Michael Collins Slams Government Climate and Housing Plans
Michael Collins criticised the programme for Government's climate, taxation and housing policies, arguing they will harm people, farmers and businesses. He called for a freeze and review of fuel taxes rather than full withdrawal, urged abandoning 'net zero', pressed the Taoiseach on Vat 9 timing and warned housing targets are unachievable without infrastructure.
He said he was astonished that independents were admitted to Government without proper scrutiny of policies, mentioning a T-shirt behind Martin as a prompt. He argued for a freeze and review of all fuel taxes (the carbon tax), rejected 'net zero' as unachievable and destructive, and urged Ireland to focus on becoming a global leader in green tech rather than following ineffective or harmful policies.
He warned that climate action must not destroy Irish food production, expressing concern about the Mercosur deal and the Nitrate Directive. He cited thousands of cattle being destroyed and a persistent TB problem, calling this a backdoor system for destroying animals and undermining farmers.
He questioned the timing and clarity of Vat 9 and raised doubts about a 13% Vat measure, saying he had asked the Taoiseach for a straight answer and had not received one. He noted 612 businesses - cafes, restaurants and others - have gone bust in the past 12 months and said uncertainty over VAT measures is exacerbating business distress.
He argued that housing pledges from parties are unrealistic because essential infrastructure - sewage, water and electricity - is not in place. He defended his group's refusal to publish numeric house-delivery targets, saying others misled the public with unachievable figures and that delivery cannot happen without the necessary infrastructure.
Climate policy criticism
He said he was astonished that independents were admitted to Government without proper scrutiny of policies, mentioning a T-shirt behind Martin as a prompt. He argued for a freeze and review of all fuel taxes (the carbon tax), rejected 'net zero' as unachievable and destructive, and urged Ireland to focus on becoming a global leader in green tech rather than following ineffective or harmful policies.
Agriculture and animal health concerns
He warned that climate action must not destroy Irish food production, expressing concern about the Mercosur deal and the Nitrate Directive. He cited thousands of cattle being destroyed and a persistent TB problem, calling this a backdoor system for destroying animals and undermining farmers.
VAT and business strain
He questioned the timing and clarity of Vat 9 and raised doubts about a 13% Vat measure, saying he had asked the Taoiseach for a straight answer and had not received one. He noted 612 businesses - cafes, restaurants and others - have gone bust in the past 12 months and said uncertainty over VAT measures is exacerbating business distress.
Housing targets and infrastructure
He argued that housing pledges from parties are unrealistic because essential infrastructure - sewage, water and electricity - is not in place. He defended his group's refusal to publish numeric house-delivery targets, saying others misled the public with unachievable figures and that delivery cannot happen without the necessary infrastructure.
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Transcript
Michael Collins. Michael Collins. Michael Collins. In relation to the programme for Government, I listened with interest to the T-shirt behind Martin saying the reason why he would not go into Government with independent Ireland was because of our climate plan. I am amazed that he went into Government with independents that had no policies put in place. That is astonishing. I think he could go into, except they wrote him on the back of an A4 page which looks like that a couple of days before the formation of Government to cover his back. But it is astonishing that he really did not look at our policies, because if he did, you look at freeze and review of all fuel taxes, obviously that is the carbon tax. We did not say withdraw completely, we just said freeze, because people are suffering at this present time. He did not understand that, or does not seem to understand or recognise that people are suffering on the ground. Abandon the unachievable and destructive net zero. We know where that is going at this present time, it is going nowhere. It was a green agenda that caused serious destruction to this country and it cannot be achieved. Make Ireland a global leader in green tech, as it came out in our policies. No longer should we be followers of ineffective and often harmful policies that are not fit for purpose. He did not read that, did he? Ensure climate action does not destroy Irish food. We are concerned about the Mercosur deal, we have also concerns about the Nitrate Directive. Do you see how many thousands of cattle are being destroyed at this present time in this country? It is astonishing. And all of a sudden we have an epidemic of TB that is there forever and a day. But it is a handy way, in my view, to get rid of animals in this country. It is a backdoor system of destroying Irish agriculture. It is a backdoor system of destroying farmers. And we wanted to put those proposals before the teaching. He was not interested. That is fair enough. He is entitled to that. No policies because he can get a deal across the line with ministerial positions or whatever. That is fine. But look at the Vat 9. I am not very clear about the Vat 13% at this present time. The Vat 9 is part of the programme for Government. I have asked the Taoiseach last week that. Is that going to happen straight away? When is it going to happen? I have not got a straight answer. So we are still in a crux there, where 612 businesses over the last 12 months have gone bust. Cafes, restaurants, whatever. It does not seem to resonate within Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. They are supposed to be arguing with them that they are interested in doing it. Look at the housing plan. Okay? We look at the housing plan. I look at all the housing plans and I listen to all the predictions from Sinn Féin, Labour, Soc Dims, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael. The whole thing we are dreaming. They were leading the Irish people astray because they could not deliver. If you look at the programme of Government, it will not deliver because the infrastructure is not there. I do not know who has explained that in detail. I know a better person to do that in recent times, but the infrastructure is not there. If the infrastructure is not there, we cannot deliver on houses. Labour has a million houses. I do not know what Sinn Féin has. I do not know what he has. None of them are achievable. They are not achievable. Ask the main developers in this country. What is wrong with this country? Infrastructure. Sewage. Water. Electricity. We cannot deliver in the storey, but we will keep pouring out figures. Independent Ireland were the only ones that said we will give no figures on how many houses will be delivered in this country. We were the only ones that stood by the principles of not making a fool of the Irish people. Every other party in this stall here made a fool of the Irish people because they could not deliver and they had not their homework done. We got quite criticised about that. I have a lot of issues in relation to the programme of Government, but we will deal with that later. of the Irish people.