Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I, too, am delighted to speak on this motion, in the limited time available to me. I am really disappointed in the response from the Government. I quote from a speech the Taoiseach made some years ago. He stated: "I am disappointed that Deputy Cowen does not have an initiative with regard to the mix of excise duties and VAT to ensure they are not used as a further battering ram against the hard-pressed consumer". What kind of optics, politics or blackguarding is this? The public are sick of all of us. The price of oil is downright disgraceful. I have a meeting tomorrow, as I am sure many of us have, with the Irish Agricultural Contractors Association, a new association set up to try to save whatever bastion its members have left. They have no bank overdrafts. I met 131 of them two weeks ago, 130 of whom had their overdrafts taken away. There is talk of being pro-jobs and pro-business. The Government does not have a clue. The mandarins in the Department are running the show and they cannot see beyond their noses. They need to take off their glasses and clean them because they are codding the people. People cannot afford to drive their cars. The law of diminishing returns is a fact.

I heard my colleague in South Tipperary, Deputy Tom Hayes, spoofing before I came into the Chamber. I ran to the screen to hear what he was saying.

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