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

When the shelves go empty in this country, the Government will be remembered for what it did. Putin will be remembered for his disgraceful behaviour in Ukraine; Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party will be remembered for what they have done to production in this country, which is no longer a breadbasket for its people. We are no longer self-sufficient because of the regulations and stipulations the Minister and his partners in government have put in place. Their reward to farmers is to reduce the price of green diesel by 2 cent.

Contractors are parked at the moment because they cannot afford to go out and plough fields. They cannot get the amount of green diesel they need at the excessive prices of €1.40, €1.42 or €1.43. The Government is offering a 2 cent reduction. Every consumer in this country, if they buy Irish products, will pay an excessive amount because of this. Everything on the shelves is going up by 50 cent or €1 because of the actions of the Government and its failure to protect people in this country. It has failed to protect our agriculture sector, which puts food on our tables. It has put everything into Europe. We are responsible for 0.1% of global emissions and we are increasing our emissions because of the amount of food we have to bring in from foreign countries. We could provide that food ourselves if the Government gave the investment that is needed.

Members of the Government know nothing about this because they live in concrete cities and think food will arrive on the shelves. I remind them that people living in Dublin and our other cities originated from rural Ireland. When the shelves go empty, they will hold Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party responsible for the excessive prices they must pay to heat their houses and put food on the table. That will show the Government how far out of touch it is with reality.

See this speech in context