As carers must go from client to client, they have no option but to use the car. Earlier, there were families in here with children with additional needs. They are all the time on the road going to different appointments and so on. They are dependent on a car.

We see the cost of fuel at the pumps. The cost has now gone way over the €2 mark and is up to €2.20, which is driving up the cost of everything else. It is driving up the cost of production and transportation. Our shopping bills are increasing as a result.

We have over 300,000 people in this country who cannot afford to pay their electricity bill and are in arrears. That is an absolute disgrace. People talk about the fuel allowance. We should not have so many people depending on a fuel allowance. They should be able to pay their bills if energy was controlled.

For homes depending on kerosene, it now costs up to €1,600 to fill a tank, which is nearly twice what it was this time last year. Today, a boiler scrappage scheme was mentioned. I do not know the details of the proposal but we await seeing them. As Senator Collins said, most houses are not built for heat pumps or air-to-water pumps, so I do not how boilers will be replaced.

There are Government schemes that encourage people to buy electric cars or avail of SEAI grants. Richer people can afford to avail of those. It is Government schemes supporting richer people to increase their energy efficiency. Everybody should be increasing their energy efficiency but we should not use public money to support those who most can afford to pay for it themselves. The warmer homes scheme is a great scheme but it has too long a waiting list. Therefore, we need more investment in the scheme and more people able to avail of it. As matters stand, we have poorer people forced to drive older and dirtier cars that are more expensive to run. They are dependent on kerosene. It is not a fair setup around the grants and supports.

On the road transport support scheme, I talked to the owner of an SME last week. He has ten vans on the road and employs about 30 people. He is considering who he will have to lay off because he cannot avail of the scheme because his vans are less than 3.4 tonnes in weight. Why is there a cut-off point like that? His fuel bill increased by between €1,500 to €2,000 a month since March. He cannot afford that. If there are no supports forthcoming in this budget, what is he going to do? He will have to let workers go yet still expect the smaller workforce to produce the same.

We talk about the wars. They are driving up the cost of fuel. Obviously, those wars are outside the control and responsibility of the Irish Government, but the Irish Government is responsible for domestic energy security. We have had Fine Gael in government for 15 years, and we have had Fianna Fáil supporting it or in government with it for the last ten years, yet we have not invested significantly in wind, solar or wave energy.

The money has been offered.

Excuse me, I am speaking.

Senator Tully, without interruption.

We have offered supports, Senator.

Sorry, but Senator Tully, without interruption.

Sinn Féin would have it all spent.

Oh, for God's sake. Whisht up.

There is a Standing Order for interruption during speeches.

Yes.

If people want to utilise it, they can utilise it but, without that, Senator Tully, without interruption.

Thank you, a Chathaoirligh.

One hundred years ago, we had a Cumann na nGaedheal Government that had the foresight to invest in the hydroelectric station in Ardnacrusha and the roll-out of rural electrification. It cost a lot of money at the time. Why is there no foresight now by the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Government to do something similar and make our country's energy secure? We need proper plans around solar energy, wind energy and wave energy. The technology is there. We need to invest in the infrastructure needed to put that in place. That has not been done. We need to make this country not just energy secure but we should be exporting energy to other countries if it was done right. It needs to remain in the control of the State or at least work with communities and not be sold off like Fianna Fáil Governments did, selling off our natural resources to foreign investors time and again, at a loss to the people of this country.

Carbon tax was mentioned. A total of €65 million of carbon tax that was ring-fenced last year was not spent. It was not spent on creating carbon efficiency. That is crazy. We need more money in the warmer homes scheme. We are looking at increasing fares on public transport. That should not even be considered. We should be encouraging people to get out of their cars and use public transport where available, not increasing the fares and making it harder for them to do so. I have heard people saying that it will now be cheaper and easier to hop in the car and drive to their work where they had been using public transport. No thought is going into any of these things.

