Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure that on hearing that the Government will bring the big retailers around the table, many watching this debate will wonder where they had heard that before, because there is a record of the Irish people being fleeced. We saw it with the insurance companies when we heard strong words from the Government but very little action. In fact, it took Deputy Doherty, who made several attempts to bring forward legislation, to start to make a dent in this and we are still paying among the highest insurance costs in the world while the Government sits on its hands. We have seen it throughout the period of the financial crash when Irish customers were paying the highest variable mortgage interest rates in the European Union. On several occasions we heard Ministers say that they would talk to the banks but, again, very little was done, apart from Fine Gael changing the law to ensure that those same banks did not have to pay any tax for 20 years. We saw it with rents, which have gone up time and again with the Government doing nothing to stand up to those who did this. As for energy, a motion was defeated by the Government last week which would have ensured that the energy companies which have made obscene profits would be forced to pay a windfall tax and that we would put in place protections for consumers. Again, we hear that the Government will talk to the energy providers but nothing is being done to make a tangible difference to ordinary Irish families and workers. Fuel prices have been escalating over two years and very little has been done. Belatedly, as a result of Sinn Féin pressure, the Government reduced excise duty but at the same time, it increased carbon tax. Now that fuel prices have started to reduce a little, its planning on increasing the excise duty again. There is never an opportunity that the Government is not slow to face up to corporate and vested interests and big multinational corporations that are fleecing Irish workers and their families but it is never slow to penalise ordinary workers and families. We are told that tonight’s Sinn Féin motion is being accepted by the Government. That is a welcome first step but the crucial step is implementing what the motion calls for and forcing retailers to actually reduce their costs in line with the fact that their input costs have seen significant reductions and forcing the CCPC to do its job and actually protect Irish consumers and to face up to monopoly-like practices and to do what we have urged the Government to do in respect of the agrifood regulator. As a result of the pressure from Sinn Féin and amendments it has brought forward, the Government has improved the Bill from where it started but it is nowhere near as strong as it needs to be. Those are the solutions. The Government has said it will pass the motion; now implement the solutions.

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