Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome what the Minister of State said about research being carried out and I understand all that, but the crisis is now. I will be the first to admit there is a grant to help people move from diesel to gas, but the cost of doing so is probably €17,000 or €18,000. They will pay more than if they had kept diesel. That is a fact.

I reiterate there is a difference of 40 cent between the revenue on diesel the Government was taking in last year and the revenue this year. In light of the crisis with regard to the haulage sector shifting goods throughout the country, there is room for manoeuvre. If the price of diesel had not increased internationally, the Government would not have the additional 40 cent. What it never had, it never wanted.

I accept the Minister of State said much of this cannot be done in the short term and I understand that fully. Even so, for the time being, until we get these electric vehicles that will transport food throughout the country, wherever they are on the horizon, or until gas returns to a normal price, will the Government make a decision on the additional 40 cent to help the ordinary public? They are the ones who will ultimately have to pay.

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