Like many of my colleagues, I am aware that when we talk about energy prices in this House, we are talking about people who are looking at a bill and wondering whether they can pay it. They might be thinking twice about whether to buy the dinner or pay the heating bill. It is just another increase on top of tight budgets in their homes. We recognise that. Fianna Fáil will not oppose the motion because we know and recognise the pressure that everybody is under in the country at the moment. As has been said, much of what is driving what is happening is international and beyond Ireland's control, such as the continuing war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, which, one again demonstrated just how exposed we are to events thousands of kilometres from our own shores. Telling somebody that the causes are international does not make their electricity bill any easier to pay. We are very aware of that.

We have intervened significantly. The reduced VAT rate of 9% on gas and electricity has been extended, while the fuel allowance increased from €33 to €38 per week this year. Importantly, it has also been extended to the working family payment. When the energy prices rose sharply this year, the fuel allowance season was extended by another four weeks. That meant an additional €152 for more than 470,000 households. Those interventions make a difference but I am not going to ignore the people who are clearly falling through the cracks across the country. They are working and managing, but only just. It might be that they qualify for every State support. They might be paying a mortgage or rent and trying to absorb increase after increase. We understand the pressure everybody is under.

Something that has been mentioned is home heating oil. For many people in rural Ireland, and even for people like me on older housing estates, kerosene is not a lifestyle choice. There might be no gas connection. In the same way, I have no gas connection to connect to. Replacing the entire heating system simply is not feasible. It is not financially possible. We have to be cognisant of that. As was mentioned, the possible boiler scrappage scheme will help many households, but that is a conversation for another day. That is why I want to talk about the particular impact of rising kerosene prices. It must remain firmly on the table as budget 2027 is finalised.

There is another side to this debate that is quite often overlooked. We, quite rightly, want people to leave their car at home and use public transport, but we have to make that a realistic choice. I just spent half an hour across the road today with Iarnród Éireann representatives talking about that how we can make it easier for commuters in my own home town of Drogheda to use the train. It requires a much more holistic approach. It is useless telling somebody that there is a train every hour or that they can get out of the car and onto the train if they cannot find somewhere to park. In Drogheda, my own town with a rapidly growing population, huge amounts of housing going in and an enormous commuter base, we need progress. We need a second railway station and extra parking. My colleague said earlier that they have the same issue in Rush and Lusk. We have to make it easier for people to leave the car at home. The cost of fuel is rising, including the cost of electricity prices if a person has an electric vehicle.

The Government has shown that when circumstances change, it can respond. We have reduced taxes on fuel and provided additional support when international energy prices have placed exceptional pressure on households. Our response cannot only be about getting people through the next bill or next bout of bad weather. We have clearly become too dependent in Ireland on imported fossil fuels, where prices, as we can see, can be transformed overnight by war or distribution to international supply. The long-term answer has to be greater energy independence, with more of our energy generated at home and the infrastructure in place to deliver it to the people who need it. We have been investing heavily in solar and wind energy both onshore and offshore.

Retrofitting has been mentioned. That is an important part of the transition as well. It cannot become something available only to those who can afford to pay the balance. Some of the people living in the coldest and least energy-efficient homes in poor or rural areas are precisely the people who cannot afford the work needed to improve them. We have to keep that firmly on the table for budget 2027. People understand that we cannot control the international price of oil. What they rightly expect, however, is that we will take action and look at what is really hurting people in the country, and we do. The Government will recognise that and will respond. We have done that throughout this crisis, but we all know we cannot be complacent. As another winter approaches, energy affordability has to remain at the heart of the decisions we make in the budget, which we will look at closely next week.

Senators Kennelly and Brady are sharing time. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State this evening. I also welcome and support this important motion on fuel and energy costs. It is an issue that affects every household, business farm and community across Ireland. Energy is a necessity. Families need it to heat their homes. Businesses need it to keep their doors open. Farmers need it to run their farms. Workers need affordable fuel to get to and from work.

