I welcome this discussion today and the opportunity to speak in full confidence in the Government and its leadership. There is no doubt the Dáil and every single one of us here, all of us elected representatives, are experiencing in our constituencies the impact of global political uncertainty on real people, families and businesses. Events that seem so far away geographically have a very immediate impact on everyday costs for people, from food to fuel and the very basics. We can all acknowledge this is a deeply challenging period but it is also a period that demands that we work together in the House rather than against each other to ensure we protect the State and our people to the best of our ability. If we ever needed reminding as to our status as an open economy on the edge of Europe, the war on Iran has once again confirmed it for us all, even after Ukraine, Brexit and Covid. This Government has been elected with the task of managing these impacts and being responsible in our response to them as they arise but also with an eye to how each and every action and measure we take has consequences. We have to manage as elected representatives the impact of rising oil prices. We need to act robustly to protect jobs and futures to ensure we fund our key services and supports, to deliver safe and secure housing for our people and to invest proactively and sustainably to get costs down for ordinary people. This is our job. It is one each of us has been elected to do and to take seriously. We have the resources. It is due to the stewardship of our country by this Government and previous governments that we have been in a position to act decisively with financial supports. Over the past five years our State has experienced the effects of global wars in Ukraine and on the edge of Europe, the war in Iran and the pandemic, which have, in turn, placed systemic pressures on how we do business. The Government has responded robustly but we must do so in a sustainable way. As Minister for housing and local government, I thank our fire services and our local authorities, which stepped up in very difficult circumstances over the past couple of weeks.

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