I have not started yet.

Sentiment score: 0.00

How much time have I?

Sentiment score: 0.00

I am glad this gas safety framework is to be put on a statutory basis. It is only right that people who are trained and qualified are installing and maintaining equipment. They know what they are doing for unsuspecting people who have a problem or are having something new driven by gas installed in their homes. People are depending on those who are trained and qualified and this is an explosive product that could leave many people hurt, injured or worse if it is not put together right. This Bill took a long time to come before us and we are all going to vote for it. What we look forward to is Shannon LNG, which has been on the back-burner since long before I came up here in 2016. There have been too many delays. We need to ensure this is made available to the people. We cannot be beholden to one supply from the east all the time because we need gas to keep the country going and keep electricity flowing. It has been suggested to me many times that we should be using the old Kinsale Head gas field to store gas. We should buy it when it is cheaper rather than waiting until it gets expensive and we have to buy it. Often we are paying the highest prices for the sources we are using. We should ensure we are not paying the maximum price for it all the time. The other problem is the regulator. Is she there at all, or who is she or who is he? We do not seem to see any action or any come hither put on the electricity companies that have varied so much in their price increases in the last 12 months. We need to do something about that because many people feel that since the day we closed Bord na Móna in 2020 the cost of electricity has gone up every other day. That is so wrong and we do not hear our energy regulator or regulators, or whoever they are, saying anything and it falls on poor people. The cost of living has gone through the roof in the last six months and it is exploding as we are talking. There is no end to the increase in the price of things. When energy costs so much, the cost of everything else goes up. We have seen the prices at the pumps have gone mad again in recent times. There is the odd one that nearly maintains the same price all the time. We cannot understand it. There must be a regulator that ensures fair play is given to the consumer but I do not think he is acting or that he is there at all. The blame goes back to the Government. The Government is in charge of the regulator or he is supposed to be answerable to it, but I cannot see any answer. I do not see him doing any work at all on behalf of the people we were elected to represent here. I appeal again to see whether something can be done because the cost of living is tied to that and the cost of energy and heating. Without thinking of poor people, I come across people on a daily basis who believe they cannot buy a bag of turf now or get a bag of turf or that they should not have a fire. They feel guilty about it. These are elderly people who think they are doing harm and they are frozen in their homes. They cannot afford anything. We hear about underfloor heating and all these systems, like air to water heat pumps. They know they are in their elder years and that they do not have much time. They do not have the money to invest in these systems and they feel it is not worth their while. Normally, they would have turf, timber and so on. They are afraid to use those because of all the talk of the last Government which was driven by the Green Party. It did more harm than will ever be repaired. It will take too long to repair it for these elderly people. The facts are that since Bord na Móna closed down, the cost of electricity has gone up day by day. We must do something to ensure the regulator steps in and ensures fair play is had by the people. There are others here who want to talk. I will finish.

Sentiment score: -0.02