Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I listened to the Taoiseach and he did not mention anything about fisheries and it looks like he has closed the book on that. It is not acceptable that the fishermen of Ireland can only fish 15% of Irish waters. The Government must do something about that. Ministers must take off their coats and should not take "no" for an answer. This does not only affect trawlermen and fishermen as it affects all coastal communities from Malin Head to Mizen Head. The Government must do something about it.

The Taoiseach indicated there were discussions on increasing energy and gas prices. What will we do about that? As Deputy O'Donoghue said, hauliers can only go so far. Anybody with a wheel is seeing costs increasing every day, so they cannot continue. The country will grind to a halt because hauliers cannot continue in the vein they are in if they do not get assistance through a proper rebate.

What is happening with energy provision and electricity? On the one hand we hear Deputy O'Dowd saying we should take on conglomerates, but at the same time his party is going after people selling coal, perhaps to the people who cannot pay for anything else. He was like the Director of Public Prosecutions saying these people should be prosecuted. Does he want people to be perished in their homes as if they lived in igloos in Iceland? God almighty, the Government must do something about this.

The fertiliser situation is very serious. I asked the Taoiseach what he will do about it to ensure the agricultural community and farmers can continue. If we do not have fertilisers at a reasonable cost, the farmers will grind to a halt as well.

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