Michael McGrath

I think it's for him, you know, it's not for me to call on somebody to apologise for what they have said.

I think he has responded, but clearly it shouldn't have been said, because it does run contrary to our values.

I mean, we should never shy away from having a debate about migration, and that's a debate that's happening throughout the European Union, by the way, and the EU has been responding with new policies, including a migration and asylum pact, and

We also recognise that most people coming into Ireland and coming into the EU from outside are here to make a contribution, make an economic contribution and come through the regulated permit and visa system.

There is a way to have a conversation.

That's not the way to do it is what you're saying.

based on their race, country of origin, ethnicity and to speak of them in a disparaging manner.

That is a slippery slope and is one that we really shouldn't be going down.

So the European Union has been very supportive of member states in responding to the energy shock and the price increases that households and businesses have been facing.

And we have made certain changes to our rulebook, including easing state aid requirements, giving more flexibility to member states in relation to taxation decisions under the Energy Tax Directive.

What we have said is that we encourage member states to...

Introduce measures in a timely manner, but also in a temporary manner and where possible in a targeted manner.

We have been engaging with the Irish government on a bilateral basis and the government wrote to the European Commission seeking certain permissions and consent to do so.

certain policy decisions and the EU has been very supportive we do make that overall point about the need for interventions to be timely temporary and targeted because it is important that you can find a way out of these measures eventually and that can be difficult and I know that from national experience Would you have done it?

I think the government had to respond to the price shock.

I'm not going to get into the issue of the protests and the manner of them, but the government was considering certain measures, had already introduced certain excise cuts.

We did that previously, as you know, a few years back when there was an energy price shock arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

So I think when people are under pressure, where governments have the resources to help, they should do so.

But they do have to be mindful of

the overall journey that we're all on within the European Union, which is one towards energy security and energy independence, because this now is twice in four years that the people of Europe have suffered the brunt of an energy shock that has been caused by outside forces, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and now the Israel-US war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.