Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Rural Independent Group's call for a mini-budget was voted down by Government. The Taoiseach said a few minutes ago that the Ukraine war is the issue when it comes to energy costs in this country. He also said that the Government had provided €2.6 billion to counteract that. He never said that the Government took €6 billion in tax on fuel alone in one year. In 2020, it took in €2 billion and now it is taking in €6 billion and is returning €2.6 billion to the people of Ireland. The Government is here to protect the people of the here and now.

It is here to protect the economy, which also protects the people. The Taoiseach has stated that there are 2.5 million people working in this country. There are 2 million vehicles in this country and 99% of them run on fossil fuels. Those vehicles help to run the economy by helping people to go to work and thereby feed their families. The Government's answer in that regard to is to take 49% of the cost of fuel in taxation. That is not protecting the people of this country.

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