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

I thank most sincerely the Sinn Féin Party for bringing forward this very important issue for debate on the floor of Dáil Éireann. It is very important because it is arising at a time when the Minister and the Government are telling people that they cannot go to a filling station and buy a bag of turf and that they do not want them going to the bogs because they are afraid they will do harm to the environment. They would rather people die of the cold at home. It is very important to lay down a marker that people will have energy security and that their lights or heat will not be turned off. Having a bit of heat and a bit of comfort along with a bit of food and shelter are the basic ingredients of life. These are the basic necessities that people need. I cannot understand for one moment why the Government would not do more to let people have that peace of mind.

Something I must be critical of, and I am sorry for saying it, is that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, would remind you of nothing but the three-card-trick man at Puck Fair in the summer. Now you see him and now you do not.

If you do not look quickly, he will be gone. He leaves this place quicker than a crowd of lads would leave a pub if they heard the gardaí coming in the front door after hours. He goes up those steps and disappears. I do not know what he is like, but he is some type of a magician for coming into the Chamber, saying a couple of words quickly and then running. He is, after all, the Minister with ultimate responsibility for these affairs. He is the man who tells us we cannot burn a sod of turf, yet he would not do us the courtesy of staying for the motion before us. I will ask publicly on the floor of the Dáil, where is he right now that is more important than listening to and participating in this debate?

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