Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was a disgusting and disparaging remark given that we have one researcher. He does an excellent job for us. It is iar-Seanadóir Brian Ó Domhnaill, whom I thank. I also thank Deputy Michael Collins, who has been pleading with people. We are not looking for new licences willy-nilly; simply and plainly, we are seeking to be sure that we can keep the lights on. We all know we have to have a transition. An Teachta Nolan has been talking about this daily since the lovely phrase "just transition" came up. It is the most unjust transition. It involves shutting down the bogs, coal plants and everything else before we have any alternative. Deputy Bacik said we should cycle. We would look well cycling from Cahersiveen, Kerry. I would look well cycling from Newcastle to Clonmel or Nenagh in County Tipperary to work and whatever else.

I understand now, although I am not certain, that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told people to go to their social welfare office yesterday. The Department of Social Protection knew nothing about it. I understand the Taoiseach has now said it. I salute the social welfare officers and community welfare officers for the work they did during Covid and continue to do. My concern is over the incompetence and downright blackguarding by the Government owing to its profiteering and tax take from oil at present when a European colleague like Malta has it available for €1.40 per litre. In this regard, let us consider what we are being told by the European Commission. The Taoiseach is so good at dancing to every tune it plays. Even if they are wildly out of tune, he dances anyway. He would dance because he wants to dance into Europe when he, along with his party, will be hunted from the doors by the people of Cork. He will be hunted, imithe, but he will get a big job in Europe. Let us consider the damage he is doing with those who are doing whatever they want. Last week, he was a cheerleader for stopping the importation of Russian gas. I hate this war; it is horrific, but anyone with his or her eyes open can see we had these problems coming down the line before there was ever a mention of a war in Ukraine. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Yesterday the Taoiseach replied to Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and said Mr. Putin and the war in Ukraine were the whole problem. This is a total mistruth.

Deputy Bríd Smith said no threat exists to Ireland's current supply of gas coming from the North Sea primarily. She also mentioned the plant at Moffat in Scotland. What happens if it is sabotaged? Accidents can happen. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, and all the Cork brigade - the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, is not involved but I am referring to the other two - are trying to be stronger than each other in attacking the Prime Minister in No. 10. What if he takes action, closes down or squeezes the pipe and turns off the gas to a trickle? I recall a former Fine Gael Minister glibly with a glass of water telling us all he would turn off the tap to a trickle. This might come home to roost, and it could be with oil. Our motion merely wants to ensure our children and families are fed, our workers can go to work and our economy can continue. These are basic human rights.

Deputy Nolan referred to the great men and women of 1916 and the great men of 1921, 1922 and 1923. Many lives were lost to give us our freedom. One of their first acts, as referred to by Deputy McNamara, was developing our natural resources. They were men of forward thinking. As he said, many were injured or lost their lives in accidents when developing our resources, but they had the foresight. We are where we are now because of the latter-day emperor with no clothes, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has a second incarnation in the Department of Transport. I was part of the previous Government he was a member of. I fundamentally disagreed with his policies. Now he is back and he has both Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and several Independents backing whatever he does.

I welcome Deputy Naughten's amendment but put it to the Independents that they should put their money where their mouths are tonight. Will they support the Government or put bread on the table for the families they purport to represent? They cannot have it two ways. You would think you could fool the people given the indoctrination that is going on now. I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her indulgence in that, while I realise we are not supposed to speak ill of our Uachtarán or President, and I do not, to link the horrific terror attack in Nigeria to climate change is certainly stretching it.

The archbishop out there dealt with that so I do not need to say any more about it.

We are indoctrinating the good children in schools across the system that we are backward-thinking and we have no voice. We are not allowed to have a voice and we are not supposed to have a voice, according to Deputy Bríd Smith in her diesel guzzling van. I am surprised she does not have electric or does not use the bike. I know she used to use the bike. Maybe she has the bike in the back of the van, like the Minister, Deputy Ryan, going to Limerick, or in the back of the State car, or whatever. The con job is over. The people are hurting. Businesses are clinging on and have not reopened since Covid and more of them are going to close. God help us all in the winter, when we see the price of oil. All we are asking about is the near 60% tax the Government takes. The ironic and subtle, or if not subtle, then the most sly thing of all is that the more fuel goes up, the more tax the Government gets out of it. They are rubbing their hands with glee. It is like rubbing Vaseline into a fat sow’s I won't say where, but we know where, although some might not. That is what it is. The old people used to talk in those realms and terms. I like to go back and think that the old people were wise.

Let us remember that before the Minister ever came up with his retrofitting and green houses, we had thatch houses with a small window and a lovely cosy roof, that were cool in the summer and warm in the winter, before ever we had all of this green indoctrination that we have. We are all for proper transition but not at the rate we are doing it and not completely blindfolded, with ears blocked – cluais dúinte - and no glasses or spectacles. They are all voting cannon fodder for it. They will get some voting cannon fodder when the people go in with their peann luaidhe into the ballot box. The people will give them some rude awakening and they will want glasses to look at the number of papers to see where they figure on them - none of the above.

This is because of what they do instead of protecting the people, which is their solemn duty, having been elected and gotten the seal of office in the Phoenix Park from Uachtaráin na hÉireann. That duty is to protect our citizens, not to perish them, not to destroy them, not to demoralise them and not to hurt them so much, as they are in so many ways by penal taxes, by punitive measures and by going blindly into different ways of energy, which we support, by the way, but they will not be here for maybe eight or ten years. I was delighted to hear about the wonderful project of the solar farm out in Wicklow, and now we find it was another con job and it is not even connected to the grid yet. What happened to all of the people who are retrofitting and who went into small microgeneration? They cannot get onto the grid.

The Ministers are fooling the people at every angle. They are robbing them and pillaging them. Cromwell did not do the likes of it. We resisted them out of Clonmel and Tipperary; the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, has connections in Ardfinnan. We kept them out but we cannot keep out the ravages of this trio here, the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, the revolving Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, who is Deputy Brophy's leader, and the Minister, Deputy Ryan. They all seem to be asleep at the wheel. I am told there is rí rá agus ruaille buaille in the parliamentary parties. That is little good to the people who cannot afford to fill their lunch boxes or cannot afford to fill the car to go to work. What about the contractors and farmers who are trying to grow crops to produce the food with diesel at nearly €1.60 a litre? Then there is this nonsense with AdBlue, which has gone up fourfold in the past 12 months. It is patent nonsense. This is something we were supposed to buy into yet it has gone up four times due to the gouging that is going on.

We will take no lectures from Deputies Whitmore and Bacik or the Government, or from Deputy Bríd Smith, above anyone else, about her honesty and integrity. We are entitled to put down our motion here and we put it down. We do not work for any oil barons or oil oligarchs. People would need to look closer to home to see who is funding them and whose support they have – Mr. Soros and others - and where the money is flowing from. How dare they? We are honest representatives of the people, elected by the people to this House, and we will continue to do so as long as we are elected and we have blood running in our veins. We want to help the people. We will see tonight how many more people are going to support us or not. We stand proud of our record here. We are not climate change deniers. We are trying to look after our people because it is our primary duty as elected people to represent the people and to look after their interests.

See this speech in context