Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies McNamara and Fitzmaurice.

This financial resolution is the Minister's response to the crisis we are facing at present. I have a slight amount of sympathy for the Minister with the current crisis, but it is only a small amount. It is interesting how it has been undermined by all the oil companies before it is even implemented. We have been treated to stories over the last 12 hours about how prices have been increasing in all the forecourts around the country, getting in ahead to ensure citizens are not going to benefit from it. Everywhere there are stories of prices increasing by 20 cent per litre, which coincidentally just manages to take all the saving that could be made for citizens. It is interesting when looking at this that yesterday, Sinn Féin was able to pre-empt the tax cut and it looks as if the Government was responding to it raising the issue, or perhaps Sinn Féin had a heads-up that something was on the cards and got in ahead of the posse.

The point is that the Government should be looking at doing more. There is no doubt that the changes in the price of fuel are down to external factors that the Government might not have control of. Surely we can go without the windfall element of that increase, at least. There is no doubt, as the Minister noted, that we rely on the revenue that comes from fuel prices but we are not dependent on or have budgeted for the windfall tax that is coming into the State from the rapid increase in the price of fuel. Why not give up the windfall element? There is also the fact that the increase in fuel prices is not only down to the war in Ukraine, so what is happening? The Minister should have been looking to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel before this war even started. The Automobile Association, AA, issued a press release in November last year which talked about the increases in fuel prices. It appears that the Government keeps its hands on its ears and hopes that the noise will die down, and if it does not, it does something minimal to try to calm people down. This appears to be the Government's response to everything.

People in Donegal must have a car to survive and live. People in Killybegs live 50 miles away from the nearest hospital. People in Glencolumbkille are 18 miles away from the nearest multiple supermarket and 68 miles from the nearest hospital. These increases are about the difficulty of living daily life, and nothing else. As much as can be done now should be done, and I do not believe, nor does any citizen watching this believe, that the Minister is doing all that he can do at this stage.

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