I commend Independent Ireland on the motion. It is an important debate we are having here and it is very clear that the Government has wasted opportunity after opportunity. The calls from the Opposition for an energy credit were supposed to alleviate the burden of homeowners but also to give breathing space to Government to take on the price-gouging of the energy companies. Every time the Government had that opportunity, it wasted it. I am of the view that the Government was cynical because the last time it brought these credits in was days before the last general election. I do not believe it was an attempt to deal with price-gouging. I believe it was a cynical political stunt because the Government has withdrawn them in the harder times that are here now. The failure to deal with the energy companies is unforgivable because it was Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil policy that gave away what was a proud electrification system built up by the Irish people. We built it up ourselves in hard times with the visionaries who were there at the time and we handed it away to private companies. We had the cheapest electricity in Europe. Today we have the most expensive electricity in Europe. We have a failure, not only in how the Government privatised what was a proud publicly owned amenity but then, if we look at wind energy on land, half the turbines are turned off because the electricity infrastructure is not there. If we look at offshore renewable energy, the Government has made a mess of it on the east coast. The Government did not consult with stakeholders like fishermen and now people are locked into legal battles and the whole process has stalled because of the arrogance and mess that was there. Again, that is because the Government was too close to industry and was not thinking about the best interests of our people. My final comments today are going to be about fishermen. Where have the supports for fishermen been in recent years? Even after Brexit, the Government never once brought in fuel subsidies. Never once, through all the price shocks that were there as a result of Brexit and the war on Ukraine, were fuel subsidies introduced. Inshore fishermen got nothing, absolutely nothing. As somebody who represents a coastal constituency, I ask that the Minister of State engage with his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Timmy Dooley, and his colleague and party leader, Deputy Simon Harris, on the request for financial subsidies for inshore fishermen. There are about 900 of them active across the State. It would not be hard to keep them on the water and to keep those communities flourishing but it needs subsidies. They have never asked for it before. They are there now. They are requesting it now. They have a really good proposal on the table. I am asking the Minister of State to engage with his colleagues and try to deliver a sustainable future for inshore fishermen all around the coast in County Mayo and all around the State.

Sentiment score: 0.11