Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo ach ní aontaím léi ar chor ar bith. I do not agree with her at all. The measures that have been taken in the budget are targeted to help those who need them most, particularly in the area of social protection. We have increased the fuel allowance substantially and expanded it to about 460,000 households right across the country. The Deputy has ignored that, one of the most significant changes we have made. Another change, on foot of the interim report of the national energy affordability task force, is the effective permanent reduction of VAT from 13.5% to 9% on gas and electricity, bringing about a saving of over €100 per annum for households, a permanent change. Yes, the Deputy is correct that we have not extended the energy credits. That is because we believe that the €3.5 billion that was used there at the appropriate time is more appropriate to go into structural measures such as investing in our grid and in grid capacity. We have also provided equity of €3.5 billion to EirGrid and ESBN. That will allow them to finance the investment that is required in our grid in projects like the North-South interconnector, that one project that will deliver resilience for our grid and will allow-----

Sentiment score: 0.20

-----the extension and expansion of renewables into our grid, a project that Deputy McDonald's party seems to be flip-flopping on north of the Border. I have met her party's ministers in the North of Ireland, who are for the project; its Deputies in the South are opposed to it. This is a permanent measure that will deliver affordability.

Sentiment score: 0.13

I have met Caoimhe Archibald and Liz Kimmins. All of the Deputy's colleagues in the North are taking the right position. They want to see this delivered. What do we do in the meantime? As regards energy, we unquestionably have affordability issues. That is why we established the national energy affordability task force. We have brought forward interim measures already. That work is continuing and we will publish a report in 2026 looking at some permanent measures that we can change. What the Deputy has not referred to either is the Eurostat report, published just last week, that shows Ireland as mid-ranking now with European colleagues in relation to energy affordability. However, for many households, these bills are expensive and some struggle to pay them. That is why I met the energy providers. All four of the main providers have confirmed again to me at my request that hardship funds will be set up. I say to people who are in arrears that the State is there to support them through the fuel allowance payments, and no one will be cut off. I have again had that confirmed at my request. People will work with providers through this winter period. The reality is that we are still far too dependent on imported fossil fuel. That is why we need to expand renewables across the country. That is why 41% of our electricity last year was generated through renewable sources. We will continue to expand that - our own energy, in respect of which we are sovereign and we can control - and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. In relation to the carbon tax, the Deputy has not referred to how the carbon tax that relates to home heating oil has been deferred until May 2026. The carbon tax gives us the capital to bring about permanent affordability measures for families. We are targeting 60,000 retrofits in 2025 alone and €558 million next year in retrofits. That is delivering about a third in savings on average, according to the International Energy Agency, IEA. Those are not my statistics but the IEA's statistics. These are permanent changes for households, including schemes like the warmer homes scheme, which provides a 100% grant to fully retrofit homes, bring renewables to those homes, make them warmer and healthier, and bring about permanent savings for those households. We will continue to look at all of the measures on affordability.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I have answered the Deputy's question directly. For many families, it is not easy and the State is there to support them. That is why we have expanded the social protection measures that are targeted at those who need them. The Deputy made no reference to that. Again, it is in stark contrast to what her colleagues are doing in the North in relation to helping with fuel bills. The fuel allowance payment in the North of Ireland is between €113 and €340. The Deputy probably knows, but she will not say it here today, that it is only available to those over 66 years of age in the North where Sinn Féin holds the finance Ministry. In the South, the fuel allowance is worth about €924 per annum.

Sentiment score: 0.04

That is true. Let us leave the politics piece out of it. I can say to families out there that the Government and the State will work with them right the way through this winter to bring about permanent affordability measures. I have mentioned retrofitting.

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The Deputy is opposed to carbon tax. The carbon tax is invested in people's households to bring about permanent changes to their homes, permanent affordability measures and permanent health measures to their homes. This year 60,000 homes will be retrofitted.

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First, may I deal with this charge that the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Labour Party have made that the Taoiseach is in some way absent. He is on Government business.

