Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

On the last point, I support the Minister in his call for honesty. I do not have a problem with that and I know it is difficult but I ask the Minister to consider that it is not honesty that the poor and the elderly of this country need but rather support. The Minister cannot expect them to bear the burden he is asking of them this coming winter. It has to be a fair burden and we all must share the burden fairly. What the Minister is doing by refusing to recognise that there is a need for a fuel poverty strategy is expecting the poor to pay an undue price, which is unacceptable.

Is the Minister aware that while he is expecting the consumer to pay increased prices, he must also accept that the Government is making an absolute killing out of increased fuel prices? Is he aware that in 2007, the return from VAT to the Government coffers was €970 million and this year it will be well over €1,000 million? Is he willing to accept that this money should be ring-fenced and put to good use in terms of ensuring that we have a good bio-fuels strategy and a good meeting of that requirement?

I return to the issue of bio-fuel traceability. If I buy a steak in a supermarket I can see the farmer's name and a picture of the farm where the animal was reared, yet the Minister cannot tell me how much of our imported bio-fuel comes from the developing world. Unless that issue is addressed, all the fine words about protecting against world hunger are meaningless.

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