Fuel, Energy and Carbon Tax Relief: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Pat Buckley (SF), Cork East

I thank the Independent Technical Group for bringing forward this motion. Where will I start? Constituents have told me that they go cold and hungry and that some days they do both. They cannot afford to heat their homes and their kids are constantly sick. They end up cutting back on food to pay for electricity. Cold homes, empty fridges and impossible choices face some of my constituents in east Cork, who are forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table.
As I listened to the Minister of State's response, I was sitting here thinking "Jesus wept. The Government has now normalised poverty in 2026." It is a sad indication of where this Government is going. It had a knee-jerk reaction last year when normal, ordinary working families, farmers and others who were struggling went out on a protest. It labelled those people for standing up and trying to tell the Government, which is supposed to serve its people, that they had enough and could not take it. The Government is going to see that again.
The Minister of State mentioned the Government supports. They are not working. Ministers speak about it as if it is the Government's money. It is the taxpayers' money. It is our money. The Government is supposed to support the people who support us in supposedly doing our job up here. The Minister of State also mentioned rural transport, saying that what has been said about it is a myth. It is not a myth. Rural transport is at zero. I was in contact with the NTA during the week about rural link services for Ballymacoda, Shanagarry and Knockadoon. It told me straight out that the Government is not giving it funding. Its priorities are up its backside because it is so self-centred. I hear some Government TDs say that they are listening to their constituents. I do not know what planet they are on. I can walk down the street and see people who are struggling every single day.
There is a knock-on effect here. The majority of stuff in the supermarket, in the chemist and everywhere else was carried there by a diesel-run engine. Where there is action, there is an instant reaction. If the price of diesel goes up, the price of carrying goods goes up and that will be passed on to the consumer. In all of the Government's actions, it has done nothing to serve the people. I support our Bill from last night and the Independent Technical Group's motion today but I guarantee the Government will support neither because it is not on the proper planet.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23