Ní aontaím in aon chor leis an Teachta. Tá an-chuid déanta ag an Rialtas go dtí seo, idir an cháinaisnéis a bhí againn agus an pacáiste a d’fhoilsigh muid coicís ó shín, chun an brú atá gan dabht ar theaghlaigh agus ar mhuintir na hÉireann a ísliú agus a laghdú. Mar aon leis sin, tá an-chuid infheistíochta curtha isteach againn i seirbhísí oideachais, sláinte agus i go leor seirbhísí eile. I just want to say at the outset that the Government from the budget onwards has focused on investment in services and alleviating pressures on families, and will continue to do so. We acknowledge that there are significant pressures on people because of a range of issues, not least the impact on fuel prices arising from the Middle Eastern war, which follows the tariff issue and which follows the situation with the invasion in Ukraine, and the post-Covid inflationary cycle that occurred then, which was at 10%. One of the challenges here is how to respond properly, sensitively and in a targeted way that also maintains economic balance and proportion. What I mean by that is that if we were to take the Sinn Féin budgetary package that it put forward at the last budget, and if we were to add the €3 billion and more, we would be looking at inflation rates of about 5% or 6% in our economy. That is the reality of it. You have got to be careful. You can keep spending more and more money every month but it will have an inflationary impact and we will be chasing inflation. That will not alleviate pressures on working families because when inflation gets higher, it is those on the lowest incomes who will suffer the most. We have to be extremely targeted in how we do things, both sectorally and in terms of low-income groups. Remember we have reduced VAT already in terms of electricity charges down to 9% and we are going to maintain that out to 2030. That just gets ignored when the Deputy lists everything. We announced a €755 million to €770 million package recently to alleviate the pressures on the public and, indeed, on crucial sectors around food production and around haulage, and on many thousands of workers working in those sectors. Also, as we were doing that, we have increased expenditure on education by €646 million additional to the budget. We have choices here. You cannot have it each way and every way. We are keeping a focus-----
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-----on those services. If you keep spending billions now, you will not have the money for education, special education, childcare reductions and health services. You will not have the funding for all of that at the next budget or, indeed, for next year. On what we have done so far, we extended and increased the fuel allowance and we expanded it in terms of the number of people it covers, particularly those on the working family payment. The minimum wage has increased significantly. We have deferred the carbon tax increases and we have a variety of packages for a range of sectors. Our social welfare payments went up €10 in the last budget. It has come under huge pressure since then, and I acknowledge that. We also put in record increases to child income support payments - the highest on record. That was a really significant and targeted message. The way the Deputy wants it is that she wants not to do that. She wants us to move away from that sort of targeting approach. Then, in the context of the October budget, we will have available to us other mechanisms like tax and other measures that we can introduce that can benefit people to get them over the winter period, which is going to be a crucial period for all.
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No disrespect to the Deputy and her party but she is the personification of spoof and bluster.
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If we had introduced the measures she advocates from last October, we would be looking at an inflation rate of close to 5%. That is by any yardstick or formula. That is the reality. We have already acted and the Deputy knows that. Some €750 million is not spoof; it is real funding that we have budgeted for and allocated in terms of the food production sector, farmers, contractors and the haulage industry. We have hundreds of thousands of people working in all of those sectors. It might be spoof to the Deputy because she is a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to the farming world-----
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-----but it is not spoof to the people benefiting from it.
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In terms of the people who are going to benefit from it-----
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Exactly, the Deputy does not want to listen to anybody because she is incapable of listening to the truth.
