I welcome this motion and thank the Green Party for bringing it forward. I absolutely agree that the energy crisis is a climate crisis, but it is also a social justice crisis. The reason we are here and the reason so many people are at the mercy of global and international fossil fuel shocks is that this Government and the previous Government did not put in place plans to insulate communities and homeowners from these energy shocks. It is not the case that we did not have warnings previously. After the invasion of Ukraine, we saw incredible increases in the price of electricity and gas. It was at that time that the Government should have put in place measures to insulate and future-proof homes and to protect those who are least able to weather these shocks. We in the Social Democrats put out a press release in September 2022 that called for the Government to urgently ramp up investment in social energy, double grants for solar panels and give free panels to those who were eligible for the warmer homes schemes. I spoke about how not implementing proper large-scale investment in solar was a wasted opportunity. Some 1 million homes in Ireland were suitable for solar panels and should have been eligible. If the Government had listened at that time, this country would be in a much better position to weather the current shock. That was a wasted opportunity on the part of the previous Government. Only last week, the Social Democrats reiterated our calls for large-scale investment in solar so that everybody can avail of its benefits. I refer not just to those who are financially secure but also to those who rely on supports, including disability supports and fuel allowance, and those families who are working but who find it difficult to invest in future-proofing their homes because they are worried about paying rent, their mortgage or for childcare. People do not have money sitting in their bank accounts that they could use for these measures. We ask that the Government support our calls and the calls in today's motion to really invest in solar because we cannot continue to go through this cycle of energy shock followed by failing people in our communities and placing the burden on them. As it is Earth Day, I also want to talk about nature. We should not talk about climate and energy without also talking about nature. It is all inextricably linked. I have studied and worked in the area of environmental protection since I was 17. I have worked in a multitude of areas and I must say I find it very frustrating to see where we are now and how we have not used the last 30 or 40 years to protect our environment. I am really sick and tired of hearing governments say that they are supporting climate action and nature protection while doing the complete opposite. Last week in the Dáil, we debated Government-proposed measures that would undermine the climate Act, the very Act we brought in during the term of the last Dáil to protect against and mitigate the huge crisis that is the climate crisis. I am also sick and tired of seeing governments using the environment purely for photo opportunities and greenwashing exercises. I am sick and tired of the disconnect between what is spoken in here and what happens on the ground. I will give some very small illustrations of where we are going so wrong in this country. We have national parks without management plans and where nature is not prioritised. We have protected areas where there is no protection. Every year, the Minister of State responsible for biodiversity signs off on the hunting of endangered red-listed birds and other endangered and protected species. It just does not make sense. Compartmentalising nature separately from everything else that we do just does not work. Nature, climate and environment have to span every single portfolio because unless we do it that way, we are never going to get this right, we are never going to make inroads and we are going to leave people and the environment behind. If we do not get this right, the environment will continue to regenerate, but our lives, energy security, food security, mental health and ability to engage with our environment and our neighbourhoods will be heavily impacted. It is all highly linked. I ask that when the Ministers are sitting at the Cabinet table, they try to incorporate nature, the environment and climate change. It is only then that we will manage to make inroads and make the changes. We cannot separate nature from everything else. It just does not work like that.

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