Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I just want to remind the farmers, fishermen, agri-contractors and silage contractors who are working very hard that what the Government thought of them was the sum total of 2 cent of a reduction in March. In case they had forgotten, I will remind them of it again today. I will also remind the Taoiseach that on the Monday and Tuesday night before the Government gave the reduction the cost of diesel and petrol actually went up by more then than the Government reduced it on the Wednesday. I also remind him that the reduction was more than evaporated in the past four trading days when the cost of diesel and petrol went up by more than the Government brought it down last March. What the Government did was futile and very small. At a recent meeting the Taoiseach was one of the strongest and most forceful voices saying that we should cut off the fuel coming from Russia.

That is a debate for another time. However, when the Taoiseach came back, he was involved in a meeting in which he said that one of the results we could have in this country is that the people would have to face a scenario in which all but 100 stations would have to shut. We would like to know where those 100 are and how many of them are dispersed evenly around the country.

The Taoiseach totally ignored the question about the Minister, Deputy Ryan, in terms of the misleading comment. The Taoiseach owes it to every Deputy in this House to clarify whether a person who needs money can go to a social welfare office and say he or she cannot afford the fuel for his or her car, bus, van, tractor or lorry. Can that person say he or she was told by the Minister that he or she could come to the office for help? Will that person get help? The Taoiseach has to answer that question. All the smart talking about it will not let the Taoiseach get away without answering that clearly. It is a simple "Yes" or "No".

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