Sentiment score: 0.20

He is at the G20 Summit. Should he not go to that as Head of the Irish Government? Should he not go EU-African Union Summit?

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I know Deputy McDonald is just back from New York as well, but he was actually on Government business. Deputy McDonald was probably fundraising over there, filling the Sinn Féin bag full of cash.

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I will answer the Deputy's questions. Energy affordability is critical and I am glad Deputy Bacik raised the point. I have already answered Deputy Mary Lou McDonald. If we look at the measures that have been taken in the budget, they are targeted measures. They are very targeted across all areas, not just energy. If we look at social welfare rate increases, the renter's tax credit and the mortgage interest relief payments as well, all of those are targeted at people and are significant. It is unquestionably a very significant budget for people. We have got to keep the economy going as well and support the jobs that are there also. Jobs underpin this and it is the hard work of the State and the people that ensures we can have the resources to support our people through difficult times, as we did through Covid and as we did through the cost-of-living crisis, which was acute post the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. We now have to look at measures we are taking, particularly on energy, that are permanent. Deputy Bacik skipped over retrofitting. On retrofitting alone, we are looking at-----

Sentiment score: 0.10

-----64,500 households that will be retrofitted this year. Next year, we are providing €558 million through the carbon tax receipts to put that directly into homes and small businesses to reduce their energy costs. The IEA has said it, not me, that those cost savings are between €900 and €1,200 on average per annum. Permanent changes for households, that is what we need. We need to expand renewables as well. The Deputy is correct in saying that. I have said that, too. Last year, over 40% of our electricity was generated through renewables. We have had a further successful auction in relation to solar and wind energy and we are within grasp of becoming energy sovereign in the next ten years. That will be critical to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, particularly imported fossil fuels, where we are at the mercy of the vagaries of the market. The Deputy knows how the energy markets work. We are purchasing forward and a lot of our companies are. I insisted - I asked the energy companies - to make sure those hardship funds were brought back in place, and they are in place. No one can or will be disconnected through the course of this winter either. I say to people who are in arrears that there is assistance from the State, they should contact their energy providers and we can work through measures with them. Our work on that is not concluded.

Sentiment score: 0.14

We will obviously ensure the measures we have brought forward are implemented. On retrofitting alone, we have retrofitted nearly 230,000 homes across the country. That is scaling up every single year. As I said, we will do about 64,500 this year. They are permanent changes for households to ensure they can bring down their energy costs. There is the issue of the energy markets and the cost on the wholesale markets and the fact that our retail prices struck at the wholesale gas price even though we are accelerating renewables. That is a matter I have raised at every European Council meeting I have attended. At COP just last week, we introduced into the discussion the affordability piece for households because it is a real issue for households. We will continue to target measures at those who need them most as we are expanding our renewables. On the work in relation to the affordability task force, we published our interim report and implemented measures like the 9% VAT rate and the expansion of the fuel allowance straight away. There will be further measures coming through in 2026.

Sentiment score: 0.12

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this very serious and important matter. I read the transcripts of the court case and it is absolutely horrific. I want to commend the bravery of that young lady. I have a 17-year-old daughter. I cannot imagine what she and her family are going through. There should be no tolerance of violence against women, and there is no tolerance of it. That is why the Government's strategy of zero tolerance is so critical. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has been advancing some very specific measures in that regard. Jennie's law and Valerie's law are advancing, too. The establishment of Cuan by the previous Government was absolutely critical. As a former housing Minister, I was involved in the third national strategy. We need to make sure the supports are there for people. Fundamentally, and I agree with the Deputy on this, the fact that many women, and young ladies as well, do not feel safe at night and have to change their behaviour and habits insofar as where they go, where they run and whether they use head phones, is not what we want our country to be. Unfortunately, this is not unique to Ireland. We have a responsibility, as a collective here in the Oireachtas, to work together on this very serious issue, and to work societally as well. Significant education is required. The Deputy mentioned online content and she is right. The normalisation of pornography among young men, in particular, is a really worrying trend. This is something that can be addressed through our education system and schools and through our families as well. Parents and guardians have to be very open about having these discussions at a very young age. I speak in this regard from experience of being a dad. We need to have those types of discussions. It is important that the Government underpins the measures we have with funding. We have increased funding to almost €80 million in budget 2026. That is to support Cuan and the services working to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The establishment of a specific agency to deal with this was critically important. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is also looking to introduce legislative change, including, under the proposed guardianship of infants (amendment) Bill, to allow for the removal of guardianship rights from persons convicted of killing their intimate partner. The Minister also secured Government approval on 22 October to progress the criminal law (sexual offences, domestic violence and international instruments) Bill 2025, which includes measures to allow perpetrators of domestic violence to be included on a new register to be run by the courts and to strengthen the law around sexual consent. Convictions will be published online by the Courts Service under a specific heading of "domestic violence registered judgments". I am acutely aware, as is the Government, that we need to continue the focus on this area and that there must be a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women.

