Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Would the Minister consider discussing the matter with the Minister for Finance this week with a view to getting a derogation in regard to home heating oil, particularly for farmers? Farmers' incomes are down 30% this year.

I want to give the Minister another figure. Fifty per cent of people in rural areas report difficulties in accessing rural transport compared to 11% in urban areas. We need our cars. We must have them. We are all in favour of reducing carbon emissions but we should not start with the poor people in rural Ireland. The Minister should take on the multinationals that create more carbon in half an hour than anyone in rural Ireland. China and America would create more emissions in two minutes than this country would in the next thousand years.

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