David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I do not think the Minister of State or the Government get it at all. People outside this building wonder whether they live in a bubble and whether they have any understanding of what it is like for ordinary families. The Government initiated these statements on the issues and rising costs affecting the haulage industry when the Government is responsible for those same rising costs. What is ironic and a real slap in the face to everybody faced with rising motoring costs is that we proposed a motion in this House last week and put real solutions on the table, but the Government voted down each and every one of those solutions last night. Toll increases affect everybody from ordinary motorists to SMEs and hauliers. Tolls are going up. What does this Government do? It votes against measures that would reduce those tolls. Deputy Doherty moved a Bill through this House to ensure that insurance premiums and prices would come down and the savings would be sent on to the customer. What does this Government do? It does not want to implement that same Bill and leaves it there. It is the same with the carbon tax hike on petrol and diesel. The Government cannot blame anybody but itself for that. It put that increase on the cost of petrol and diesel, which again affects ordinary families, hauliers and businesses.

The reason people see the Minister of State and the Government as out of touch is that every week, families have to look at all of these rising costs. When their insurance bill comes through the door, they see that it has gone up. When they use a toll, it has gone up. When they go into a supermarket and pay for their groceries, they see that prices have gone up. In almost every part of their lives from petrol and diesel to childcare costs and rents, families are paying more. Every time we bring forward a motion, this Government votes against all of those solutions. I am afraid the Minister of State simply does not get it. I know of the anger of families, particularly when many of the issues we are discussing today could have been addressed in the budget just gone by but the Government failed to do so. Hauliers are angry. As Deputy Daly said, there is a threat of strike action. They see these toll increases as almost the last straw, but they are also faced with all the other costs and cost increases.

I come from Waterford in the south east. We talk about what affects hauliers and motorists. They also need good and safe roads. Last year and this year, there was an opportunity for the Government to fund two really important road projects for Waterford and the south east. The first is the N25 Waterford to Cork road. It is a major road that connects the two major cities of Waterford and Cork. It needs to be upgraded but the funding has not been made available. It has stalled over the past number of years. Again, no funding for the Waterford to Limerick road has been made available for the past two years and no funding has been made available this year. The pathway for the bypass has been agreed but the funding has not been made available. We have really poor roads connecting two major cities - Cork and Limerick - to Waterford. Hauliers and motorists use those roads. I do not know whether the Minister of State has ever travelled the road from Waterford to Limerick. I do not know how any towns and villages one has to go through. It is an absolute nightmare for hauliers, truck drivers and motorists yet in the capital allocation for this year and last year, no funding was made available and these projects were not moved on.

That is what really angers people. We have a do-nothing Government that put statements on the clár for us to talk about issues but will not act on any of the issues. It is not building the roads that need to be built. It is not doing anything about the rising costs for hauliers, ordinary families or ordinary motorists. Worse, the Minister of State has the brass neck to come in and say nothing of any substance to anybody in his speech. He is responsible for some of the costs with regard to the carbon tax increase on petrol and diesel. It is about time for this Government to get its head out of the clouds, start living in the real world, meet real people and have some sense of understanding of ordinary motorists and families. It had an opportunity to support them last night when Sinn Féin proposed solutions but it did not do so. Instead, it turned its back on people again.

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