I fully accept people are under enormous pressures, in particular because of the war in the Middle East. People have had to endure a range of shocks going back to Covid and right through the war in Ukraine which had a severe impact on oil and energy prices and fed into general significant inflation in those years. Then we hit the tariffs a year ago, which is having an impact on a number of our companies, and now there is a war in the Middle East which has had a severe impact on oil prices again and is feeding into …

That is the reality but it still does not mean that people are not under pressure. We introduced some fairly radical schemes that would not have been thought possible five years ago, like free book schemes for every child going to school and free hot school meals. Across the board, we have brought in measures such as extending free GP care and many other measures in health in particular and in transport to try to ease the pressure on people in a systemic way. I would welcome a conversation because I think the Deput…

The reason being-----

I understand why and I think we need a discussion about it in this House. There is a lot of what went on that the Deputy would not have agreed with, if she is honest. That was evident in the voting pattern last evening. I think the Deputy got a glimpse of what sidling up to Sinn Féin can mean for her party and the damage it can do to it in the time ahead. I would welcome a debate in terms of priorities or a discussion and engagement on priorities. The Deputy's party opted not to go into government; that is fair eno…

We are in government. I will accept any constructive proposal on the cost of living, a sustainable way in terms of climate and also energy security. Thankfully, we have national oil reserves. Last week, we had a round-table meeting with those involved in NORA and in energy security. I can share that with the Deputy if she wishes.

We are going to diversity more into renewables. We have diversified substantially into renewables in this country. Over 40% of electricity generation now is onshore wind generation. We have had two successful auctions for offshore wind. I actually agree that the only way to avoid these types of global shocks is by having more renewables as they contribute to the grid. There is no other way. If one looks at all the shocks from the 1970s onwards, they were shocks because of wars or fossil fuel shocks. They have dislo…

-----I think it is essential------

-----to decrease our dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The Government, before any blockade, was in discussions with the Irish Road Haulage Association, the IFA and farm contractors. In fact, we had introduced a €250 million package three or four weeks ago in the House. As I said earlier, we have been introducing cost-of-living packages on an ongoing basis. The budget had some significant measures, including the DEIS plus scheme, for example, to help low-income families in particular, the fuel allowance and so on. Everybody accepts that people are under enormous pressur…

Last Sunday was Deputy Cairns's first speech, and that is fine. I am just making the point. I accept fully the point on more investment in solar. We have invested a lot in solar, and we will do more. There is a €750 million package on top of the budget. We have a further winter to go. We do not know where the war is going to go, what the trajectory will be or what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz. There are two dimensions to this. One is supply, which is critical. That is why I could not understand the blockade…

I welcome constructive proposals in respect of solar. We are investing in solar. Solar is doing very well and is growing very fast as a contributor to energy.

There is very strong potential in solar. We are supporting ordinary people in terms of the installation of solar panels on their roofs. We created a retrofitting industry in the past five years in this country through successive investments and commitments, and that remains. On the cost of disability, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is working in consultation with stakeholder groups, to have, once and for all, a proper programme and provision in respect of a cost-of-disability payment. It is not simple, and it is be…

Ireland will continue to produce its own energy, but it will be in renewables overwhelmingly. We have a very poor record in terms of oil and gas exploration over the decades. Kinsale gas was first brought onshore in the 1970s, and we have had Corrib. Barryroe never showed any prospects. Barryroe could have been exploited if it had the prospects which Deputy O'Flynn said it had decades before any legislative prohibition on oil and gas exploration. We are overly dependent on imported fossil fuels. I accept that. Ther…

----- but the energy source that did most damage to the planet was actually fossil fuels.

I did not advise the Deputy of that either.

There are challenges, yes. That is why we have to invest in storage as well. That is a technology that is developing fast as well. I was at a recent investment in the midlands in Offaly. I believe Offaly and Laois can become a real powerhouse for energy into the future with a lot of industrial development alongside of it. That investment was from a Korean company partnering with an Irish company in terms of storage. On the integration of renewables into the grid, we have a good record in that respect in this countr…

I appreciate the Deputy's concern on the issue and thank her for raising it. As she knows, there has been a long-standing policy in terms of peat extraction because of the impacts it has in terms of both biodiversity and climate perspective. In the last iteration of this policy in the previous Government, my understanding was that small and turbary rights domestic users of turf would not in any way be impacted. It is still my view that they are not impacted. I think the Deputy is talking about smaller commercial ex…

As I said, our objective was never to impact on domestic or, indeed, smaller operations involved in peat extraction. The funding for just transition was designed to try to support people who had lost out with the closure of power stations of an older hue, namely peat-fired stations and so on. I will engage with the Minister. I will ask him to perhaps meet the Deputy and see where we can take the issue from that perspective. Notwithstanding all the various policy directions that people have moved in, the Deputy is s…

Some 420 new special classes have been sanctioned. There will be more. Our objective is obviously that every child will have access to an appropriate school place. There has been exponential growth in the past two years, and the decision by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to extend the deadline has resulted in applications from a higher number of children than was anticipated. We are now working flat out to meet that additional demand, which is far above what appli…

I was not aware that Ms Doolan is seeking a meeting. I will see what I can do.