Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We need to deal with the right here and the right now. Let me explain to the Minister. People are ordering fill up home heating oil now. In Dublin they are being charged €1,840. I have seen other costs of close to €2,000. In January it was €750 or about that. This is more than €1,000 more. These families have not budgeted for that. It is easy for the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to say "Let us not panic." They will be able to afford this extra cost. Many people out there cannot afford that. When the Minister talks about not wanting to reduce the tax on home heating oil, people are saying, "Do everything you can to help me, help my family, help my business and help the farmers at this time." Do it inside the law. The Minister could have done this. He could have supported the amendments last night where we would have reduced the cost of home heating oil by €100. It is not enough but at least it is what we could do right here, right now.

The Minister's Government should have been asking the European Union for the flexibility of that, right back in September when we were putting it to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe. Like the Minister, Deputy Ryan, he sat on his hands and let this crisis get out of control. We can reduce diesel and petrol prices further. The Minister needs to understand that people are panicking and they need support from the Government. They do not need to be told to slow down. People are telling the Minister to hurry up, get his act together and get these prices down further.

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