Pearse Doherty

Are you serious?

The Minister for Finance bizarrely claimed, in an attempt to defend abandoning 750,000 households who rely on home heating oil, that there is no excise duty on home heating oil. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle may remind the same Minister for Finance what he told the Dáil just a few weeks ago, which was that liquid fuel for motor or heating purposes is subject to excise duty in the form of mineral oil t…

You are caught out.

You are caught out.

You are caught out.

You are caught out.

Admit when you are wrong.

You are the Minister for Finance and you do not even know what the Revenue-----

Admit when you are wrong.

Blame all you want.

I am blushing for the Tánaiste.

We did win last night.

Answer the question.

The Taoiseach voted against the proposal.

This Government led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has abandoned hundreds of thousands of households who rely on home heating oil in the middle of an energy crisis. It has turned its back on the very people who are being hit hardest - families who have seen the cost of heating almost double in a matter of weeks. The Minister should make no mistake about it, there is real anger out there. People who …

I commend Deputy Carthy on the amendments he has tabled and his steadfast challenging of this scheme, which is deeply unfair. The amendment he has tabled today would remove that unfairness. The scheme should not be extended without the amendment being accepted. For more than two years, we in Sinn Féin have been raising concerns about the accommodation recognition payment. It was brought in, as Dep…

It does not. You cannot keep on lying. It does not. It is not true. I will send it to you.

The agenda that has been presented here is outrageous. The Government expects us to debate the major burning issue. The Government might think it is not an issue but for four weeks, people have been pushed to the pin of their collar. Diesel has gone up by 55 cent while the Government has delayed and dithered. When it now brings forward a motion that is a half-baked idea that does not go far enough…

On a point of order-----

The point of order is looking for clarification on the motion.

I ask for-----

-----clarity on what we are asking people to vote for. The proposal before us provides that all amendments will be disposed of and the only vote will be on the Government's proposal. The Government Chief Whip has just stated that there will be numerous votes after the 60-minute debate. I am looking for clarity. If the Government is accepting that there will be numerous votes on the amendments, I a…

What is it? Which one is it?

Are you getting rid of all the amendments?

It is so important that the Government did not even-----