When energy prices rise, everyone feels the impact, particularly in rural counties such as Kerry, where I come from, where many people rely on home heating oil, and where long journeys for work, education and healthcare remain a fact of life. That is why supports such as the fuel allowance, which has been mentioned, are so important across Ireland. Over 470,000 households are receiving this support, including 17,200 households in Kerry alone. It is particularly important for older people in older homes, for carers and for low-income working families. In Kerry, over 5,000 carers receive carer's benefit, while dedicating themselves to caring for spouses, parents, grandparents and people with disabilities in their homes.

For many households, this payment is the difference between heating their home and going without. Today, I am calling on the Government to increase the fuel allowance by €5 to €43 per week, and to reduce the carbon tax element on home heating oil. This will help pensioners and vulnerable households remain warm throughout the winter. I also welcome long-term supports that work for our people. What families are asking for is certainty and security, not short-term measures that come and go. Our Opposition wants a mini-budget every week. As far as I can see, most of them are written on the back of a stamp.

We must also look at Ireland's long-term energy security. Recent international events have shown how quickly energy markets can be disrupted. Ireland remains heavily dependent on imported energy, leaving us vulnerable when global supply chains come under pressure. That is why I believe liquefied natural gas, LNG, must play a key role in Ireland's energy future. This is not a choice between LNG and renewable energy. We need both. Ireland should continue investing in wind and solar power, but we must also be realistic. When renewable generation is low and demand is high, we need a reliable backup supply. LNG can supply that security. What is particularly frustrating is that we have a shovel-ready LNG terminal project on the Tartbert-Ballylongford land bank in north Kerry, yet we are still waiting for action and approval on this project. Quite frankly, it is totally unacceptable. For years we have spoken about energy security, but progress on critical infrastructure has been far too slow. A national LNG facility would strengthen energy security, support the industry, protect local jobs and help shield households and businesses from future energy shocks, such as what we are witnessing now. Energy security and renewable energy must go hand in hand.

LNG is not about abandoning climate targets, it is about ensuring a secure and reliable energy supply while we continue the transition to cleaner energy. We must also continue to expand renewable energy in a fair and balanced way, as has been mentioned. Solar energy has enormous potential but communities are concerned about the scale of some developments. In north Kerry alone, there are currently ten solar farm applications approved or in progress, covering over 4,000 acres. People are not opposed to renewable energy. They simply want proper planning, common sense and meaningful consultation with local communities. The Government should introduce clear national guidelines for solar developments to protect agricultural land, biodiversity and local communities while allowing renewable energy projects to grow. I am sorry I am nearly at my four minutes.

The Senator is nearly out of time.

The rise in energy and fuel prices has been driven largely by international events affecting global oil supplies. Fine Gael is in government and we have secured a lot of supports over the past couple of months. It was gas when Sinn Féin Members came in here and they opposed the last set. They voted against them. They cannot come in here and speak from both sides of their mouths guys and not support our motion tonight. It is without amendment.

I missed that.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Unfortunately I am not left with a lot of time. I support the scrappage scheme. It is a great scheme. When people say that they do not know what is going to take over from oil, I will give an instance. A pellet burner in a house will take over from oil. It will do the exact same job as oil. For instance, it is more efficient and more carbon friendly. That is one instance that we should look at and maybe support more of that.

With regard to the roll-out of the rebate scheme to farmers, hauliers and contractors, I attended a meeting in Moate last Sunday where a huge number of farmers turned out. When they start a tractor, they cannot use anything else only green diesel. To produce food they have to use green diesel. There is no renewable. There is no way of charging a tractor. There is no other way. The one and only source farmers have is green diesel to produce food and to go to the field. I hope that the Government will understand that there has to be supports coming in the green diesel sector maybe where food production is involved. Where food production is involved, we certainly need to do something around the green diesel.

The carbon tax on home heating oil is certainly something we need to look at in the budget. I hope that we will do so. Regarding our power - and just give me one minute please as I am last to speak - and our power lines, when we talk about the TAMS grants and supporting farmers and one thing and another, when we go for the TAMS grant there is only a certain amount of solar panels we can get on. If people have a single phase low power line coming to a house, they would only be allowed to fit so many solar panels on that because the lines are not fit to take the excess that it produces. I hope that we see huge investment from the ESB going forward. If we intend to be serious about this, we have to get away from putting solar panels on land that is used for food production and put them back where we can put them such as on our sheds and on areas where farmers can produce electricity.

