I wish to ask the Minister of State about the plans the Government has for the upgrading of our port system across the country. There are two aspects of this that we need to get to grips with. The first is the opportunities there are for wind energy at sea and the issues around infrastructure given that many of our ports, particularly those on the west and south coasts, do not have the ability to be able to provide the kinds of services that are required for that industry. Will the Minister of State answer those questions also with regard to the development of Dublin Port and the issues around that?

I thank the Minister of State. It is remarkable that a recent report said that Belfast Port is the only port on the island that has the infrastructure in place to facilitate the construction and maintenance of offshore wind energy generation. For a long time in this House we have talked about the opportunities that lie off our coast, and particularly the west and south coasts, for the generation of wind energy and the export possibilities of that energy to continental Europe, never mind for our own uses here on the island of Ireland.

There really needs to be an emphasis on ensuring we put this infrastructure in place. Many of these ports do not handle a lot of cargo and do not handle a lot of ferry activity, but the opportunity is there for them around offshore wind energy. We really need to see a plan to deliver on this very quickly.

The second part of my question was on Dublin Port, which of course is the main port for a lot of cargo coming into the State. I visited the port in the past couple of weeks and the plans it has in place are very impressive. It is staying within the footprint of the existing port, which is quite limited in space. It is doing everything it can to make sure it uses the space as efficiently as possible. I note some of the criticism from the senior Minister in respect of that and I believe some of it is a little bit beyond what we need to hear at this stage. We need to get on with the business.

On offshore wind, the Deputy will be aware that the Port of Waterford is proposing to develop offshore renewable energy operations on the downstream location at Belview Port in Kilkenny. That project is at preliminary design stage. The Rosslare Europort is progressing plans for offshore renewable energy, ORE, with a purpose-built quay and berth and up to 50 acres for an ORE quayside storage area for the purposes of marshalling and assembly. This will require dredging of the navigable channel to a depth of 9 m to 11 m. Rosslare Europort expects to lodge a planning application in the second quarter of 2024 with a view to beginning construction in the third quarter of 2025.

With regard to offshore renewable energy more generally, we published a policy statement on this in 2021 following a decision in September 2022. Significant work on planning and consent relating to offshore renewable energy are being prioritised across all Departments. Irish ports involved in advancing ORE infrastructure projects are at various stages of development. A number of ports are already working with financial advisers to progress the detailed business cases around the investment requirements and how best these requirements can be met.

The whole issue of putting this infrastructure in place and the development of the capacity we need is completely beyond the ambition of this Government, which seems to be really lagging behind in developing the ports system in the State. It is one of the great disappointments that this opportunity exists and yet the Government is talking about publishing plans, doing reports and getting consultants in to talk about it. We should be getting on with the business of developing this capacity as quickly as possible.

I wish to bring to the Minister of State's attention another issue around Dublin Port. Since Brexit, a lane was put in place for a lot of the cargo coming in. Naturally enough we did not know what was going to happen because of Brexit and there were possibly a lot of checks to be put in place. Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have some 14 ha of space at least from Dublin Port to use for this. That space is completely underutilised. Most of the time these huge yards and huge spaces are not being used at all. There needs to be a review of that and recognition of the progress that has been made with Brexit and the protocol deal, which has meant that the red lane and the amber lane will be used very little. There needs to be a review of this to open that space up so the port can be used properly.

On Dublin Port, the Deputy will be aware that a number of Departments were involved in that process, with the EU, on what footprint was required at that time.

On the Deputy's previous point about Dublin Port, there is a need for additional capacity at the port. The 3FM project outlines that there will be further demands within the Dublin Port footprint. I have had positive engagement with them. I had a meeting with them a number of weeks ago. We must ensure that the economic footprint of Dublin Port continues to be a key powerhouse in the context of trade, enterprise and industrial policy. The 3FM project is an extremely important plan in that context.

Is the Minister on board with that?

On the ORE port infrastructure, we are determined. There has been an issue and we are trying to reform that in the context of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, and getting the marine consents. We are also working with a number of ports on advancing the business plans so that the financing can be put in place. We are ambitious to ensure that we embrace the opportunities around offshore wind in the coming years.

We are over time but will be returning to the same topic.

I wish to ask the Minister of State what urgent actions the Department is taking to address the huge infrastructural deficits in our ports, particularly Rosslare Europort. What level of funding will the Department provide to ports to prepare for offshore renewable energy? Will he make a statement on the matter?

