Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Labour Party cannot agree to this proposal on the Order of Business this morning because the Government has broken its promise to 300,000 low-income families whose costs for home heating oil will be increased on Saturday with the introduction of the new carbon levy. When the levy is imposed, it will increase the price of heating oil by 9% which comes on top of an increase already this year of 37%.

When the Government cut the pay and social welfare payments of low-income families, it justified it on the grounds that prices were coming down. This is a case, however, where the Government itself is increasing prices. When it announced this during the budget, the Government promised a special allowance to offset the increase for low-income families dependent on home heating oil before the carbon levy would be introduced. That promise was made by the Minister for Finance and repeated by the then Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Hanafin, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Tánaiste. This promise has now been broken.

I know the Marie Antoinettes in the Green Party may say of low-income families, "Let them heat by alternative energy measures".

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