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The bottom line is-----
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-----the Deputy's approach all along on this------
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The Deputy mentioned that Spain was at 50% renewables for electricity generation. Last February, 50% of our electricity generation was renewable. I believe the Deputy is misleading the House in her political characterisation of the Government in respect of renewables. We have been driving renewables for quite some time over successive Governments. In terms of offshore wind, I established a clearing house in my Department that meets with the industry, Departments and regulators to remove systemic potential barriers to offshore wind delivery. We have had a series of auctions. We have a number of offshore wind farms in the planning process. Surely the Deputy must know that. While she exaggerates and makes silly statements about Don Quixote and all that nonsense, it is far too serious for that. She says she is interested in national conversations and then lambastes Deputy O'Connor for initiating a national conversation. Where is the consistency in that approach or the logic in what she is saying? France is a good example where there is a combination of sources, with nuclear being one. It will take time but we have to have these serious conversations and examinations. I made it very clear last weekend that our main focus was on offshore wind, and we have made substantial progress on onshore wind. The reason for the high cost of electricity in Ireland is, yes, an isolated grid with a lack of interconnection. We have two gas interconnectors to Britain and we are on the cusp of completing an interconnector with France. We have also initiated discussions with Spain about an interconnector with it because Europe needs a comprehensive grids package to reduce our historic dependence on imported fossil fuels. We rely substantially on imported gas, which increases and exacerbates the price situation in Ireland vis-à-vis other countries. In purchasing power parity in the European Union, we are the fifth highest, which is too high. Structural reform is the way to deal with that but that will take time. There is no point in pretending it will not. We have our offshore wind targets to 2030 and 2040 of up to 20 GW and I believe we can achieve that. If the Deputy talks to those in the industry, they acknowledge that Government is engaging proactively on that topic. However, we also have to alleviate pressure. The Deputy scoffed at the idea of subsidies for fossil fuels. At the moment, people need supports. I am surprised. Is the Deputy now against what we did in subsidising the costs for people out there motoring or involved in our trade, or in farming and agricultural matters?
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It is a big political untruth to suggest that since the Greens left, we somehow reduced our commitment to renewables.
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It is a deliberate misrepresentation for political purposes, and that is all, but it is false and it is untrue. Since this Government was formed we have established a clearing house, which my good colleague, the former Minister Eamon Ryan, refused to do, although industry wanted to engage. The one difference we have made here is to facilitate the engagement of industry to stop the them-and-us approach and work systemically on the barriers to successfully deploying offshore wind farms. We are making progress. There are significant challenges globally in that respect, with supply chain issues and the United States approach to wind. We are in a good position in terms of the auctions we have already held and the submissions to An Coimisiún Pleanála that have already occurred. We have had engagements with MARA and with An Coimisiún Pleanála. The Critical Infrastructure Bill will be very significant in enabling us to prioritise-----
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-----what is a critical issue for the country-----
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-----namely, the development of offshore wind.
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First of all, the Government has provided targeted support. The evidence is there in terms of the free school books at primary and secondary levels. That is a significant measure we have brought in, which this year again will assist many families with what was a major cost for those with children attending primary and secondary school. We have expanded the free hot school meals programme. We have expanded childcare and we need to do more on the childcare front. We have the €280 new baby grant, for example. Hospital inpatient charges were abolished. We have expanded free GP care significantly, particularly for children. In the most recent package, we have significantly provided for a reduction in diesel and petrol that will affect ordinary people. That is immediate and that is happening. If it was not, their costs would be significantly higher. We have also provided packages for the transport sector of about €40 million per month. There is a €100 million worth of a fuel scheme for farmers, contractors and fishers. Of course, the diesel rebate increased to 12 cent per litre. We expanded the fuel allowance and increased it to €38 per week. We expanded eligibility and brought in those on the working family payment. Now about 470,000 households benefit from that. The Deputy cannot ignore all that. She does not get to choose which measures Government has introduced to ignore, and just articulate a banal assertion that Government has done nothing. Just because the Deputy keeps saying Government has done nothing does not mean that is true. Clearly, Government has done a lot. The reality is we have a budget in October. We do not know where this crisis is going or, indeed, the more medium-term consequences of it. We need to hold some resources in reserve for the winter period, at a minimum, and work out how best to systemically cushion the lowest income groups and those who need our support the most. I support the Deputy's broad principle of targeting. I have challenged others in the House who do not support it but I do. In the budget, we have a far better range of measures so we can arrive at a balanced approach where we can give working people relief but where we can also target measures. We did that in the previous budget with child support payments, which were the highest on record, in terms of what we did there to try to eat into the issue of child poverty. We want to do that consistently over time. We also want to make sure we can reduce the cost of childcare and look again at what we can do in healthcare. Can we add to measures we have taken previously with HRT, free contraception and so on? If the Deputy wants to blow everything today and spend €2 billion or €3 billion now, she might come back in July and say let us spend another €2 billion. By the time we get to October, there will be €5 billion or €6 billion spent. That is no way to run a country either.
