Pearse Doherty: Two-cent Cut 'An Insult' to Households

I move my amendment. I move the amendment today because this is an emergency for households across the state. Not in theory, not in spreadsheets, but in kitchens, in sitting rooms, in homes where people are counting litres of oil and counting every euro just to get through the week. And this government simply doesn't get it. Because if you did, if you really got it, we wouldn't have to wait four weeks of delay. We wouldn't have to see four weeks of dithering while prices spiralled and families were hammered. Four weeks when you stood back and you did nothing. And after all of that, you have the cheek to come in here and with a package of half measures and expect the people to be grateful. Well it's too little, too late. Petrol and diesel prices have soared. Workers depending on their cars to get to work, to bring children to school, to care for their loved ones, they needed the maximum reductions at the pumps tonight. You had it within your power to deliver it, but you refused. You made a conscious decision to hold back and shortchange people. And when it comes to home heating oil, your failure is even more stark. The cost of a fill has nearly doubled in a matter of weeks. And people are not turning the heating down, Minister, they're turning the heating off. They are rationing what little they have left. One person that I met at the weekend told me that they have less than 100 litres in their tanks. They're afraid to turn on the heat. They can't afford the €1,700 to refill. Another told me that they're wearing more clothes inside than they would wear outside just to stay warm. And that's the reality that you and your colleagues in government have created. And what do you offer them tonight? Two cent per litre. Two cent per litre. That isn't support. That's an insult, an absolute insult. Because the vast majority who rely on home heating oil don't even qualify for the fuel allowance. Carers already stretched to breaking point are excluded. People with disabilities, many of them who are not entitled to that allowance, are simply left behind. These are people who cannot cut back any further because there is nothing left to cut. And your answer, what's your answer, Simon? A pathetic token gesture that doesn't even come close to what is needed. And worse, and worse, you're now preparing to increase carbon tax on home heating oil in the space of four weeks, clawing back with one hand what you pretend to give with another hand. So don't come in here and try to pretend that this is government simply helping the people because it isn't. You're just going through the motions while more and more people suffer. And let's be absolutely clear, Simon, and you can shake your head all you want, shake it all you want. But let's be clear, it isn't an issue of resources. There's a multi-billion euro budget surplus. You're taking in millions of euro as a result of the additional tax revenue from fuel prices that is soaring. And the money is there, but you know what's not there? Political will from this government. That's what's missing, to stand up for ordinary workers and families. Because when it comes to the crunch, and we all know this in this side of the House, when it comes to the crunch, Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael always make the same choices. Hoard the surplus, protect the banks, and leave ordinary people to fend for themselves. Well tonight we're putting forward an alternative. We're putting forward a different choice, because Sinn Féin actually listens to people. Listens to what? The concerns that people have been telling us over the last four weeks. And our amendment will deliver the maximum reduction on diesel, the same reduction on petrol, and will remove completely excise duty for home heat and oil. An oil that has nearly doubled in the space of four weeks, and you plan to increase the tax in a couple of weeks' time. Real measures, immediate relief, action that actually matches the scale of this crisis. Because people can't wait. They can't take another hit, and they shouldn't be abandoned like this. So the question tonight is, are you going to continue to insult people with half-measures, or are you going to finally act and deliver the support that they need? Because we on this side, in Sinn Féin, we're going to stand with workers tonight. We're going to stand with carers tonight. We're going to stand with families tonight. We're going to stand with those with disabilities. We're going to stand with small businesses, and we're not going to back down. And people deserve far better. So tonight, every single TD, and I say it to government TDs and the independents that support you, you're going to have a choice within an hour. Are you going to stand up? Are you going to stand with government ministers? Are you going to hide behind Simon Harris, or are you going to do the right thing? Stand up for workers. Stand up for carers. Stand up for small businesses. Reduce the excise to the maximum amount, and remove excise duty from Homeweek now, at this time of crisis.