Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak briefly on this amendment. Again, any tax or measure that the Government brings in discriminates against the people of rural Ireland. It talks about taxes all of the time and lowering CO2 emissions from vehicles. It did not think, however, that rural Ireland is not getting the same chances. There is regional imbalance. The Government is not addressing those issues. Instead, it is loading and hammering us with taxes all the time because it has bowed to a meaningless, empty Green Party rhetoric which has nothing to offer the people of Ireland in general and rural Ireland in particular. We are paying the price for this aspiration and being punished for it.

People say to me in my constituency offices that they feel they are being discriminated against and kept down. We see tax after tax. I have had many conversations about the carbon tax with contractors and farmers. There is disillusionment among Bord na Móna workers with up to 1,000 workers going to lose their jobs. I do not care what scheme the Government brings in. Lately, it spoke about a bog rehabilitation scheme. That will not replace 1,000 jobs.

The midlands is a region which has not been given enough support by the Government. It has been disadvantaged for many years. As far back as 2016, I called for an agency, similar to the Western Development Commission, to be set up. If that had been done in advance, maybe we would not be in such a dire situation now.

For us, it is tax after tax but we are not seeing anything. I have been contacted by many companies and people working from home who do not even have basic broadband infrastructure. There is a great announcement about the roll-out of broadband. Surely to God, common sense would have prevailed and the Government would have prioritised the midlands region, which is already under an unjust transition and is facing job losses. At this point, it is not only about job creation but job retention. The fact the Government is slapping taxes and measures on us but we do not see the benefits of them is concerning.

The Minister for Finance must bear in mind that, when he takes any measure or implements Green Party policy, it does not make sense or meet the needs of people in rural Ireland.

We are paying the price and really being punished for this aspiration and empty rhetoric. Before the Minister makes a decision he needs to think about these regions and remember there is serious regional imbalance and people are struggling. The midlands is the region with the second lowest rate of disposable income. None of this is being taken into account.

The Minister speaks about carbon tax but it will lead to fuel poverty. The Minister is not giving enough money to the SEAI for the home insulation grants. I have tried to get grants for people to insulate their homes and I cannot get them but we hear the lovely aspirational announcements. The Government is not meeting the people halfway. It is not taking a reasonable position. It is an extreme and radical position in terms of embracing green policy without thinking about the impact it will have on people's lives. I ask for common sense and a bit of balance. Of course we want to do our best for the environment but there needs to be a sense of realism. The Minister should abandon the unrealistic radical policies he is trying to implement that are leading to hardship for people and job losses. Are people meant to sit around all day and look out their windows and plant trees? Is that what they are meant to do? The policies are leading to a lot of hardship for people and serious job losses. The Government needs to wake up.

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