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We invested an additional 20%, up to €500 million extra, in disability services. That is systemic, sustainable and something that will happen year on year. We increased the domiciliary care allowance for a second year in a row by an additional €20. We will do more in the forthcoming budget. If you look at the changes we have made to the fuel allowance scheme, a two adult household will benefit by about €2,300 per annum as a result of that. A lone parent family will benefit by up to €1,800. These are significant measures we are taking. We extended it because of the impact of the war in the Middle East, which has undoubtedly created huge pressures all round. The biggest issue is uncertainty about how long this crisis will last and the direction it will take in terms of the impact on fuel prices, which will then impact everything else. We have to be very careful too of the inflationary impact of Government spending. If Government just allocates another €4 billion or €5 billion, that sounds great but it simply brings us to a 5% or 6% inflation rate, which would not be sustainable.
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When the Deputy asked that question last month, I stressed the importance of renewable energy. In Armenia, I made it very clear that our immediate focus is on offshore wind. I pointed out the very significant progress we have made in respect of onshore wind and, indeed, solar. Solar is moving at pace in Ireland and I trust the Deputy is supportive of that. Deputy James O'Connor is introducing legislation which the Government will examine, along with the question of a legislative response in respect of nuclear, but we understand that it will take time. It is not going to immediately alleviate the pressures that people are under. One of the reasons we announced investment in a strategic reserve of liquefied natural gas, LNG, for example, was to deal with the security issue of energy supply. If anything were to happen to gas interconnectors through malign third-party actors, we would need a fallback. That got attacked as an anti-climate measure-----
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-----or was somehow portrayed as rowing back when, in fact, it was the very strong advice in the Department in respect of our vulnerability to anything happening to those gas interconnectors. We are not connected yet to France so we are not yet importing nuclear. That has been delayed a bit, through no fault of the Government or anything like that. I take the Deputy's point that once that connection happens, we will, to all intents and purposes, be importing energy generated through France's nuclear capacity. If we connect to Spain in the fullness of time, it would more likely be renewable of one sort or another, given the prevalence of renewable in the Iberian Peninsula. I believe we should have a serious examination of nuclear because we need to work out costs and timelines. There have been advances in technology in the smaller reactors and so on, and I am all for that. Barryroe has been around a long time.
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Not quite as long as Barryroe, although I do travel the length and breath of the Barryroe parish. The oil issue has been around for a long time. Successive companies - this is the only point I will make in respect of it - did not feel the capacity was there or were not in a position to bring it to the surface and so on. It did not appear at any stage to be economical through its a long history. I am not an expert on that. We are very clearly focused on the renewable agenda and have made huge progress in this country. If we are honest, fossil fuels have impacted negatively on the world for a long time.
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I thank the Deputy for his commentary. I am consistent. We should examine the issue of the potential of nuclear power given the changing technologies and how technology has advanced. However, our first priority in the here and now is renewables, including wind, solar and anaerobic digestion. We have made a lot of progress on those fronts, in particular solar latterly. Industry, in particular, has adopted solar, be it rooftop or in farms adjacent to major factories. There has been a very successful outcome. On the accelerated EU proposals for greater EU level co-ordination, the EU grids package is key. That means connecting to Europe more and more and Europe developing strong grid connection to give it energy security and independence. The biggest negative impact on Europe is this energy question. We have had numerous crises going back over five decades and we need to make sure the next five decades are not similar.
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