An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

-----increase in funding. I have submitted Commencement debates with him and he has never come to the House for one. I checked his record and found he has not come to the House for any Commencement debates since the general election in 2024. We need to send out an SOS for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, because if one looks at the Dáil and Seanad records we seldom see him here. Maybe the cost of fuel is so high that he cannot drive to Leinster House or perhaps he has become stuck in a pothole.
I feel there is zero respect for councillors who have prepared factual evidence-based presentations on roads. Every Senator should push for statements on roads because we need to get a face-to-face meeting with the Minister to ask what is going on. People could cry going to work on our roads. We are double taxed on absolutely everything. People are paying through the nose for tax on their cars that will not pass the NCT. They are paying for tolls, fuel costs are rising and, on top of that, the roads are disintegrating. Our roads are like those in developing countries rather than those of a developed country. Older people have put aside a little bit every week to save for fuel in their tank and are terrified that their hard-earned savings will not cover a full tank of fuel. The worst part is that the Government has control. In fact, for every litre of diesel put into a car, the Government takes about 60% of the cost in tax. It is planning an increase in taxes on home heating oil in May. The Government needs to put its money where its mouth is and cut carbon taxes.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18