Fuel Protests: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14 ============================================================ Eileen Flynn (IND), Administrative Panel I want to start by saying very clearly that I understand why people are on the streets. The cost of fuel and energy is breaking people and the Government has been far too slow to see this and act. Energy prices have gone through the roof in recent years. Research from the ESRI and others show that around three in ten households are now in energy poverty, the highest level ever recorded in this State. Hundreds of thousands of families cannot afford to keep their homes warm and cover basic energy bills if prices rise any further. People are struggling as it is. The 10 cent reduction in the cost of fuel is more of an insult than a help. I do not know if the Government is living in the real world. Do they know what is going on in petrol stations or about the rapid increase in the cost of petrol and diesel around the country? Statistics from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul show that nearly 300,000 households are now in arrears on their energy bills and are living in energy poverty. I have heard a lot of Fine Gael Senators and Deputies speak about getting up early in the morning. The cost-of-living crisis in the country goes back to the campaign Leo began with reference to getting up early in the morning. That now includes people who get up at 4 a.m. What about mothers who cannot afford to fill their cars and are now walking 5 km to bring their children to school? What about nurses who are driving for miles at 8 p.m. to work a night shift? What about migrant workers? I did not attend any of the protests because they were overtaken by the far right. A lot of hard-working people came out to protest. I am terrified to be part of any protest where I see the Tricolour. It is an absolute disgrace that a public representative is afraid to go to any protest where there is a Tricolour. There is so much hatred out there towards people from migrant backgrounds, yet we have a health system that is barely standing. As I have said numerous times, it would not be standing if we did not have migrant workers in our hospitals. That is something we should all highlight to the far right. It boils my blood to even waste a second talking about these people who are spreading hate, rumours and lies. If I was a Deputy, I do not know whether I would have supported a vote of no confidence in the Government. The Government needs to support ordinary families in this country. That is why we need to support not only those who get up at 4 a.m. or 6 a.m. but everybody, especially people living in poverty. I know exactly what it is like to live without electricity for two or three days and to live in a cold house. I know what it is like to stay off school because my clothes were not washed. I know what it is like to not be able to go to school because, due to the bitter cold the night before I got no sleep. I have eight minutes. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-14/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-14