Sentiment score: -0.06

On the counselling notes, the Minister will bring forward amending legislation towards the end of this year or very early next year. That will be brought forward. I outlined in my first answer to the Deputy the other measures we are taking by way of legislation. As she raised, it is critically important that there be safe places for victims to go. The Government and I agree with her that more needs to be done there. However, the plan is for 52 new family refuge units, 45 new safe homes and 50 new units to be under construction, all by the end of next year. I have visited the new refuge in Wexford, which is excellent. Work is advancing on projects in the nine counties she mentioned, one of them in north County Dublin. I am very aware of what is happening there in relation to new refuge spaces. This is something we have to continue to work on. I just want to assure the Deputy it is an absolute priority for both the Minister for justice and the Government.

Sentiment score: 0.22

We are committed as a Government to protecting whistleblowers. Work is ongoing at EU and national level to further strengthen those reports. The Deputy has a Private Members' motion tomorrow morning, I think, on this matter. We will get an opportunity to debate it in the round. We accept the motion tabled by Independent Deputies is well intentioned and seeks to increase protections for whistleblowers but, from an initial review, it appears to ignore many of the provisions that already exist in legislation to protect those individuals. It also contains a number of proposals which would have to be worked on in more detail and may have some unintended consequences too. We have set some of those concerns out in the countermotion, alongside our ongoing commitment to further review the legislation at both EU and national level. The role whistleblowers have is critically important and they deserve the protection of the State. On the Deputy's contention that a Minister should have the opportunity to read protected disclosures, while I understand the intention, it is flawed. The political process needs to be separate from that. There is a clear process in relation to that. Every Minister gets a general report on protected disclosures, which is important too. There has to be an independent verifiable process for whistleblowers to be able to have the allegations or matters they have raised assessed in an independent way, separate from the line Minister, and where the whistleblower can feel it can be raised in safety and assessed with seriousness. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is our national whistleblowers protection law. A major amendment to that Act was made in 2022. It was signed into law in July 2022 and commenced operation on 1 January. This is an area that we take seriously. I look forward to the debate tomorrow morning in relation to the Independent Technical Group's motion, where the Deputy can put forward other matters relating to it. Whistleblowers in general have done this State a great service. They have raised matters that would not have come to the fore if we had not had the structures and processes in place to allow that to happen. A whistleblower should not find, in any way, shape or form, that their own situation is affected in a negative way simply because they have raised a protected disclosure that they feel is of great importance to the operation of their Department or agency or to behaviour within an agency or Department.

Sentiment score: 0.29

The Deputy asked whether we are satisfied with the legal advice we received which the Taoiseach read in this House. Of course we are. The Deputy has an opportunity tomorrow morning to raise specific points around his motion. As I said to him in my initial answer, this whole area is something that remains under review both at EU and national level. We want to make sure the process is fair and transparent and that protection is given to whistleblowers, which, in the main, it is. That is important. The Department of Finance will be taking this debate tomorrow. We look forward to the arguments that will be put forward in that regard. We are always open to looking at matters, whereby if there are improvements required that are legal, and we will do so. We look forward to the debate tomorrow morning.

Sentiment score: 0.18