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

I am coming to a point. I will be finished within 60 seconds. The Minister can time me. These people are coming up with an attack on energy, in other words, an attack on the ESB. It is the one thing people cannot get away from and need to have, even though the Minister's Government has done absolutely nothing to ensure a surety of supply. Like I always say, the lights are on here tonight because oil is flowing into Tarbert and coal is flowing into Moneypoint. The Government closed these stations down but they are now open again because the lights would be off here if they were not. That should never be forgotten. I remind the Green Party of that. The reason Green Party Deputies will be able to boil the kettle and turn on their electric blankets when they go home tonight is that Moneypoint and Tarbert are open, no thanks to those Deputies. I will remind people of something and let everybody know about it. I hope the Minister will correct me if I am saying anything that is factually incorrect. The Government is targeting the ESB through the cost of energy. It is looking at more imaginative ways to put further punitive taxes on that resource which each and every one of us relies on, whether we come from a very low-income, a middle-income or a higher-income household. The children and the mom's purse will be further attacked every week by the Government's proposal in respect of the price of electricity. If what I am saying is factually incorrect, I would love for the Minister to put me down, to put his thumb on top of me and to tell me that I am wrong.

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