At the same time, we have this situation where the Government is allowing these prices to increase. There is an enormous cruelty to the Government's actions here. It is a laissez-faire attitude, because at the same time, the Government is milking it with VAT. The VAT take has never been as high in this State's history. An answer to an Aontú parliamentary question showed there was an increase of 40% in the level of VAT earned by this State on electricity. The Government is turning the screw on families with VAT in their time of need. It is an incredible situation. The Government has this €20 billion surplus coming down the tracks within the next three years, yet it made a record €381 million in VAT on electricity last year.

One of the most frustrating elements of this is that every single fortnight, a member of the Government has come into the Dáil or some media studio and stated the Government is either going to deal with the high energy costs or going to put in place a windfall tax. Every fortnight, without fail, the Government has reneged on that commitment. Months have passed since the Government made those commitments. The Government committed six, eight, ten months ago to deal with these high prices, yet it sat on its hands. This winter the only thing that has been warm are the Government's hands, from being sat on in the wintertime. It is an incredible situation. I believe this is a case of the Government strategically being incompetent. If we take the big picture with respect to the Green Party's major objectives, the party seeks to reduce energy consumption. The biggest driver of reductions in energy consumption are high prices. It is the Green Party's stated objective to have high energy prices in this State. Thus, it is not at all by accident that families are suffering so much with these energy prices. It is not at all by accident that so many people are living in fuel poverty.

The solution is very simple. The Government has the levers in its hands to put these companies on notice. Other countries have done so. Italy did it, and has harvested about €4 billion in windfall taxes. Spain did it, as did Germany and Belgium. Even the British Tory party is more decent when it comes to these issues than the Green Party, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I implore the Minister of State not to give us another promise that in a short while there will be a windfall tax and in a short while there will be reductions in fuel and electricity prices. The Government should do it now and put the people out of their misery.

I am a bit bewildered because this is a good motion and I want to support it. However, on 22 October 2022, Sinn Féin refused to support our motion to cut out carbon tax and we cannot have it every way here. The people at home are bewildered, as Deputy Tóibín said, and they are blackguarded, perished, angry, demoralised and many other words I cannot use. We have the highest prices in Europe and we get promise after promise that the Government is going to introduce a windfall tax. The ESB is making record profits. There is talk of decoupling oil and gas from wind and clean energy and a lot of semantics has gone on. We were the last in Europe to allow that to happen.

It is obviously a plan by the Greens. I told Deputy Ó Cathasaigh last week that he is green on the outside and red on the inside. He said he was happy to be described as that. The Greens are nothing short of communists then, out-and-out communists. They want to destroy our people and destroy our country. I think of men like Liam Lynch and Pádraig Pearse and others who fought for this country to serve our people, but the members of this Government are serving themselves. They will not even tackle the big moguls and the oil companies. They will not tackle the ESB just as they will not tackle the banks, which are causing havoc and ruin for people every day of the week. I tell the Minister of State the sooner the Government packs its bags, evacuates this building and leaves it to someone who is able to run it the better, because it is driving a coach and four through ordinary families. They cannot heat, they cannot go to work and they cannot do anything else. They can barely eat. It is a stated policy of the Minister of State's Green Party - a communist policy again - to force people out of their vehicles by charging punitive taxes and rates. The Government came back here two weeks ago and put excise on diesel back up again by 23 cent a litre by October of this year. To hell or to Connacht with the Greens is what I say.

Last November, the Dáil passed a Rural Independent Group motion clearing the way for cheaper electricity prices. That motion was tabled, debated and passed on 16 November, which is almost six months ago. The motion explicitly instructed the Government to immediately change policy and implement regulations to cap the prices paid to wind farm operators and energy companies and to place a windfall or excess profit tax on all energy companies to provide for cheaper household electricity bills. It also instructed the Government to end the unconstitutional practice of protecting the superprofits of energy companies, which are driving up electricity prices for everyone. However, almost six months on the public have not seen their energy bills drop because the Government has failed to get its act together and implement the required changes. It is unforgivable for any Government policy position to continue when it allows almost all our energy companies to make staggering profits of over 600% of their predicted earnings over the past two years, while people are struggling to keep the lights on. It is totally unacceptable.

The carbon tax has been mentioned often. By next September, the Government will have put on 23 cent per litre of petrol and 18 cent for diesel, which is going to drive up the price of food. People therefore cannot pay their electricity bills and cannot have their lights on and a bit of heat because the Government is melting their pockets every way it can. Now there is the little nod-and-wink fund with the carbon tax, which is supported by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Greens, the Social Democrats, Labour, all of which make up the usual cosy gang here in the Dáil. They are going to rip the money out of the ordinary people's pockets again. People cannot afford it. The Government cannot continue to add carbon tax and VAT and expect people to pay for it. The Government did not bring in any legislation to ensure people got their warmer homes in time, like they were supposed to. I support this motion, as it is trying to help people in these terribly difficult times.

