Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reaffirm the points made by Deputies Doherty and Kenny. As the Minister of State is aware, I am from the same region as them. He will know the significant public transport deficits in that region. The reality is that, sadly, public transport is not an option for most people who are working, studying or trying to run a business in our county. They need to have a car. The electric vehicle infrastructure is not there, so that is not a possibility. The carbon tax, which is another issue, is supposed to punish people for not taking better alternatives but, in places like the area from which Deputies Doherty and Kenny and I come, there are no alternatives.

The proposed increases will not occur in isolation. They will be added on top of increases in the cost of energy, electricity, food. Everywhere the people we represent turn, they are getting squeezed. Many people are really struggling and making tough decisions in their lives. Those families are filled with dread at the thought of these increases. They see the price at the pumps increasing every week, back up toward the dreaded €2 level. We are appealing to the Government to listen to us, particularly in the context of the parts of the country from which I and my colleagues come - rural areas near the Border where people have to get by. The difference the increases would make is significant. People tell me they hear reports about surplus, full employment and the country never having had it so good, but that is not what they see in their lives. It is not their lived experience. What they see is that they just cannot make the numbers add up every week and all these components compound each other. In the context of this issue, the Government has it in its power not to make their situation even worse.

We are appealing to the Government to support the motion and the call we are making and to try to do what it can. Obviously, there are wider issues but we are focusing on this one tonight. We are asking the Government to hear what Sinn Féin is saying and do what is right.

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