Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has been going to EU Council meetings regularly over the winter months. However, it appears that he and his Government are only raising a genuine question pertaining to the energy crisis at an EU level now when the worst of the dark and the cold winter months are behind us. Our Taoiseach has some neck to claim he gets permission from Europe to lower the VAT on fuel, but on the other hand the Government will increase the carbon tax in May, further burdening hard working Irish people. Since last October, we in the Rural Independent Group have been calling on the Government to act by addressing this fuel crisis through cuts to VAT and to the carbon tax on all energy products, including petrol, diesel and home heating oil.

Any move away from fossil fuels here or at EU level should only occur when reliable and consistent alternatives and inexpensive renewable sources are in place and are available to all. This Government and EU bureaucrats must wake up and realise this. People in rural areas are especially targeted by these taxes due to the complete lack of any alternative modes of transport across rural Ireland. I say it again for the umpteenth time in the Dáil: only for West Cork Connect, we would have hardly any public transport in west Cork.

Switching equipment, cars and heating systems away from fossil fuels is very expensive and takes a lot of time. Most people who I know cannot go and buy an electric car. Most of them cannot even afford the fuel to put into the cars. The approach of this Government is to rush to set emission targets and move away from fossil fuels overnight so they can be the best boys in Europe. However, the people of this country know that we are now being called the best fools in Europe, punishing the hard-working people in this country. This is the wrong approach. It has been seen to be the wrong approach during this energy crisis.

I ask the Minister of State not to misinterpret what I am saying. I, for one, am all for looking after the environment, but not for putting the pain on the wrong people.

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