Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister of State to ensure the Bill is amended on Committee Stage to ensure more youngsters are not forced to take the boat to another country. We must encourage people to get out and going at a young age, rather than fining them €200, €300 or €500 for not having a licence.

The small fry are always hit in this country. We are good at generating tax revenue from petrol and making statements that we do not tolerate fuel laundering. Like a needle in a haystack, we are still trying to find out where it all went wrong. The sad reality is that ordinary people are being left to pick up the can. They must pay for a new engine without receiving any help from the insurance companies.

Let us start questioning Europe because not everything sent over here is right. As a nation, we must start asking questions and doing what is right for our people. If we keep quoting from this or that directive or regulation, we will leave the country with nothing. Like birds in their nests with their beaks open, we will end up waiting for Europe to feed us all the time. I and many others do not want that because we are proud to be Irish.

See this speech in context