I am listening to the Deputy. I am not just-----
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I am sorry, but Chair?
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I have heard everything the Deputy has said.
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I have heard everything the Deputy has said and I will reply to him.
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I will. Do not worry.
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Ar dtús báire gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Daly as ucht an rún seo a chur os comhair an Tí. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Baill a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht an-tábhachtach seo. Deputy McGrath is right. We cannot have this debate in isolation, and it goes back to Deputy Heneghan's contribution about the turmoil in global energy markets. I make the point that in this debate some people are running to the hills to have their social media posts up. They want to score cheap points and do the kinds of things that some people do. That is not what this debate should be about, and I appreciate Deputy Pa Daly's sincerity in this. I made the point here last week that words and language matter. I pose a question to all of us in this Chamber tonight. We all accept there are too many people in energy uncertainty and in arrears with their bills, but I ask the Members to tell me how many people in Ireland were disconnected. How many? They should come back to me. How does it happen that people are disconnected? I make this point as a practising politician who has people in his office, who meets people, does not live in an ivory tower and who understands the frustration articulated by many in this Chamber. How is it that people are disconnected? I make the point that our language matters and people listen to us. For somebody to be disconnected there has to be no engagement whatever with the energy supplier. Let us be real and honest. If we engage as an advocate or if we engage with a person in arrears with an energy company, there will not be disconnection. We have all been that advocate and that person working for the vulnerable person. Let us be clear about that and not have Deputies coming in here tonight castigating some of us as uncaring and unkind because we are not. We understand full well. Nobody mentioned the moratorium on disconnections. I wonder why. I accept that people are faoi bhrú and I share the views expressed by many in the House that there needs be greater transparency on the pricing structure of bills so people can understand. If you sit down in an office or in a person's home and talk and engage with them, it is a comment that is made quite clear. People came into the Chamber tonight, in some sections of the House, like confetti at a wake, speaking about the profiteering and high profits. I ask people to read the CRU's report from yesterday about profitability. I ask Members to do that. The CRU said there was no evidence of energy companies profiteering, but there was a question as part of the report about the profit margin and further examination being needed. It goes back to my fundamental point that our words do matter and we have an ability to lead as Members. That is why I think, to be fair to Deputy Daly, that his contribution and what he is trying to do here is that. I readily accept that. In his reply at the beginning of the debate, the Minister outlined why the Government is opposing the Bill, and I will not go through that again. The Minister said that Government is committed to putting in place a well-funded energy market and tackling energy affordability. I repeat the point tonight that I do not believe any of us in this Chamber want to have people struggling to pay or to engage with the energy companies and suppliers. I totally understand the frustration and annoyance of people, but part of the overarching debate that we do not seem to have done is to speak about a move, as we should, away from fossil fuel dependency. I was at the Cork development forum yesterday and we got a paper on Cork's energy grid, our current capacity and future opportunities. We all need to have that conversation about the future of our energy supply. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Commission for Regulation of Utilities with regard to our energy markets. The Government is deeply committed to ensuring that the CRU can effectively monitor and regulate electricity and gas prices and suppliers to ensure the best outcome for the customer. That is at the heart of what I want to be as a person in this Chamber representing people. It is to ensure, like many in this House have done, that energy is affordable. It is important that we do that. Equally, if you look at what the Government has done, there was action. While if you listened to some of the contributions, you would think Government did nothing, and I would take criticism any day of the week about being late, slow, or whatever, we did act. There was the VAT reduction, multiple rounds of energy credits, and protections given to customers since 2022. Nobody other than the Minister referred to the fact, as part of the debate, that we are now getting 49% of our electricity from renewables. We are moving away from the fossil fuel dependency. We need to continue to do more as a country and a people. We had consternation last week about the Taoiseach and Deputy O'Connor's intervention about nuclear energy, yet we are getting nuclear energy through the interconnector. We need to look at the structural factors around our energy prices. That is why I welcome the debate tonight. I know I am repeating myself, but I think this debate has been important because it gives us that opportunity. We are too energy-dependent on fossil fuels. There is a market vulnerability due to price that none of us, or at least not me, can predict for next week, let alone October or November. Looking at the debates in the House of Representatives in America, for example, with American prices, there is now a movement by some of President Trump's own people in the Republican party relating to his war in Iran. Former Minister Eamon Ryan has been criticised left, right and centre here tonight, but he was very successful at retrofitting, warmer homes, solar panels and offshore energy. We are working to ensure that households benefit directly from that renewable energy transition. Since 2019, €1.7 billion has been spent on SEAI schemes in support of homeowners, delivering almost 250,000 home energy improvements. That is fully equipped upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty under the warmer homes scheme. Last year, 5,000 businesses and community groups received grants to retrofit homes or install solar. As the Minister said in his contribution, that rooftop revolution has begun, and our job as leaders is to help, support and augment that so we can expand the number of people who are benefiting from that and their energy bills can be reduced. Where energy is produced, it can be sold back into the grid. Government supports have been discussed tonight. We are very much aware of and concerned about the pressures that people are under, be it householders or businesses, with the higher energy costs. We have provided support of the second-highest, if not the highest, packages in Europe in the last number of weeks. As a Government, we are taking action to help householders and businesses with the cost of fuel and energy. In concluding on behalf of the Government, I know the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has addressed the issues about the Bill. I thank Deputy Daly for bringing it forward and having a good debate. I wish that some in the House would use their contributions to have a proper, meaningful, informed debate. Unlike them, Deputy Daly did put forward an informed debate. As the Minister said, the Government will be opposing the Bill.
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