Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It has been a while since I have seen a level of financial hardship so evident, one that is crippling, gnawing at and creating real fear in my constituents. I urge the Minister to listen to what these people in Longford and Westmeath are saying. They are worried and scared. These are people who could already tell us the price to the cent of every item they put into their shopping trolley because of spiralling levels of inflation. They have watched helplessly as prices have continued to rise, putting some of the most basic items beyond their reach.

We are now rapidly approaching a position where the price of home heating oil is beyond the reach of ordinary working families. I cannot be the only person who has seen the return of the drum of kerosene. People no longer look to fill or half-fill their tank but have to fill a drum, and this might get them two or maybe three days of heat for the week. The Government is seeking to ban the use of turf, the only form of heating for so many people in my constituency, and that is wrong. On top of what I have already spoken about, the measure is grossly unfair, unrealistic and, to be frank, devoid of any level of common sense where there are simply no other options.

This morning I heard the Taoiseach speak of the coal industry being the villain, with smoky coal being the target rather than turf. He would want to have a good long chat with his Cabinet colleagues and a similar good long chat with his Government's backbenchers. They are beside themselves running around their constituencies saying one thing before coming here to vote for something else.

I heard a Government representative on the radio this morning talk about a public consultation, reaching out, black markets for turf and wanting people to working together. There are people in my constituency with no other option but to burn turf. They hear very loudly and clearly from the Government that there will be no turf or heat for them. They hear that this Government is committing to compounding that fear and worry. The utter lack of clarity is creating chaos. For those people, this truly will be a winter of discontent without the support they so desperately need.

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