Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last November, I came to Dublin with truckers and farmers to show unity on the rising cost of fuel. I asked the Government and every Opposition Deputy to come with me and to make one change that would have made a difference for every household, whether they have a car or not. It would have made a difference for every household and every person in the country. If the Government had frozen the tax on the increase in the cost of fuel coming into this country, it would have had €8 billion to play with. What would that have meant? It would have meant a difference of approximately €40 per week for every household. It would have saved on the energy cost of getting food to the shops. It would have saved on the cost of producing food. It would have saved on the cost of people going to work. It was a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Yes, we have a problem, but I was giving a solution for people.

Yesterday, people were suffering. Today, people are suffering. Tomorrow, people will be suffering. I asked for a short-term solution. I wanted a freeze in the tax on the increase in fuel costs for six months. That would have benefited every person in the country. No matter whether people were bringing their child to the childminder's or doing anything else, it would have helped.

What is the Government's answer to this? It is to give people €100 off their ESB bill. The first thing I will do if I get €100 off my ESB bill is to give it to the first person who needs it more than I do. I am and always have been involved in a lot of charity work. I am always grateful for what I have and my health so that I am able to help others. It sickens me to look around a room and see people I asked for help when I gave the Government a short-term solution to a long-term problem but it did not listen.

I will give the Minister some facts. The State pension is €13,100 per annum. A person working full time on the minimum wage gets €21,840 per annum. Recent research by the Central Bank states that the rising costs in Ireland are spectacular and will drive the cost of living up by between €3,000 and €5,000 per annum. Why does the Government think that a €100 electricity voucher is good enough? The national average wage is €23,675 per annum. In classification terms, this means that social welfare payments and the State pension are well below the cost of living. If housing costs are added in, more than 1 million people are at risk of poverty. I do not have a third level education but I know that means 20% of the people in Ireland are going to suffer poverty as a result of the Government failing to listen. I might only have a minimum second level education but I can work it out.

I and everybody else in this country can work it out but the Government will not listen. This is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. I asked for a six month reduction period and the Government would have had €8 billion of a saving. What did the Government do? Costs went up. The price in January 2022 for natural gas is €90 per megawatt-hour. The price in 2021 was €19 per megawatt-hour. That is a €71 increase in one year for a megawatt-hour. Small businesses are crippled with the costs which have gone up by 300%.

All the Government can come up with then is a measly voucher for €100 to help people. It could have put €40 per week into every household in this country when they really needed it and, not only that, but it would have reduced their shopping bills because it would have cost less money to produce that shopping and would have given something back automatically to the people. The Government has it within its control to do that. Their answer to the cost of fuel crisis was that it was going to reduce the National Oil Reserve Agency, NORA, cost by 1%. It will take five months to reduce that. That is the Government's answer.

What does the Government get when the price of fuel or anything goes up? It gets more tax and VAT. If one earns more, one pays more. That is the rule. So while everyone in this country is suffering and in poverty and trying to survive, the Government is taking more tax. The Government then talks about the rising wage costs, which would be welcomed by everyone, but the problem is that all of the SMEs in this country are crippled. The multinationals are able to afford this but the SMEs would be in bigger trouble because the Government did not listen.

The farmers, who are putting the bread and milk on our tables are subject to more legislation, regulation and more costs. The Government seems to think that things arrive on the shelves just like that. This country represents one tenth of 1% of global emissions and it is the same sky that is over the whole world. We are importing from countries that represent 30% to 40% to 50% of these global emissions. The Government is watching everyone in this country suffer. Everyone suffers.

Europe gave the Government the toolbox with which it could have done something. It could have reduced taxes like every other European country has done but the Government would not listen to a person like me. Does it think that I am not qualified enough to tell it what is going on? The reason I am qualified enough is because I am on the ground with people in Ireland. I understand what it means for people outside of the capital to have a life. People within the capital and on the outskirts of Dublin are suffering but the Government lacks the understanding of its remit, which is that it could hold a meeting tomorrow morning and have Cabinet agreement that it would reduce the tax intake on fuel.

I am only asking that this would happen on the increase, which is the €8 billion it has taken off every person in this country, whether one is working or not. That is what this meant. I am still asking and looking for this support, for it to cap its tax intake and take it back to the 2020 prices. It can still take its tax because I know that the Government has to have tax to run a country but I also know that it does not need to tax the increase. Then, at least, if fuel prices go up, we will pay the increase in the fuel costs but we will not be paying €58 in every €100 in tax. Why not take €45 and put €23 or €24 back into the pockets of everyone on every €100 worth of fuel, which is in the Government's control.

As I said earlier, I may not have had third level education but I have the education of life. Life will tell me that this Government will get an answer when it comes to its turn. I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

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