Does the Senator want some time? I will split time with Senator Brady.

No. The Senator cannot come back in.

Can he not?

That is very generous-----

That is very unfair.

-----and your generosity is on the record.

Go raibh míle maith agat. I am not going to take up too much time. I did not think I had six minutes; I thought I had three. I welcome the motion. I thank the Minister of State for being here and thank him for hearing us out. I find it very surprising that any party would vote against this motion given that we are trying to help families and people all around the country. Every day I meet people in my constituency who are struggling with the cost of energy, whether that is trying to get to work, which Senator Linda Nelson Murray has mentioned around transport, but also with energy bills.

There are two aspects of this motion that I want to especially speak to in relation to my own constituency. One is older people and older people living alone and the cost of energy. The motion calls for greater supports for older people living alone. One of the best ways we can support people with the rising cost of energy is to extend the fuel allowance to the full year rather than only for winter months as it currently is typically. This is something I raised in this House previously. Typically, people have respite from the cost of energy in the summer months but due to the rising cost of transport and fuel this year, many have had no respite from energy costs with high fuel prices throughout the year putting real pressure on people. This is why I am reiterating those calls I made earlier for the forthcoming budget to extend the fuel allowance throughout the full calendar year. I raised it in the context earlier at the outset of the war in Iran and the beginning of the energy cost inflation. Other Senators have also mentioned this, and the fact that we are in this position because of something outside of our control which is outside of these territories. It is something we are trying to battle with and we are doing our best in that regard. That is why this motion has been brought forward. By extending that fuel allowance to cover the full year we could significantly increase the lump sum payments made to fuel allowance recipients, which would make a real difference for them in dealing with elevated fuel and energy prices.

Another issue I want to briefly mention in relation to my own constituency is the energy efficiency of homes and the retrofitting schemes that are available to people. The government grants that are available to homeowners and local authorities to support retrofitting are making a difference in reducing energy consumption and costs for people. However, according to the ESRI report earlier in the year we are not on track to meet our 2030 goal of 400,000 deep retrofitted homes. This cost is a major factor in this. The report highlights that even after availing of government grants the cost ranges from €16,378 for an apartment to just over €42,900 for a detached house. The Government backed five-year retrofit loan monthly repayments range from €249 for an apartment to €770 for a detached house. In Dublin South Central this is a big issue people are dealing with because of the age of the homes and the energy inefficiency of many homes in the area. Many homeowners want to improve the efficiency of their homes but due to the cost it is prohibitive for them, locking them into permanently higher bills to heat their homes. Budget 2027 has the opportunity to improve the existing grants to further cover the cost that homeowners are facing to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. In four years we have faced two energy crises. While there is a need to implement measures to protect people today, such as extending the fuel allowance and other energy supports, we must use this opportunity to invest in energy security going forward by enhancing supports for homeowners to retrofit their homes.

I thank all the Senators for raising these important matters and welcoming the opportunity to discuss the continued high cost of fuel and energy costs for households and businesses. As referenced by many of them, the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have caused significant disruption to global energy markets. The Government indeed recognises that these pressures are resulting in high energy prices and are placing Irish consumers and businesses in a vulnerable and difficult state.

This Government understands that any price increases can place significant pressures on households and business budgets. As a result, we have been proactive and introduced a series of measures to reduce fuel prices,and further measures are under consideration by the national energy affordability task force as part of the budgetary process. Specifically on fuel, the package of Government support measures, which now totals over €1.4 billion, is helping to reduce the cost burdens at the petrol pumps and in assisting key sectors such as agriculture, haulage and transport which are critical to keeping our economy moving.

