I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, for being here today. Like many of the first-time TDs, I have been elected for 16 months. In that time, I have made 1,400 representations on behalf of people all across Mayo. I have met people at weekly clinics in Westport, Achill, Belmullet and Bangor Erris, and more are planned. We have helped people to get the fuel allowance. I welcome the extension into May of the fuel allowance, which means an extra €152. For some people, that fuel allowance is not enough, so we have helped them with the additional needs payment or the supplementary welfare allowance. We have also had many people in who we are helping with the SEAI grants. I am really seeing the difference that new windows and doors or pumped insulation can make. This past fortnight, I met with different people, ones who have not come to clinics or the office and who have not emailed - families, farmers, hauliers and small business people. They are people I knew were struggling with the cost of living but I did not know just how much they were to the pin of their collar. People were emotional when they were talking to me about the fear at the shop checkout, the petrol pump and when the electricity bill came in. I acknowledge David Heraty and John Scanlon who, on behalf of 500 people, came to my office this week with a petition with 500 signatures. Those men said they had never been in a TD's office before. I am here today to say I am listening. I understand. I hear the frustration. I hear the fear. I also welcome the many people who took to the streets legitimately. For many, it was the first time that they ever protested because they felt that their voices were not being heard. We hear them loud and clear. We have to ensure that at the next available opportunity, we go further than the €770 million package for working people and small business owners. Everybody knows this is not a crisis that is only affecting Ireland; it is affecting the whole word. Geographical tensions are causing crises everywhere. We can go back to the invasion of Ukraine and now we have what is going on in the Middle East. We are under pressure to support our citizens. I acknowledge that the €770 million package is a huge amount of money. For some people, they hear the budgets in terms of billions and €775 million does not sound that much. Speaking as the Chair of the Joint Committee on Children and Equality, I acknowledge the lack of childcare and how much that is causing people to struggle in their households. There was a recent announcement of €135 million over the lifetime of this Government to deliver State-led childcare. When we compare that €135 million with the €775 million, it is going to be swallowed up pretty quickly. It is just putting the amount of money into context. I think €775 million is similar to the whole budget for disability services, so it is a huge amount of money. In saying that, for some it is still not enough. We must be responsible in trying to respond. The farmers are happy to hear that there is €100 million in this package for them and the hauliers. I hear that they are worried that it is going to be another scheme similar to the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, or TAMS and it is going to be hard to access. We need to make it easy for them. At the next available opportunity to give back, we have to look at our income tax bands and other ways to give back to the hard-working people of this country. As a Government backbencher, that is what I will be doing for the people of Mayo. I will call for this at every single opportunity. However, we must insist on responding in a targeted, sustainable and responsible way in the midst of what we are facing globally. Lots of people have come to my office and had conversations with me about solar panels and how they are working. People got grants for solar panels last summer and are now starting to see the bills reducing. We have to keep working to support people to access those kinds of grant. We must acknowledge that we have made progress. Last month, 45% of our energy was from renewable sources. However, to avoid another crisis like this, we have to push to get that to 80% by 2030. We need to make homes and businesses all across Ireland more sustainable, warmer and cheaper to heat. I will keep speaking to use the time we have left, if that is okay. I want to talk about public transport. People in Mayo and elsewhere in rural Ireland do not have the luxury of switching off our cars when the price at the pumps gets expensive. We cannot leave the people in rural Ireland exposed. A fantastic initiative was rolled out in Achill this year, TFI Anseo. I want to see that rolled out across Mayo, in Erris, Louisburgh and all rural parts of Mayo. People can use this app or make a phone call to access public transport in real time where there are not bus services every five minutes and where we do not have the Luas and so on. The Government and its backbenchers have learned an awful lot about communication in the last fortnight. Sometimes, we are doing things well but do not communicate that well. We may also not be communicating well enough how we are using the people's taxes. People are asking us to scrap carbon tax but then you sit down with them and speak about how carbon tax is used for the fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, the working family payment and ACRES. There is an education gap here. People see us talking about millions and billions of euro. We have to make more of an effort to communicate clearly to people and to listen to them. Every time an international crisis causes prices to spike, it is rural Ireland that takes the hit first and hardest. Speaking for my constituency of Mayo, we have to be at the centre of Ireland's energy future but that energy future cannot just happen to Mayo; it has to benefit Mayo. If turbines are going up, the community should see their bills go down. People in rural Ireland will support change if they see a return for themselves. I will keep pushing for short-term supports and long-term solutions for the people of Mayo.

Sentiment score: 0.11