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This amendment seeks to delete lines 25 to 40. Back in April at the height of what are now called the fuel protests, the Minister added fuel to a volatile situation. He essentially called for the Defence Forces to be deployed to assist gardaí in removing fuel protest

barely scratched the surface of what was needed. It was the catalyst that drove people onto the streets in their thousands in the fuel protests. We only have to look at it through the eyes of those at the sharpest end. Farmers and farm contractors were watching … message from this Government. That message demanded a response and, by God, did this Government get that response in the form of the fuel protests. All the disruption, all the tension and all the loss of income could have been avoided if the Government had listened. Instead

divvy up the money raised from a lower amount of taxation? One of the issues that has come to the fore from the fuel protest and so on, is that enormous taxes are being taken from fuel throughout the country by the Government. It has reached the point

past year, soaring fuel prices have put huge pressure on ordinary households that are struggling to keep up. That pressure came to a head in April. After weeks of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refusing to listen, ordinary people rose up in protest. They were forced to take … shoot up to over €2 and petrol will hit something similar. It is clear that the Government has not learned anything from the fuel protests or the pressure that ordinary people are under. Did the Taoiseach not see the Barnardos report that was released just yesterday? It told

maths equation. I cannot believe how disconnected he is from the reality on the ground. If he needs another reminder, we had fuel protests some time ago. The entire nation was convulsed. Even the former Minister of State Deputy Michael Healy-Rae was so convulsed by it that … said he had no confidence in the leadership of the Government. He went out and held his fist up in support of the protesters. This morning, of course, he is back in love with the Government as he tries to get himself back into some sort of ministerial

your eggs in one basket is dangerous in terms of exposure for transport. All of us can remember the images of the fuel protests when the M50 was blocked. We saw people having to walk, pulling their travel bags behind them, up a motorway

straight answer from the Minister for Defence when she told him that these proposals were put before the Government before any fuel protest. His suggestion that there is an attempt to link them is completely untenable. I will deal promptly with this because, like others, I want

this Government is treating workers that it thinks it can do whatever it wants and workers will not fight back. However, the fuel protests show that when people power takes it on, the Government is weak and can be forced to crumble very quickly and give concessions

Independent Ireland always welcomed any fuel cuts that were made but, in fairness, they never went to the core of the problem. I know, following the protest, the Government was kicking and screaming against giving anything to the people. The people almost had a revolution in the country … protesters could talk. That was refused. We thought we could reconvene the Dáil so if the Government could not talk to the protesters, it could talk to us but it did not want to do that. We tried different mechanisms to put forward solutions and the people appreciated

financial pressure to manage day to day costs of fuel and to carry out their work. It is shameful that these reductions in fuel are only temporary. I am worried. The war is not over. We will go on holidays. The Dáil will close down on 16 July … giving out? Why were they all protesting? It was not just farmers and contractors. Many people were feeling the pinch and felt they could not pay the people who mind their children when they go to work and pay for the fuel to go to work

honest about the fuel support scheme. The Government sold farmers a pup. When the price of green diesel spiked by 80% and farmers were struggling, the Government offered them 2.4 cents off per litre. It was an insult. We warned the Government on the floor of the Dáil … what was going to happen. Sure enough, what happened was a revolt. When farmers and contractors went to the trouble of protesting, the Government, after several days of blackening those people, announced a bigger scheme for farmers worth €100 million. Ministers were on the radio promising €100 million

matches. My mammy could not take me to two matches because of fuel." She said I stood with them during the fuel crisis. That is what a nine-year-old from Kerry was saying. Can the Minister of State imagine that? It is not a laughing matter when … peaceful process and for understanding where they were. I have said on more than one occasion that the people who were at the protests, who I stood with in Foynes, County Limerick, were people who had never protested before. They were all members of the Fianna Fáil

transport operators, until the middle of this year. It also implements cuts to mineral oil tax rates on petrol, auto diesel and other fuels until July, while postponing further carbon component increases until October but these steps are not enough and they offer modest short-term respite … deep and sustained crisis. I stood with agri-contractors, hauliers, and construction workers on the lines in my constituency during the protests. I found it remarkable that there is a lack of acknowledgement of the struggles that businesses face in this country. What is very concerning