A range of measures in last year's budgets also supported households with energy costs, which included an extension until 2030 of the 9% VAT rate on the gas and electricity bills. We also enhanced social protection payments including an increase in the fuel allowance rate and an expansion in eligibility rules, as well as a €400 income disregard for households involved in microgeneration, which has extended for a further three years until the end of 2028. The best way of insulating our economy and society from future fuel price shocks is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. This is why we are investing record amounts in retrofitting, both through part- and fully-funded schemes. Budget 2026 also provided a record allocation of over €640 million for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland residential and community grant scheme. That is allowing us to target over 75,000 home energy upgrades this year.

In January of this year, we expanded and reformed retrofitting schemes to ensure more homeowners can receive grants. The new measures included increased attic and wall insulation supports, an increased grant of over €12,500 for heat pump installation and new grants for windows and doors. Simple upgrades like attic insulation, cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation can reduce heating bills by up to €230 annually. A full home retrofit can lead to savings of €750 to €1,120 per year on energy costs. Almost 89,000 applications have been processed up to the end of August of this year. That compares with 41,100 applications received to the end of August of last year. That saw a 116% increase year on year and follows changes to the schemes that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, introduced earlier this year. Capital expenditure of over €2 billion has delivered over 287,000 home energy upgrades from 2019 to the end of August of this year, including over 39,500 fully funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty under the warmer homes scheme.

As of the end of August of this year, the domestic solar PV scheme has supported 21,000 homes to install solar PV panels this year and over 35,000 applications have been received. That is a 72% increase in applications year on year and indicates that the scheme is working well and that householders are recognising the benefits of investing in solar PV.

While these are all positive indicators, this Government is very conscious of the price increases in home heating oil. Kerosene prices increased from approximately 95 cent per litre before the conflict to €1.77 in April of this year. The current average price is around €1.62 per litre. The conflict in the Middle East has resulted in economic pressures that can be felt far beyond the countries involved and has severely impacted the cost of kerosene for many households. In order to ease the financial burden on households, earlier this year the Government extended the fuel allowance by four working weeks, resulting in additional payments of €152 to each of the 470,000 fuel allowance recipients. This Government also deferred the planned increase in carbon tax on home heating fuels, which was due to occur on 1 May, until 14 October to help mitigate price increases. I appreciate that people living in rural Ireland are twice as likely to use home heating oil as their main heating fuel. According to the latest CSO figures, around 26% of households in Ireland use it as their main heating fuel. That is around 500,000 households. This Government understands that these are disproportionately older households, disproportionately rural and, in a lot of cases, low-income households. Many of these households would be eligible for the aforementioned fuel allowance. The Government is also very conscious of those who use home heating oil but do not qualify for the fuel allowance payment. That is why in the upcoming budget we also want to deliver for middle-income families.

The Government is examining the different levers available to it in relation to the cost of home heating oil. There will be an energy tax package as part of budget 2027. The final composition of this is under consideration.

This Government is also acutely aware of the pressures arising for the agriculture sector, which has been referred to in this House this evening, as a result of prolonged high fuel prices, high fertiliser prices and additional fuel costs, and we will deliver a strong budget to protect farmers, fishers and foresters, helping to secure the future of our agrifood sector. The agrifood sector has demonstrated its ongoing resilience despite current uncertainties, rising fuel and fertiliser costs and challenging weather conditions. Payments are continuing under the fuel income support scheme, with a spend of over €26 million to more than 30,000 applicants to date, and under the areas of natural constraints scheme this Government has delivered €179 million in payments to over 85,000 farmers.

A specific €15 million tailored fuel support scheme for owners of registered vessels in the fisheries and aquaculture sector has been developed, with payments to date of more than €10 million under the fishing and aquaculture registered vessel fuel support scheme and the aquaculture business vessel fuel support scheme.

To support our hauliers and road transport operators, the Government also increased the maximum repayment allowable under the diesel rebate scheme, from 7.5 cent up to 12 cent per litre of diesel, backdated to January. This currently applies until 30 September 2026 and is to help temper inflation on food and public transport costs. It is the Government's intention, as part of budget 2027, to extend this timeframe to give continuing support to these sectors.

