Pearse Doherty

The Government has had four years to target energy credits.

Let us walk down the street together and talk to ordinary people.

The Tánaiste needs to get out of his bubble. It is no wonder he is going down in the polls. Seriously.

I too want to be associated with the words about Brigid McGlynn and thank her for her many years of service to this House and to all who served here. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are presiding over a serious immediate crisis in cancer care. Of the 23 radiotherapy machines in our health system, 80% require immediate replacement. There is no structure for planned replacement in place. These are life-s…

That will not take effect until January.

The Government took away the energy credits.

That is why arrears are up.

Get out of your bubble. Get out of your bubble.

It is not.

It is additional money.

The Taoiseach does not have a clue.

He did not even think the Government had it last week.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed rural Ireland. Along with Independents, they pay lip service to these communities but turn their back on them time and again. That is the reality. There is a real anger out there that has been simmering below the surface. It is an anger that boiled up when the Government abandoned people in the face of the fuel crisis. When people screamed out for help, it tur…

An tseachtain seo, den dara huair ó mhí an Mhárta, d'impigh an Coimisiún Eorpach ar bhallstáit céimeanna a chur i bhfeidhm chun an brú ó phraghsanna leictreachais a laghdú. Tá an Rialtas go fóill ag diúltú rud ar bith a dhéanamh chun cuidiú le gnáthdhaoine atá thíos le billí leictreachais iontach mór. Le bheith fírinneach faoi, tá an Rialtas ag déanamh rudaí níos measa tríd an gcreidmheas fuinnimh…

The Tánaiste is still not listening. He is trying to spin it, and he can try to spin it whatever way he wants, but people, in their real, lived experiences, know where they are at. They see prices going up. They see the prices of electricity, fuel, home heating oil and groceries going up. They see all of that. They see a Government that is talking about surpluses - billions of euro more than were …

What we saw on "RTÉ Investigates" last night was absolutely shocking. It went to the heart of any parent out there. Children in the care of the State are being placed in really dangerous and wholly inappropriate settings. We are talking about unregulated emergency arrangements with no proper oversight where children are exposed to violence and trauma that will stay with them for the rest of their …

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Next year.

231. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he is aware of the issue around accessing and cash flow in relation to the diesel rebate scheme; if consideration has been given to providing the benefit of the diesel rebate scheme as a direct cut on excise on diesel at the pumps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26925/26]

Obviously, the priority questions were submitted before the announcements last week, which the Government was forced to make by people pressure and by parties in opposition like Sinn Féin, but we know that half measures do not cut it. Still we see so many people, particularly hauliers, who are locked out of the rebate scheme. There are reasons for this, such as if they are transporting livestock, …

The Tánaiste is missing the point here.

I do not know if he is doing it deliberately or not. If you cut excise duty directly at the pump, it benefits the hauliers, transport operators and bus companies that need that measure for cash flow, but it also benefits everybody else. It benefits carers, nurses, doctors, teachers, street cleaners and everybody else in society. That is what should be happening here. That is the best way to cut co…

Does the Minister accept that the nurse pulling up to a petrol station, putting diesel into her car and paying €2.07 per litre, the price I was seeing last night, is paying more excise duty on that fuel than is required under EU law? It is a simple question.

I am asking about diesel. Under European law, the minimum excise duty to be imposed on her diesel is €330 per 1,000 litres. She is paying more than that. That is the reality. The issue here is that the resources are in the State. The Minister knows that. The money is there. The money is there to help people. It is there to help hauliers, nurses and gardaí. It is there to help the people but the Mi…