So it would appear, a Cheann Comhairle.

No.

Am I required to make a contribution at this point?

I apologise.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." As Deputies will be aware, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, is an institution that promotes international monetary co-operation and provides policy advice, technical assistance and loans to help countries build and maintain or restore their economies. The global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have demonstrated that the fund's financing needs can increase rapidly, which can test the IMF's ability to fulfil its role at the centre of the global financ…

The Senator is correct and her questions are excellent. Many people remember, with some nostalgia, that they could get money back for bottles. Just like the Senator I recall going to the local pub before I was of an age where I was allowed in and returning bottles and getting money for them. It was a clear link and reduced the amount of litter on the ground. People understand the concept. They know that a DRS is good and has worked in the past. A lot of principles within the circular economy involve a return to pra…

I can hear the Senator's enthusiasm. I have to give the Department credit for doing a lot of work, before I was appointed, in engaging with the industry. I refer not just to the people making bottles, but to the retailers themselves. They were making sure that it would not be a scheme that would work in theory but not in practice or something that people would be against. Part of that involved bringing retailers to meet their equivalents in other countries where the scheme had been running for decades and allowing …

I thank Senators Ward and Carrigy, who are here, and Senator Currie for raising this matter and for their concern about the national lottery. I have a few words to say on behalf of the Government about this Bill. The funding the national lottery raises is very important to community groups, clubs and organisations throughout Ireland. I very much appreciate the work of the Senators in raising important matters in this regard. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. While …

It is useful to have a debate like this and to exchange views. There is a difference of opinion here. The lottery is not shrinking. Revenues are growing. We had very strong growth from 2020 to 2021 of 14%. In 2020, €254 million of money was allocated for good causes, while €289 million was allocated in 2021. The question that arises is: what is the problem we are trying to solve? The problem is notional losses of money being bet on national lottery numbers, which is not resulting in increased funding for good cause…

I have said all I want to say. My office is open to anybody who wants to discuss this further.

I thank the Senator for her interesting contribution. I will address her specific questions in my supplementary response but give her my written answer first. Given the unprecedented rise in electricity and gas prices, reducing the burden of fuel poverty is a matter of serious concern for the Government. A suite of measures is being developed and deployed by the Government to help reduce the impact of fuel poverty in the short and long terms. The Government is concerned that recent electricity and gas price increas…

The grid is changing. The electricity system is changing because of this big transition to renewable energy. One of the things that is changing is that we sometimes suddenly find ourselves in great surplus and in great deficit at other times because of the weather. Although the weather is predictable, the pattern in which our electricity is generated is different from the way it was in the past, when a power station could be turned on and off more easily. Sometimes we are in a position of surplus but electricity ca…

It is important that I put everything on the record as well having a chat. I thank Senator Davitt very much for raising this issue and giving me a timely opportunity to give an update on the Government's support for home retrofit. The programme for Government and climate action plan set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the residential sector from 7 megatons of carbon dioxide in 2018 to between 3.5 megatons and 4.5 megatons in 2030. A comprehensive retrofit programme will be a key measure to support t…

The Senator rightly identifies that electricity has a key role to play in decarbonisation. He is right to ask about the refit tariff. This is the money that is paid to people for selling their electricity back to the grid. That process is in train as fast as it can be done. It will be ready within a small number of months. Regarding the deep retrofits, our analysis says that approximately 50% of homes need their attic insulation redone and that they would get a great return on investment by doing that. Attic and ca…

An Post has offered a one-stop-shop service. Electric Ireland is also doing so. Its service is called Electric Ireland Superhomes. The credit unions will also offer one. They are three trustworthy bodies across Ireland and I expect to see others.

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the annual rate of consumer price inflation, as measured by the European Union's (EU) harmonised index of consumer prices, has picked up sharply in recent months, reaching a multi-decade high of 5.7 per cent in December before moderating somewhat to 5 per cent in January; — the recent increase in inflation is partly a result of temporary factors related to the pandemic, which are expected to ease gradually …

The answer to a 50% increase is not a 2% cut.

Deputy Doherty said the retrofit scheme is a transfer of money to the rich. I heard that from another Deputy also. I really take issue with this. Our scheme will see an historic amount, €352 million, being spent to make people's homes warmer. That will reach nearly 30,000 families. Of the €352 million, €203 million is being given to families who are either living on welfare or in local authority housing. It is directly targeting people living in energy poverty. Indeed, 58% of the money is going to people who are in…

-----and massive increases including in the fuel allowance and the living alone allowance, and so on. He knows that those payments have been introduced. He knows that it is part of a package. He is also aware that carbon tax has to be there. He shows that in the purest way that he can, by retaining it in his party's alternative budget and paying for its programme with carbon tax. I am glad to see that. I want to stress that the Government is acutely aware of the pressures being faced by households in light of the i…

I welcome the statements made today by Members of the House. The changes announced by Government last week represent the most significant reform of the SEAI schemes since their establishment. However, these supports are just part of our overall national retrofit plan and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some other aspects. As mentioned by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, the national retrofit plan was published in November 2021 and it sets out the Government strategy f…