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

I support Sinn Féin's amendment. It is all fine for the Minister to say he is going to extend the excise reductions until 1 June. I see petrol has gone up six cent, diesel five cent and green diesel one cent. In September, it will go up seven cent, five cent, and one cent, respectively. In October, it will go up 8 cent, 6 cent and 3.4 cent, respectively. That is an astonishing rise in fuel. People have suffered quite a lot in the last 12 months. This mainly affects rural Ireland. People in Dublin and surrounding areas tell me they are driving but certainly not as much as the people of rural Ireland who have no choice but to use their cars, vehicles or vans to get to work. Farmers have to use their tractors to provide us with food. People will feel this because the price of fuel at the pumps had reduced to perhaps €1.69 or €1.70 per litre. It is going to go back to €1.85 or €1.86 per litre. There could be further increases outside of the Minister's control, which could drive it over €2 per litre again.

It is a tax grab. I always think the Government is continuously grabbing where the easiest pull is, which is from the people on the road who have no choice but to be on the road. We saw a review take place on train services throughout the country and on where new train services could be provided, which would be fabulous if it was in west Cork but it is not even in the plan or even considered in it. The Government has not even considered west Cork for reopening rail. There was a rail service going down to Schull in the 1800s, yet it cannot even be considered to go to Bandon in 2023. That says it all about where the Government's focus is. There was a rail line to Bantry, through Drimoleague and places like that in west Cork in the early 1900s, yet today we cannot get it to Clonakilty. There is something wrong somewhere.

The focus is not on where the Government needs to spend the money. It has lots of tax takes on so many item. It is quite frightening. The fuel tax take is the biggest grab the Government is getting and it is getting away with it. Farmers are affected very badly by all of this and were affected throughout a terrible season last year. Perhaps some got a price increase for cattle, which they really appreciate. I see the dairy sector is now being hit again because there is a dramatic drop in the price of milk. There is no drop in the price of fertiliser or the price of fuel but the Minister intends to put fuel back up and to attack farmers further, kick them in the teeth further and to keep them down and to continue the attack on the agricultural sector. It is a continuous attack, one after another.

Deputy Carthy mentioned forestry, and I was at the debate earlier. What the Government is doing is an absolute scandal. It is completely out of touch but the Ministers there are unable for their brief, which is the whole point.

Public transport is an area that is not very strong in west Cork. I welcome any extra services that are being put on. We have been pleading for services for nearly three years. I am a voluntary member of Local Link. We have been working on a route covering Ardgroom, Castletownbere, Bantry and Kilcrohane for the last few months. I hope that will get up and running. I will not deny there is aid from the State, but we are left wide open. In the area I come from, Goleen, there is only one bus daily to Cork city. In areas like Dunmanway, Clonakilty and Dereen, there is little or no return service. I could go on all evening. The Minister has had three years to sort this out. If he wants to put up the price of fuel, I have no issue with that if he can put a bus service outside the door of the people of west Cork, the same as people in Bray, Dublin and Kildare get. If he can do that, I will come into the Dáil and say, "Fire it up" because we do not need the vehicle. At this time, there is only one mode of transport most people in west Cork can avail of, which is the car.

The Minister is shoving the price of fuel up from 1 June. He is attacking the ordinary man, woman and child on the ground. From 1 September and 1 October, they will be hit again. He is only hitting the ordinary people and they are not going to forget that. It is only a greedy tax grab so the Minister can have plenty of grants he can hand out to his buddies and provide nod and wink grants around the place. That is what it comes down to. Give it back to the everyday people who are working hard.

The Minister knows where this is coming from. He cannot not to tell me this is not affecting the people of rural Ireland. This affects the people of rural Ireland and he is going to throw carbon tax on top of that.

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