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about this serious matter. It is a fact that the exorbitant cost of electricity has driven many people demented. The Minister of State's buddy, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is specifically responsible for not ensuring the energy regulator does its job. The regulator has not done its job and there has been no account from the regulator through all this unmitigated mess. Other countries put a cap on the electricity. We asked the Government to do the same, day after day in this Chamber. The Government totally rubbished it and would not listen to us. People have gone through hell and back trying to survive. People depend on electricity. I had one elderly woman last year who was afraid to boil the kettle because of the bills she was getting.

Then the Government is telling people they should not cut turf. It is trying to bring in that measure by the back door now by having something in the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, saying farmers cannot cut turf and if they do, their payments will be cut. I appreciate people around the country, but especially in Kerry, who cut turf to keep themselves warm. We have done it ourselves on our farm since the 1800s. I can go back that far. We will continue to do it while we live, and my family are at it now as well. I wish the people of Kerry well and tell them all to get out now and cut turf and not have their finger inside the Government's mouth for electricity. The Government is telling people to put in heat pumps when they cannot pay the bills because of those heat pumps.

Let me be clear: personally, the Minister of State is a very nice, affable man.

I wish to hear the Minister of State's views regarding safety measures, particularly for passengers and staff using public transport. For some time, in my previous role, I called for the establishment of a Garda transport division to protect people on public transport and the staff who run it. In many cases, there have been serious incidents of what is sometimes described as antisocial behaviour but goes well beyond that. It is thuggery and abuse. People have been attacked while using public transport. This means people are hesitant, particularly late in the evening, to use these services. If we want a public transport system that is going to work, it must be affordable, reliable and safe.

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am aware of the importance of this matter and the concern in Dublin and in other locations. It is a very serious issue of safety in our public transport network, as the Deputy said. I fully recognise that those who regularly use and work in our public transport network are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents. Safety and security on public transport are matters that first and foremost must be managed by public transport operators in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, where appropriate. Nonetheless, both the Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA, engage regularly with operators on the issue of safety. The NTA has established a working group on antisocial behaviour, which meets monthly to share information and best practices.

Separately, under the national sustainable mobility policy, my Department has committed to publishing an annual public transport passenger safety and personal security report with the NTA.

Each of the operators has introduced a number of initiatives in recent years to help to combat the issue. For example, there has been an increase of more than 50% in spending on rail security in recent years, from €3.7 million in 2016 to a preliminary spend of €6.3 million in 2023. The entire Dublin Bus fleet is fully fitted with CCTV cameras and radios for immediate contact to a central control centre. An Garda Síochána is conducting more patrols in areas experiencing particular safety and security issues and has deployed undercover gardaí to assist with this. I fully support this work and the ongoing positive engagement between An Garda Síochána and the various public transport operators regarding issues of safety on public transport.

I am also pleased to report that following close collaboration between Dublin Bus, An Garda Síochána and various representative groups, Dublin Bus resumed full services to the west Tallaght area last Sunday, these services having been curtailed in recent months due to totally unacceptable antisocial behaviour. The combined interventions implemented to date across the network have helped to tackle some of the antisocial behaviour. However, I fully acknowledge that more work needs to be done.

-----and I will tell the Minister of State why. First, look at the folly of what is going on in Foynes, where we have mulch coming in from Brazil. There are thousands of tonnes of it and it must be transported up through the country to replace the peat we were producing ourselves. The Minister of State may shake his head because he is ashamed of that fact, which has made a lot of headlines in the last couple of days. I put down parliamentary questions on it and this is not the first ship that has come in. Of course, the Government will take every way it can to try to sweep that under the carpet and deny it is happening, but it is happening.

We are fully committed to continuing to work with all stakeholders to ensure the safest possible environment for passengers and all employees providing vital public transport services. I welcome that in recent weeks the Garda transport hub has been announced and will be in operation in the National Train Control Centre at Heuston Station this Friday, 5 May 2023. This will allow An Garda Síochána to have oversight of all public transport networks, including trains, buses and trams. It will strengthen the links between An Garda Síochána and public transport operators and allow An Garda Síochána to respond more quickly to any issues that may arise. I have also been informed that it is expected a similar centre will be opened in Connolly Station. Having a strong collaboration between public transport operators and An Garda Síochána and strengthening the presence of An Garda Síochána will support all our combined efforts in trying to ensure we have safer public transport.

