Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In strategic leaks to the newspapers this morning, we read about sustained attacks on the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, indignation among backbenchers and indications that some of them will not support the turf measure. This is a circus, as one newspaper put it, but where is the ringmaster? This is similar to the situation in housing, where it is necessary for people in Kerry to wait for 15 years for a one- or two-bedroom house. It is also similar to the situation in health, where there are now no consultants dealing with adult psychiatric services and we are having teleconferences from Croatia.

The Government has failed to plan and failed even to have a medium-term plan. The retrofitting scheme is a joke. In the west, two thirds of households rely on home heating oil, but the Government has failed to tackle its rising cost. It has also failed to consult with the turf cutters, and those who rely on turf, before announcing the death of their livelihoods. To paraphrase a Billy Bragg song regarding another fuel, which side is the Taoiseach on and which side are his Government backbenchers on? Grandstanding, indications and indignation are not enough.

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