Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have ten minutes, please. In fairness, I have ten minutes and I would like to use them. The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, used his full ten minutes, so I am entitled, as it is our motion, le do thoil.

The Minister prevaricated and presided over one disaster after the next. As I said, it just not feasible or anything else. The Minister shamed the oil companies and oil investors and dismantled all of them, yet he has no diversification plans. There are many people out there crying. Businesses, households and everybody else are trying to diversify and put in solar panels and many generators, turbines and everything else. Many have, and the Government refused to pay these people supplying electricity back to the grid. It was only this July that they are getting any acceptance that these payments will be made to them. There are many people who have the vision and passion that the Minister has.

What changed him since 2007 when he made statements that we had to bring all our oil reserves and have gas reserves and be self-sufficient in this country? What caused the dramatic change? Was it the nod from the global masses in Europe? I know Green Party policies are there. I served with the Minister in the House between 2007 and 2011 when he was banished from the country. The Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, should know what happened to that Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government. However, he does not care, as I said. It is power at any cost for him and no power for the people; no current for the people; and no heat or warmth. We will all be coming here in our thermal vests and long johns and the people at home will freeze in their houses.

The Government will give out temporary supports in the budget to everyone. Why does any Deputy need any of the paybacks the Government has given? It gives them to millionaires and the chairs of the ESB, all the other quangos and An Bord Pleanála who are on €120,000 a year plus expenses. The people are fed up with it. Ag magadh faoi na daoine. This is not good enough.

We are calling on the Minister not to oppose this motion. However, if he does, we will table another motion of no confidence for the Minister to resign. We respect him as a decent man, but his policies are cuckoo. I think Deputy Nolan said last week that he following some kind of a cult-like scenario with his green policies and colleagues. I believe that his biggest problem is serving the global masters. We know there is a meeting on 21st and we will have representatives at another global economic forum again instead of representing the people his country who duly elected him to this Parliament and all of us for the time being. They are hurting across every facet of society from the womb to the tomb. We know the attack that the Government went on against the womb before and the unborn. However, he is attacking and hurting everyone now and he does not care. He has no bit of humility, no bit of respect and no bit of appreciation of the problem. It is time for the Minister to get out, go to the country and towns and feel the temperature. He should continue to go out to the park and send the Taoiseach to the park and dissolve this ramshackle, humble, Humpty Dumpty Government before he destroys our people completely and our country.

See this speech in context