Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is simply due to the failure to protect the ordinary people of this country that I will not be supporting the Government today. There are hard-working mothers and fathers who have little or nothing in their pockets after a hard week's work as fuel costs rise and rise. Families are being fleeced with the massive Government fuel tax take and carbon tax robbery as electric bills rise. At the same time, the Government takes millions in profits from its ownership of Electric Ireland. I do not have confidence in a Government that stands idly by and watches the great demise of Irish farmers. With the fuel and fertiliser costs going out of control, the Government is asleep at the wheel. This crisis, coupled with the nitrate targets being rammed through, will further cripple farmers. Consider the fishing sector with its trawlers tied up at the piers because fishermen cannot afford to fuel their boats. The Government was asleep at the wheel during the Brexit negotiations. Those fishermen are telling me to get the Government out of office because it has ruined their businesses.

Over 1 million people are on the health waiting lists of this country and thousands, young and old, are homeless while the Government squanders billions on dream pet projects in Dublin at a time when the roads in west Cork continue to be starved of money. It is because of those and many other genuine concerns that I will not be supporting the Government.

See this speech in context