At a time of real global energy uncertainty, it is now more important than ever to continue to develop and accelerate the deployment of indigenous renewable resources and associated grid infrastructure to provide long-term energy security and price stability for Irish households and businesses. The programme for Government reaffirms Ireland's target of 80% of electricity demand to be met by renewables in the near term, with plans to move to net zero by 2050. We have made substantial progress in the development of renewable electricity capacity in recent years, doubling our wind capacity and establishing a thriving solar industry. Accelerating and increasing the deployment of renewable electricity generation, especially onshore wind and solar, is fundamental to our transition to a renewables-led system. We have now reached over 8.7 GW of renewable generation capacity, up from 4.8 GW in 2020. This growth in renewable electricity capacity has been supported by Government policy measures such as the renewable electricity support scheme, the small-scale renewable electricity support scheme and the microgeneration support scheme. We are also investing record funds in ensuring our electricity grid is fit for purpose. That is a key priority for this Government.

In relation to an EU-wide windfall tax, the European Commission published its AccelerateEU communication in April of this year. It addresses the EU's rising energy costs and volatile fossil fuel markets and aims to accelerate the clean energy transition and strengthen EU energy resilience. While the communication notes member states may take domestic measures, no EU-wide approach has yet been agreed.

Previously, the temporary solidarity contribution, TSC, was introduced in line with Council Regulation 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 to tackle windfall gains being made in the energy sector at the time, following the commencement of the war in Ukraine. The TSC formed part of a co-ordinated response, reflecting the highly interconnected nature of EU energy markets - when we acted, we did so at an EU level - and a view that an emergency intervention to mitigate the effects of high energy prices at the time could not be sufficiently achieved by member states individually.

The national energy affordability task force is working intensively on an energy affordability action plan to be submitted to the Government in the coming weeks. We are very much focused on short-, medium- and long-term measures to support households and businesses to meet their energy costs. It continues to be the Government's view that tackling the energy crisis in a co-ordinated way between EU member states is best, given the interconnectedness of energy markets. We are working with member states to achieve that.

The Government has introduced substantial supports - as I said, €1.4 billion to date - during this volatile period. They are timely and necessary, and we will continue to monitor the situation. Ultimately, we need to reduce our reliance on expensive fossil fuels if we are to reduce energy costs in the long term. Tough decisions will need to be made during this budget. We are very fortunate that we are in a very strong position due to a strong economy. The way out of fossil fuel dependency and high energy costs is a shift in electricity generation to renewables.

That is what the Government is supporting.

Again, I commend the Senators on bringing this motion to the House and thank them for their contributions.

I thank the Minister of State for being here for this important Private Members' motion. I thank everyone in the House, including Fine Gael colleagues and members of all parties and none, who made substantial contributions to the debate.

As the Minister of State and many Senators outlined, people are facing huge pressures and it is important that those most affected by the energy crisis are supported. Everyone who has been exposed to it, whether that is those in business, those living alone, those in fuel poverty or those in fuel-intensive businesses in the agriculture and haulage sectors, needs to be supported. We have seen and heard a lot in the past year. We have seen the importance of fuel and energy to sectors, which speaks to a few points, one of which is that we need to improve our independence and security in energy. We need to be more efficient in capitalising and utilising the excess energy that is created, building better grid capacity, empowering homeowners through different schemes, including battery storage, making improvements to warmer homes schemes and ramping up delivery.

There are a lot of positive things and opportunities we can take from the crisis, but there also is the here and now and its immediate effect on the winter ahead of us. As the Minister of State mentioned, we can meet this head-on from a position of strength because of the strong management of public finances. It is important that we use this opportunity, because it is a crisis for many, to make sure we respond and deliver for those most affected.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and before him, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, for being here and taking on board all the contributions from across the House. I look forward to next week with the hope that delivery can be made for all the sectors and people who need help and support the most at this time of unprecedented global energy shock. It is an external factor, as has been mentioned, but that needs to be reiterated. We need to respond now as best we can from our position.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Is that agreed? Agreed.