Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

That does not answer my question. What relief measures will the Government put in place to assist people who are now really feeling the pinch? I listened to a fisherman from Kilmore Quay talking about his €18,000 diesel bill for five days steaming, even though there may have been no fish at the end of it. I spoke to a haulier in Cork who drove his lorry north of the Border and back, which took up 600 litres of fuel. These costs are sometimes passed onto consumers, but commuters every day are now faced with rising prices at petrol and diesel pumps. With price increases across the board, this is eating into disposable income at the end of the week.

Does the Taoiseach agree with the projections that the Government will take in an extra €64 million in VAT because of the price increases? Does the Government have any proposals to assist with the tax burden that is currently imposed on drivers? This is a serious issue for hundreds of thousands of commuters on a daily basis, and the Government needs to do something about it. They know the Government is taking in €64 million extra in VAT and they want to know if it can bring in any measures to alleviate the financial pressures being imposed on them.

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