Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Ó Domhnaill.

A photograph on the front page of my local newspaper in Sligo this week shows people collecting home heating oil in small containers that are for sale in suppliers these days. That is how difficult people are finding it to cope and keep themselves warm. On that basis, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to invite the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, to the House to discuss the implications of the cut in fuel allowance. Such a debate would be timely given the photograph on the front page of The Sligo Weekender showing how people in rural areas have been reduced to buying home heating oil in small quantities. The Minister's decision is callous in the extreme and will have a significant impact. While no one doubts the challenges that faced the Minister for Finance and other Ministers in trying to secure savings of €3.8 billion, the European Union and International Monetary Fund were not prescriptive and Ministers have many options available to them. There were many options, however, that were not prescribed precisely by the EU-IMF. There were other options. I am sure Senators Comiskey, Henry and O'Keeffe and others from the north west of Ireland will agree that other measures show this budget to be highly anti-rural, anti-farming, anti-elderly and anti-those most in pain. Other issues could have been embraced for people who are better placed and equipped to deal with cuts, not those on whom we focus. Not least is the callous cut in fuel allowance for the elderly.

I hope another Member, perhaps from the other side of the House, will second my proposed amendment today.