Paul Murphy: Protest Works - Calls for Price Caps and Strikes

Tánaiste, it's been a bad week for the government, it's been a good week for people power. The fuel protests caused the resignation of a government minister, they caused the sudden appearance of the Young Turks of Fianna Fáil, they've seen the majority of the government reduced, they've seen that government destabilised, and that's before we get to the by-elections in just over a month's time. It's often said that power comes from the barrel of a gun, but in this country it often seems to come from the cab of a tractor. The message that people will take correctly from the government's response to the protests is this, if you don't take militant protest action, and if you aren't representing landlords or big business, the government will ignore your demands, no matter how reasonable or how justified they are. The fact that five years into a cost-of-living crisis the government is still ignoring the demands of workers, carers and disabled people on the cost of living is truly outrageous. Prices have gone up by almost a quarter in the last five years, but the government decided that the cost-of-living crisis was over as soon as the general election was. That's why you withdrew the cost-of-living measures in the last budget that you used to buy the last election. That included a cruel €1,400 cut for disabled people, a targeted measure aimed at disabled people. Since taking over as Finance Minister, you have ignored their very reasonable, modest request for a €400 emergency payment so they can pay their winter heating bills. You have lectured workers, disabled people and carers that you have to be responsible, they have to be careful with the state finances. Of course, that didn't stop you finding €700 million for tax cuts for the fast food chains and the hospitality industry, another €400 million for property developers, another €300 million for Google. And it hasn't stopped you finding €220 million down the back of the couch to give to hauliers and farmers now. Some of the excise cuts will trickle down to workers, which is welcome. It wouldn't have happened without the protests. But with no price cap, which we have been calling for for years, we have legislation brought in over two years ago to introduce price caps. Without a price cap, it will be quickly swallowed up by further increases in oil prices caused by Trump and Netanyahu's illegal wars. Which you still haven't condemned, despite all of the talk of standing up for international law. It's the same old story. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have plenty of money for business, but when it comes to workers and carers, out comes the poor mouth. The trade unions need to take heed. We're in a new period at home and abroad, and a new phase of militant protest is needed. Workers don't need tractors to force the government to listen. The most effective form of disruptive protest is the strike, a power that all workers have. It's clear, Tanaiste, that you can take emergency measures when you want to, or when you're under pressure to. When are you going to introduce universal measures to protect ordinary people from the cost of living crisis? You've cut the price of petrol and diesel. Will you make public transport free immediately? Will you bring in a 500 euro energy credit for every household paid for by a levy on data centres? Will you levy owners and operators of private jets so that they don't benefit from the excise cuts? Thanks very much to Deputy Murphy. We also have to acknowledge that real wages are rising in this country. We also have to acknowledge that we made very significant increases, quite rightly, in terms of the disability budget this year, albeit with a big focus on service provision, I think over 600 million euro. This government is committed to the introduction of a cost of disability payment, so that is very good work being done by Minister Killeary, my colleague Minister Higgins and others. The consultation on that has closed. Very good engagement from stakeholders, from people with a disability, from their representative bodies, and I thank them for that as well. The measures we took, though, and I need to keep saying this because it's true, the measures we took, yes, have benefits for some sectors, but also have an overall economic benefit that helps everybody, because there is nothing that triggers inflation greater than commodity prices. If we can't take measures to try and suppress energy prices, insofar as anyone can during a war and the impact on supply, we will just see inflation rise even further, and that will have a very detrimental effect, Deputy, on the people that, except Giovanna Fides, that you're highlighting their cases today. You mentioned Google, and you throw in these people, and that's fine, that's your politics, but I would just point out that the €109.3 billion that we're expecting in total tax revenue this year, about €34 billion of that, or 31.1% of that revenue is expected to come from the same corporate taxpayers that you, in my view, demonise, and that's before you even get to the income tax benefit of the many thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who work in those communities, some in Dublin, but many, many also outside Dublin in terms of regional development as well. In fairness, your views on protests are well known. We can have a debate around your, you know, a loose enough definition, I think, and maybe you and I have a different view as to where peaceful protest starts and ends, but I did think this week, there were lots of genuine, I want to say this, lots of genuine, decent people this week who protested, lots of genuine, decent people. There were also, though, people who crossed a line in terms of legality. I actually saw you, I saw people saying pretty horrific things to you about your support for LGBT people in this country, and I agree with you on your support for that, and I think with common cause in relation to that, but it does worry me slightly, though, that you're willing to perhaps adopt kind of common cause with people who actually abhor much of what you champion. I may agree with it or disagree with it, because I think, and I'm not saying this to be provocative or rude, but I think you actually see the bigger prize as mass protest, and I think that merits reflection. You know, there were many, many people leading the protest today who oppose and abhor everything you've stood for, whether people think that's right or wrong. And I finally say, just in relation to the issue around the VAT cut to hospitality, which again I think is supported by some in opposition and not everybody in opposition, people can say beef barons and people can name large fast food chains, but let's also say this, the vast majority of people who benefit from the reduced rate of VAT on hospitality are small restaurants, small cafes and rural pubs that serve a meal in the middle of the day. They are the backbone of the domestic Irish economy, they employ a hell of a lot of people directly, benefits to more people indirectly, and it's actually a measure that becomes more important than ever now, in terms of actually supporting the domestic economy and reducing the cost for our cities at this difficult time. I don't think the government gets it. If you had got it, you wouldn't have seen the scenes that we saw over the past ten days or whatever. That is a result of the government not listening, not acting. One in five people are at risk of poverty. Two in five parents have skipped meals or cut back on what they're eating so their kids can have enough to eat. Hundreds of thousands of people are in arrears on electricity or in gas. That is what drove the protests. And the common cause I made, and people for a profit made, is with people who are fighting for action on the cause of the living crisis. The core demand that came out from those protests was for price caps. We were the only party to be calling for price caps. We have a bill that we introduced two years ago precisely calling for price caps. And we won't allow ourselves to be intimidated from supporting those protests by the presence of some far-right agitators with their own agenda who are simply trying to hijack and misuse people's anger. And we make no bones about supporting effective protest. No bones about it whatsoever. And the truth is, I've heard you say on multiple occasions that the package that came the other day was nothing to do with the protests. I don't think there's a single person in the country, including yourself, who believes that. Nobody. Nobody believes it. And so the message that you sent out yourself from your own actions is that protest works. Protest gets some results. Protest gets concessions. And that's a message to everybody and we want to see that built on by mass, effective, including disruptive protest to force universal action for everybody. But you see, it's when you start saying disruptive protest. So I presume you don't, sorry I'm not speaking for you actually, I don't support the blockade of critical infrastructure. I don't support the idea that you can tell me, or not you, but somebody, I can tell me whether I can move or not freely around this country. I don't support some of the comments online last night from some of the so-called self-appointed leaders that if anybody on these benches attend an agriculture show we'll be dragged out of it. And you don't either. I don't think. I don't think. So we should condemn that. We should condemn that. Because we're better than that. Price caps. You have a view. We have a different view. We don't believe they work. We don't believe they work. We believe it transfers. Liz Truss tried a version of this. We believe it transfers the cost from the forecourt to the taxpayer. It doesn't disappear. It just transfers the cost and we believe it has very significant budgetary implications in terms of the delivery of public services. Because it doesn't actually reduce the cost. It just transfers the cost from the forecourt to the taxpayer. It's not free money. It has a real impact and it would cost many, many billions. Many, many billions as well. And can I also say there are challenges in this country. But figures from the CSO now show that the average weekly wage is over €1,000. We're creating 200 jobs every working day. We have an ability to make real progress on key issues and work through with people in this country the challenges that they're facing.