Another aspect of this is the retention of staff. It is a problem. There is a shortage of drivers across the country and across the world, especially for public transport utilities. The issue for many is that they do not particularly want to drive a bus, tram, Luas or whatever where they will be attacked or abused by people on a regular basis. Alternative employment is available to them. We must ensure people are kept safe. There are issues with other aspects of employment law in that respect. There is a race to the bottom with regard to the privatisation of services. However, one of the key things is the issue of safety and security and ensuring people feel safe when they go to work. We have a situation in Dublin and in other parts of the country where young people leaving work late in the evening have no option for travelling home. They have no way to get back to where they live. They end up walking the streets and it is dangerous. If there is a bus service, they are afraid to use it. We must change that.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 37 and the name of the Member in each case:

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh - to discuss the problem of rodents infesting neighbouring homes where the private residence from which the issue stems is owned by someone with underlying mental issues or is in poverty.

Deputy Martin Browne - to discuss the future development of the community nursing unit at St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne - to discuss energy allowances in the household benefits package.

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan - to discuss the need to advance a wastewater treatment plant at Crossbarry, County Cork.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly - to discuss children's disability network team, CDNT, waiting lists in Balbriggan.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - to discuss waiving the connection fee to the new sewerage scheme in Kilcummin, County Kerry.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - to discuss plans to address staffing shortages in the home support sector.

Deputy Pat Buckley - to discuss the need for improvements to the processing of protected disclosures in light of injuries suffered recently at a Stryker facility in Cork.

Deputy Bríd Smith - to discuss childcare costs in light of moves by a private firm to raise costs.

Deputy Pauline Tully - to discuss the severe shortage of childcare provision in Cavan.

Deputy David Stanton - to discuss the need to provide transport assistance for young people with intellectual disabilities travelling to workshops or training centres post second-level education.

Deputy Thomas Gould - to discuss the delay in the sale and allocation of homes delivered in 2022.

Deputy Mattie McGrath - to discuss St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel, and challenges regarding parking spaces.

Deputy Alan Dillon - to discuss the supply of public water to rural areas of County Mayo.

Deputy Jackie Cahill - to discuss the illegal sale of coal and other solid fuels in the Twenty-six Counties which are imported from the North.

The matters raised by Deputies Martin Browne, Aindrias Moynihan, David Stanton and Violet-Anne Wynne have been selected for discussion.

We have had this discussion on numerous occasions in recent months. I want answers from the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, this evening because a public meeting is being held in Cashel tomorrow night. The public of the town and the staff in St. Patrick's Hospital deserve answers at this stage. Public representatives belonging to the party of the Minister of State and other Government parties have been giving false information, as far as I am concerned, in Cashel about money being ring-fenced and parking facilities being too small in the area.

Let us get this out there at the start. In 2019, this project went to design stage. Three weeks ago, we were told it was moving along. Now, the unit is being moved out of the grounds of St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel. Last week, the Minister of State referred to commercially sensitive information. There is none. We were told this at a meeting of the HSE the other day, at which Deputy Mattie McGrath was present. The Government is talking now about a site the HSE owns. I can guarantee it, and I said this to the representatives of the HSE the other day, that no unit will ever go up on that site. I do not even know if the Minister of State knows where the site is located. There is not much more room there for a car, never mind an ambulance or anything like that, to get up to that site. This is all the misinformation that is out there in public. The people of Cashel and County Tipperary deserve better.

Last Friday, we discovered that no cost analysis was done regarding moving this unit from St. Patrick's Hospital. There also seems to be no engineer's report stating this unit is too small. I asked the Minister of State for this review last week, but I have still not got it. There must have been a meeting where it was decided to move the unit out of its current site at St. Patrick's Hospital. These documents have not been forthcoming. What kind of situation is going on in the HSE that meetings seem to be going on where vital decisions are being made about people's lives, but where there are no minutes? We are being told about reports from HIQA, etc., saying that the site is too small and that there is no parking. When St. Patrick's Hospital was going full pelt, there were 300 patients and staff on site and there was never an issue with parking. An issue with parking came up three weeks ago, and that was about the end of it. I will come back in after Deputy Mattie McGrath.

I thank Deputy Martin Browne for letting me share time. We want answers about St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel. We want reassurance and something definite in respect of this matter.

St. Patrick's Hospital is a wonderful institution. My late mum did some time there. I cannot say enough about the staff and all the people there, including in the chapels and the church. I often attended mass there, when we had a church. We were expecting a 60-bed community unit to be delivered. That is what we were told all the way along at meetings and briefings and everything else, until a bombshell landed two or three weeks ago regarding the site now being too small. This is simply not true. I cannot use the word "lie" here, but this is a porky of the highest order. As Deputy Martin Browne said, there were 350 staff and patients there, many of them driving, and there was plenty of room for parking. I ask the Minister of State to pick some other issue besides this one.

