A week on from previous statements, the Government has finally come up with some measures, so I will be supporting them, like others in this House. However, that does not mean I think they are in any way sufficient. Hauliers have been dealt with and there is the 2 cent measure coming tomorrow with respect to storage, but the reduction in excise duty on its own is not enough. The cost of fuel has gone up by more than the amount by which excise duty is going to be cut. People in vulnerable situations need support. We had a discussion earlier this year about the cost-of-living allowance that is needed for people with disabilities. One of the calls coming from advocacy groups was that the fuel allowance should be extended to people on disability-related payments and that the season would be lengthened to 32 weeks. In the context of this fuel crisis, that is a reasonable ask at this stage, as are measures that can also support middle-income earners, especially pensioners who are just over the threshold but are going to be hit by the fuel costs. As others have mentioned, there are people who are dependent on home heating oil because they cannot get the piped gas. It is mainly in rural areas, but it also affects people in urban areas. In the longer term, as I mentioned when the Tánaiste was here previously, we absolutely need to move towards energy self-sufficiency and I would like to see that put on a wartime footing, with a five-year project rather than a 25-year project. For climate change reasons but especially for energy self-security, we need to move a lot faster than we are.

Sentiment score: 0.14