Fuel Protests: Statements (Resumed) Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14 ============================================================ Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo fhíorbhuíochas a ghabháil do gach Ball agus gach Seanadóir a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo. Gan amhras, tá sé soiléir do gach duine go bhfuil daoine faoi bhrú. Tá an Rialtas ag éisteacht. Tá muid ag caint, go mór mór leis an ngnáthdhuine, agus ag obair ar son gach duine. The debate tonight has ended with Senator Flaherty's contribution and began with the Minister of State, Deputy Collins. The important point is that we need to reflect on where we have come from, taking on board the contributions of many Members in this very important debate. I do not have a prepared script because it would not do justice to the contributions, nor do I seek to be in any way adversarial here. It is important we all listen. As Members of the Oireachtas, what we say and how we say it are very important. That carries currency, and I ask all Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to reflect on their articulation and their speeches because that is critical. Second, the Government is accused of many things. One of the things we have been accused of is not listening and not engaging. I make the point to Members in the House tonight that 13 organisations were involved in talks last weekend with the Government in a concept around social contract and social partnership. I would love to have another debate, a Chathaoirligh - I am wearing my social justice hat here as well - about that social contract and how we can re-establish it and that partnership with people. Without doubt, gan amhras, people are suffering and hurting and feeling under pressure. That is why it is important to renew that social contract. May I make one point to Members of the House, who come in here and articulate and advocate, as we all do? Some €50 billion of the Government's and people's money is being spent on social protection and health on behalf of people. That is services and that is putting in place supports, help and assistance for people. Senator Cosgrove referred to fossil fuels and our overdependence on them. She is right, but you cannot be on both sides of that argument. I am a Minister of State, a Member of the Oireachtas for 19 years, with 22 years in public life, and a citizen. We understand, we live, we work, we walk, we talk, we socialise, we are involved in our GAA clubs and our parish councils and we meet people. The pain and the stress that was articulated by Senators Flaherty, Brady, Tully and others tonight is about the person, an gnáthdhuine, who is feeling that pressure and making choices. We know that and we hear them. In a way, Senator Flynn is right because today was a charade in the Dáil. If Sinn Féin wanted to have the Government held to account, it would have held Leaders' Questions and would not have put down a motion that it knew the Government was going to win anyway. It is a set-piece occasion. The Government is protecting and working for people. A package of €750 million, not once but twice, is significant. It is important we differentiate between those who are protesting. There were very genuine people on the protest last week but there were some who were not. As a Minister of State of our Government, I pay tribute to the men and women of An Garda Síochána for their work in protecting and upholding our State last weekend. I said in the Dáil earlier today that when you take away the reality of the TikTok or the Instagram video and watch and see what happened to some members of An Garda Síochána and the provocation, you will really admire our members of An Garda Síochána. Tonight we have had a very good debate in this House. It was a very honest debate. Our geopolitical world is on fire. The world we knew is no longer, and politics has changed. We saw it in Hungary at the weekend, we have seen it in other elections and we see it in the pronouncements of the President of the United States. I never thought in my lifetime - and you are a champion of America, a Chathaoirligh - that we would have the leader of the free world behaving the way he does. That leads and has led to where we are today on one level, but that does not mean we are immune from criticism. As to what we do have, Senator Flaherty is right, and Senator Duffy said it earlier. It is about that empathy, that support and that understanding of people. People are hurting, people are suffering, and we do listen and we must listen more. I thank the Members of the House. We have crossed many Rubicons in the past couple of months. What we must do, as Members of the Oireachtas, democratically elected, here to serve as messengers of the people, is engage and continue to serve, as was said, with humility. I am conscious that we should all recognise that we are here to serve and we are all passing through. Our Constitution, in Article 40.6.1°, gives us the right to protest, but it is not an unconditional right. There are conditions attached, and those who trample on those conditions also must reflect. That is not me being arrogant; it is me being a former member of the ASTI who was on strike and on protests. I thank all Members of the House for their contributions. Taking what they have all said, we must as a Government continue to act. I look forward to coming back maybe to have a further debate on that social partnership, that social contract relationship that we must renew, as was rightly said, with the people of Ireland. --- 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