Something else is going on here. The Minister of State closed the beautiful hospital in Carrick-on-Suir. It was shocking to do that to a community hospital with three hospice beds. I am worried too now about there being plenty of hospital beds in University Hospital Waterford. I worry because we were told the other day we are in competition now with Dungarvan, if you do not mind, for this community hospital. I am watching this matter very carefully. The Minister of State should not dare to take this facility out of County Tipperary, because it is needed. The community hospital is needed and the staff and everybody else is committed to it. Cashel lost too much back in the 1980s, when it lost to Clonmel, as well as the last time. It is not going to lose this time. The people there are ready for the Minister of State.

It has been stated that the greenfield site is suitable. It is not, and it is not accessible. We have a site. Just let us build on it. This is a listed building but it can be easily adapted. There was no problem before with engineers' reports or anything else. Costings in this regard have not even been done. What the Minister of State is overseeing in the HSE, along with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is nothing short of outrageous. I refer to officials being able to do what they like and tell us what they want anytime they like and different stories then being presented by politicians from the Minister of State's party. This is just not acceptable. The people of Cashel deserve this facility and they are going to get it.

It would be wrong to dismiss any potential safety issues associated with E10 fuel as being caused by a lack of maintenance. That is the wrong approach. Can this matter be looked into? If there are safety issues, it is serious. Certainly, the information I have to hand suggests the move to E10 petrol will put people's lives in danger. My correspondent who works in the motor industry tells me they have been advised to use the UK checker to see whether a car is compatible with E10 fuel. For example, it is advised that a 2007 Lexus should not be run on E10 and should use E5 instead. This is a car that cost more than €50,000 15 years ago.

Now, it is not suitable for use in Ireland. I will list a few others. Some 2008 Toyota Avensis and Audi A4 models, 2007 Ford Mondeo models and 2006 Volkswagen Golf models are not suitable, and there are many others. Given this information, the Minister of State will see why we need absolute guarantees around the safety of introducing and using E10 fuels.

I am answering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The advice is that the sustained use of E10 fuel in older vehicles may result in more frequent maintenance due to the vulnerability of certain vehicle parts to the solvent properties of ethanol requiring, for example, their more frequent replacement, but the clear feedback is that this does not mean they cannot be operated with E10 fuels and that it is safe to do so. The European specifications have outlined that. The legislation does not prevent any independent or specialist fuel supplier from placing an E5 blend of petrol on the market even after 1 July when the regulations are fully operational. The clear guidance is that E10 fuels are safe to use.

I was canvassing last week in the Navan Road area, which is in my constituency, and I met Mary, who is a pensioner. She and her husband have a very modest income after a lifetime of work. She said that she keeps the heating off and uses a blanket to keep warm when watching television. Mary showed me a bill of €800 for gas and one of €500 for the ESB. She said she managed to pay one off just as the other dropped in the letterbox. She is desperately worried about paying the ESB and the cycle will start all over again in the next couple of months. What is she to do? Mary, not just Sinn Féin, believes that the Government is not doing enough to help struggling families and workers. New figures released show that Ireland has the highest electricity prices in Europe. Wholesale gas prices have fallen. Why is this not being passed on to people? Electricity prices for households gradually went from being one of the lowest in Europe, before the energy market was privatised in 1996, to the highest in recent years. Energy poverty has doubled in the last year. What does the Government do? It increases the carbon tax by €7.50 per tonne. This hits home heating bills this month. People are literally praying for a hot summer, autumn, and winter this year. The Government has resisted energy market reforms at every turn. It is clearly not on the side of families and workers. What did I tell Mary that a Sinn Féin Government would do? We would introduce the windfall tax on the obscene super profits of the energy companies; provide real financial relief and certainty to households by reducing electricity prices and capping them, as has been done in Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands; reverse the increase in the carbon tax; and introduce regulatory powers for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to address issues affecting the price that families pay for energy. I ask every Deputy to support this motion.

The clear evidence and guidance is to the effect that E10 fuel is safe but may necessitate more frequent maintenance. If the Deputy wishes to correspond with the Department about her specific concerns, I will ask the officials who have been engaging on this issue here and with their European colleagues to respond with the specific guidance. That may be helpful in responding to the people who have been in touch with her. The policy advice is that it is safe to change to E10 fuels.