Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I dtosach báire, ba mhaith liom tagairt don méid a bhí le rá ag mo chomhghleacaí as Gaillimh, an Seanadóir Michael Mullins. Arís, tá sé ag déanamh mí-chur síos ar an méid atá á dhéanamh ag Sinn Féin ó Thuaidh agus ó Dheas. Is trua é nár fhan sé leis an bhfreagra a chlos. I wish to put on record that Senator Mullins has misrepresented the Sinn Féin policy once more from his lofty pedestal. It is a shame he did not stay to hear the retort to that. It is to be hoped that it will be possible at some stage to discuss the issue.

I have great time for my esteemed colleague, Senator Paul Coghlan, who has just spoken, but I wonder what planet he is living on after seeing some of the newspaper reports of recent days. Figures published by the Commission for Energy Regulation show the number of houses that are connected to gas and electricity meters. They also show that 2,479 domestic customers had their gas supply cut off between July and September last year. In addition, 4,181 households had electricity disconnected in the third quarter of 2012. Over the past two years, gas and electricity prices have risen by an average of 30%, with further increases likely later this year. A total of 6,572 homes had their gas supply cut off in the first nine months of 2012, more than the total for the previous year. Similarly, 12,854 households had their electricity supply cut off in the first three quarters of 2012, in addition to the almost 17,800 customers disconnected during 2011. The issue about the property tax is not how it should be collected but about the people who do not have the ability to pay.