Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)

Irish householders are facing a winter of increased fuel prices following recent announcements by energy suppliers of price increases, despite the companies involved already having made significant profits. I cannot understand how these increases can be justified in light of soaring profits. It seems to be just another instance of women and men at the side of the street being milked to create corporate profits for large institutions. What can be done to control these ravenous profit mongers that are operating like the highwaymen of old? Ordinary people, especially the elderly, just have to hand over their hard-earned income if they are to keep warm and cook food in their homes. It is scandalous that there appears to be no control over the actions of these entities and no comeback for ordinary people.

I am delighted that the distribution of the fuel allowance will begin this week. That will be a big help for some but many more citizens will look helplessly at their depleting funds, which have already been impacted by large increases in the cost of groceries, car fuel, etc.

We must help those people to survive. Yes, survive because that is all that many people are doing, particularly those on middle and lower incomes.

The Government must not alone help and support our struggling citizens. We must also find ways to ensure that corporate greed does not consume our nation. All this comes on top of the big push to cut out the use of fossil fuels, which were a great help to the hard-working small farmers who could, by their labours, save a bank of turf to help heat their homes and families. We must find a better way to both protect our environment and allow our people to live in some small comfort in a heated home. I ask that we do this initially by way of financial support and then by bringing in controls of conglomerates that appear to be a rule all to themselves.

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