The world is quite a scary place right now from the war in the Middle East, including in Iran and Gaza and the West Bank in Palestine, to what we are seeing in Somalia and Russia's continuing onslaught on Ukraine. We experienced hikes in the prices of various goods and services, particularly energy, after the invasion of Ukraine. What we are seeing now is a multiple of that because the Strait of Hormuz plays a crucial role in the supply of oil worldwide and in the supply of rare earth minerals that are crucial to the manufacturing of components we use every day. In many circumstances, it is not just about the crude oil. What the Government has announced needs to be welcomed. Members across the House acknowledge the difficulty people have been experiencing, particularly commuters in Kildare North going to and from work. There has been an increase in public transport and in the use of public transport but there continues to be a demand and a need for private transportation, particularly for people living out of town and for people with young children. This House needs to acknowledge that public transport works for some people but it does not work for a lot. For example, a family might have two or three children with different drop-off and pick-up times, as well as parents trying to get into work. These are considerations for people using private transport. It is not as simple as trying to ensure everybody uses public transport. However, it should be encouraged and recommended for everybody in the context of trying to take people off the roads and reduce congestion in our towns and villages. Maynooth, Celbridge, Naas, Leixlip, Kilcock and Clane are all choked with traffic. Public transport is one of the only means for us to move out of that particular scenario. I am also thinking of things such as ring roads like the one being constructed in Maynooth at the moment. In terms of the measures being introduced, it has to be acknowledged that they are targeted, and we have to be cognisant that this is very fast changing situation in the Middle East. It makes sense to extend the fuel allowance by four weeks. It makes sense that community welfare officers are liaising and working with families that are hard pressed and struggling at the moment. What I would say to anybody listening, particularly in Kildare, is to please reach out to a community welfare officer if you are finding things difficult. If people are not sure how to contact a community welfare officer, feel free to contact me and my office. We will be more than happy to help, as we have been helping many families throughout Kildare. When we discuss the entire package, it is important to put it into context that we did not take a knee-jerk reaction. There was a month of consideration and looking at how things were playing out and things are yet to play out. It is likely that the price of oil will increase drastically again. What are we to do in that circumstance? The State cannot intervene in every single circumstance. It can only do so much and go as far as possible. We have to think about further down the line when there may be a particular and a desperate need and more of a need. I am not saying that there is not a need now but during the winter months in particular is when the need for home heating is most prevalent. I am not saying it is not prevalent and needed now but we have to be prepared for what might come and is likely to come later this year. We cannot use all of the finances and abilities at our disposal at the beginning of such an event. We have to be cognisant of this and think strategically and long term about how to look after the welfare of the people of this State not just in the days and weeks ahead, but in the months and years ahead. That is what this proposal does. It looks at the situation strategically and the Government is trying to be cognisant of that fact. It is also acting responsibly. I make that argument strongly. It was not a knee-jerk reaction. It was done in line with European Central Bank, ECB, and International Monetary Fund, IMF, advice. If we are to do things in an international context, we have to do what is best practice and what is recommended not only by experts in this country, but international experts such as the ECB and the IMF. This brings me on to the entire issue around energy and energy security in this State. There is a debate ongoing. We went through the pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal in Shannon and there is a lot of opposition to it. I understand some of the opposition because we are trying to decarbonise our economy and I completely appreciate some of the arguments. However, we have to live in the real world. In the real world, if anything was to happen to the gas supply in this country, we would be in serious trouble. We have only ten days supply in this country. Never mind industry, many people's homes in this country are heated by gas. We are speaking in this House today about home heating oil, many houses, particularly in the commuter belt in Kildare, Dublin, Meath and Wicklow, are heated by gas. We have to be completely honest with the public. When we talk about energy security, it is not just home heating oil that we are dealing with in this circumstance, we need to be cognisant of all types of energy moving forward. That is why the LNG terminal in Shannon is crucial to the energy security of this country. God forbid if something was to happen to the gas pipeline between the UK and Ireland. We would be in serious trouble. We need to get real around what we are doing about our energy security. We also need to look at the mix of the energy being used, particularly carbon-based energy. Biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, offer alternatives, particularly when we look at home heating because, by and large, it is kerosene. HVO and biodiesel can play a role in terms of the mix people are using at home. It is a little bit more expensive, and that is something that has to be considered, particularly when a lot of hard-pressed families have to pay an increased cost for home heating oil. HVO and biodiesel can, however, deliver fuel to this country that is sourced primarily within the European Union. When we look at what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran, for example, we are being impacted by global oil supply chains. If we can source far more of our energy in Europe, particularly our fuel, it will help with energy security into the future. I have raised the question of nuclear time and again in this House with the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I have also raised it in other places such as the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, which I sit on. Many people in the media and in this House have questioned how France, for example, has been able to keep its energy prices so low. The short answer is it is because it has nuclear. As soon as I have ever mentioned the word "nuclear", people literally go nuclear. They completely cut me off. We need to have an honest conversation. I have not called for us to go building huge nuclear plants in this country. I have asked for a reasoned debate and reasoned consideration by the Department and everyone in this House regarding the viability and the possibility of nuclear power in this country. I am not talking about huge nuclear power plants. I am talking about small modular reactors, SMRs. They are about the size of a house but when we compare that to large nuclear compounds throughout the world, they are quite small. This has been adopted by many countries in Europe and by Canada. It is seen as the way forward and the way to address most energy concerns. We are looking to electrify the vast majority of our lives with electric cars and all of the electrical devices in our homes. Electricity and the generation of energy is already one of the biggest issues globally. We need to ensure our energy security. We are a small island. We have to import most of the stuff. We are doing a lot around renewable energy, particularly onshore wind, but we have a lot more to do with offshore wind energy. We need to open our minds and perspectives into how we can ensure that we have energy security moving forward. It is about having a mix. We want to decarbonise, and we are doing as much as we can to decarbonise but we should do a lot more. We have seen the success of Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and the retrofitting schemes. A lot of people come into my office in Celbridge and I meet people in clinics throughout Kildare. We are helping these people apply for SEAI grants. The grant schemes for windows and doors have been a great success, as has the wraparound grant scheme. It is about extending that. Older people have been able to avail of it with a bit of savings. I am always conscious of the people who do not have some savings there and the need to provide additional supports for them as well. When we speak of vulnerable people in relation to the home heating oil situation, as well gas and energy security, it is crucial that in any future supports package, we look at a living alone allowance. When two older people live together, they have the ability to combine their pensions, whatever type of pension it is. It is far more difficult for an older person living on their own - their spouse may be deceased or they could be separated - to pay for a fill of oil or for their rising fuel costs. It is crucial that we articulate that supports are there for people who are experiencing difficulties. What the Government is doing here is being reflective and being cognisant of the impact on people's day-to-day lives by reducing the cost of petrol and diesel and by ensuring that we have the flexibility and the bandwidth as things change - because things will change, and there is a likelihood that things will get worse - to step in. We will have the financial mechanism and the ability to support the citizens of this State not just in the days and weeks ahead, but in the months and years ahead.

Sentiment score: 0.14