Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Next week will be the first anniversary of our discussion on Jadotville, which was supported by all sides of the House. Of course, we recently passed the 60th anniversary of this great military event. These Irish soldiers are not just regarded as heroes in their homeland, but by a growing number of people worldwide.

I recently came across the wording of the surrender document of Commandant Patrick Quinlan at Jadotville. It is important to put it on the record of the House:

Jadotville, 17 September 1961. I Commandant Patrick Quinlan officer commanding Irish United Nations troops in Jadotville do hereby agree to the terms of surrender of Minister Munongo because - The Irish force is here in a peaceful police role and any further action would result in the loss of African and Irish lives. I also wish to state that my troops fought only in self defence having been fired on while attending mass on the morning of 13 September at 0740 hours. It is also agreed that the Irish troops will have their arms stored at the location of the Irish troops accommodation. In the absence of orders from higher authority I take the responsibility for this decision.

It is never too late to do the right thing. It is never too late to honour the men under the command of Commandant Quinlan in the way their commanding officer recommended.

The second item I wanted to raise today is the growing cost of energy prices for so many people in this country, as well as the urgent need for Government to address it. Like many people in this House, my own office and phone is inundated with people who are facing a cold winter. My colleague, Deputy Brendan Howlin, raised this matter with the Taoiseach in the Lower House yesterday. The discussion yesterday was on the recent European Council meeting of 21 and 22 October. The Council mandated energy ministers to convene an extraordinary meeting to follow up on Council conclusions. Those ministers agreed that short term measures have to be taken as a matter of urgency to shield vulnerable customers from enormous price hikes. The Commission has issued a clear policy framework that allows member states to take action, including temporary tax breaks.

Of course, this surge in energy costs is an unexpected windfall for the coffers of Government. The State charges 13.5% VAT on top of the increasing price of energy. In fact, as Deputy Howlin pointed out yesterday, not only does it charge 13.5% on gas and electricity, it also charges 13.5% on the carbon tax and on the public service obligation, PSO, levy. The EU energy taxation directive and the VAT directive give flexibility to member states to exempt or apply a reduced rate of VAT on electricity, natural gas, coal and solid fuels used in households. Given the extraordinary rise in energy costs, the Government must act to ensure that all households can battle these costs this winter. Government has been given a green light to do so. I hope the Minister can help all of those who are worried about heating their homes this winter.