John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

The one sentence which gobsmacked me appeared under the heading of "Indirect Taxation". The second sentence in the Minister's remarks reads: "The goal of keeping inflation low takes precedence on this occasion." This is an extraordinary remark for a Minister for Finance to make in the context of producing a budget. He has stated that this goal only applies on this occasion, when I would have thought this to be an important job for the Minister for Finance in any budget.

I have defended motorists in the House before and will do so again tonight. It is wrong for the Minister for Finance to increase the duty on fuel, namely, petrol and diesel. In the debate on the Estimates last week, I stated that Australian and other systems which tax emissions rather than the fuel itself should be examined and pursued in the long term. The motorist is one of the most beleaguered of all citizens when one considers that, as we sit here tonight, thousands of motorists are stuck in traffic burning extra fuel due to congestion and delays. Despite this, motorists will pay five cent extra per litre for petrol and diesel from midnight tonight, about which they will not be happy.