Rose Conway-Walsh: Minister, You're Still Not Listening
Rose Conway-Walsh addresses the Dáil in support of a motion from the Soc-Dems, accusing the Minister of ignoring rural communities and those left behind by the energy crisis. She recounts meeting a plumber at a Ballina protest and urges targeted energy credits for households reliant on home heating oil.
What she told the Dáil
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke in support of a motion to give another opportunity to highlight people who have been left behind. She directly challenges the Minister for failing to hear the realities facing rural Ireland and those on low incomes.
A plumber's testimony from Ballina
She recounts meeting a plumber at a protest in Ballina who described households buying 30 euro drums of oil to keep their homes warm for a day or two. That anecdote is used to illustrate the daily choices and indignities faced by many rural families.
Call for energy credits
Conway-Walsh demands targeted energy credits, pointing to over 700,000 people reliant on home heating oil and 320,000 already in arrears with electricity. She criticises budgetary decisions that she says left people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups behind.
Media and official responses
She also addresses the official response to protesters, noting attempts to shape coverage and calls to authorities to rein in dissent. The speech frames the protesters not as troublemakers but as citizens forced into visible protest by hardship.
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I want to thank the SACDEMs for bringing forward this motion to allowing us another opportunity to speak about the people who have been left behind. Minister, you're still not listening. You're just still not listening. And you're certainly not listening to the people in rural Ireland. I'll just tell you about the plumber I met at the protest on Monday morning in Ballina. And these are the same protesters that you're trying to condemn and trying to condemn and, you know, write to Commissioner Mahon to tell them to reel them in and to cover this differently and all of that to control the media in relation to the protesters. But he told me that he's been called out time and time again each day where the oil tanks in the houses are being airlocked. And the reason they're being airlocked is that people are having to buy drums of oil, drums of oil for 30 euro, put that drum of oil in to last a day or two and to go back and get another drum. And he's saying to me, Rose, how can I charge them a call-out fee when they barely have the 30 euro to put the drum of oil in to keep the house heated? And that is the reality for people, for too many people in rural Ireland. And we absolutely feel it because there's over 700,000 people who are reliant on home heating oil who feel absolutely, completely left behind who cannot heat their homes. And that's why I'm supporting this motion. But we have said in terms of the credit, the energy credit, like right from the last budget, like how you managed to do it in the last budget to spend 9.4 billion and still leave so many people behind and leave people with disabilities 1,400 euro a month better off is just absolutely mind-boggling. And then you go and you hit them here again. There absolutely has to be energy credits given to people, not least the people, the 320,000 people who are already in arrears with their electricity bills. Minister, you need to listen and you also need to listen to the Home Office.
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