Carol Nolan criticises fuel measures, urges suspension of carbon tax

Minister, I would just like to start by saying that I just feel that government do not appreciate the seriousness of the situation and the crisis indeed that we find ourselves in, in terms of the fuel and heating and energy costs that are facing every family in this state that is grappling with such costs. And I feel that a proposal such as the one that has been proposed is a mere drop in the ocean. I mean, 20 cents off petrol per litre, 15 cents off diesel and 2 cents off agricultural diesel is an insult. I actually thought I read it wrong when I saw that it was only 2 cents off agricultural diesel, but yet you're expecting the farmers to perform miracles in increasing crop growth and getting involved in that activity. So how do you expect them to do that if you're only cutting the excise by 2 cents on the agricultural diesel? I'd just like to ask government that because it appears that you have no understanding of rural Ireland or how farmers operate and it's quite shocking really. So I would appreciate, you know, if you could listen to the farming organisations and indeed the people of rural Ireland who have already told you this and who have already told you that there was a deep crisis long before we had the war in Ukraine. I mean, we've been raising this issue for the last year and a half in this stall about rising costs of living and people really struggling. But we're not alone in that. St Vincent de Paul has also raised it where they're receiving unprecedented numbers of calls where people just cannot afford heating oil. And they're in deep, deep crisis. But I would like to point out that there are solutions, Minister. There are absolutely solutions. And one solution is to completely suspend the carbon tax. It is a tax that is unfair, unjustified and indeed regressive. And that will have serious repercussions in rural Ireland. And I know for a fact that many agricultural contractors have gone out of business because of the carbon tax and because of the effect it has had on their businesses. So I would, you know, hope that government would see sense and would postpone such an increase. And indeed, I want to go as far as say that I oppose this tax as to my rural independent colleagues because it is, as I said, an unfair and regressive tax. It is also alarming that nothing in your announcement makes reference to home heating oil or cutting the excise duty on home heating oil. Quite shocking, really, considering that you've closed down the Midlands in terms of Borden and Mona operations. I mean, it's crazy. So I would just like to ask you if you'd give more consideration now to allowing people to continue in their traditions of turf cutting and to allow that compensate for the fact that we don't have a ready supply of oil and we won't have, there is a shortage, as well as the rising prices. So I think the logical thing to do, the common sense thing to do, and indeed the right thing to do, would be allow people to cut turf and allow that to take place, to compensate for what's happening here until we have alternatives. We don't have alternatives. So to close down entire operations and to stop people from cutting turf is quite shocking in light of the crisis that we're in now. So I would ask you to have a look at that again. And in addition, I do want to point out that I have been raising the crisis of the hauliers for some time now, long before the war in Ukraine. And I did ask about the rebate and about it being increased from the 7.5 cent that it currently is. I mean, in other countries such as France, it's 19 cent per litre. In Belgium, it's 22.5 cent. And it is quite alarming also that we could have serious disruption to our supply chain if the hauliers cannot continue in their businesses. And I know I have spoken to hauliers, I have spoken to Ger Highland of Highland Transport in Rosanallis, and there's huge concerns. And those people are the experts. They don't know how the industry runs and they know what needs to be done. And it is my understanding that the IRHA have reached out to government on a number of occasions, long before the crisis got this bad. So there is serious concerns, and I know from other transport companies such as Nolan Transport also, a huge, huge company, lots of jobs obviously created in rural Ireland by these hauliers. But you're not giving them fair play. You're not giving the agricultural sector fair play. And you're not giving the ordinary motorist who's trying to get to work in order to bring in money to survive and to meet their weekly bills. You're not giving those fair play either. So everybody in this country is affected, and the announcement that we see is a mere drop in the ocean. It's not enough. So I would ask you to go back to the drawing board, immediately revise the carbon tax increase, make sure it doesn't happen. I would also ask you again to look at the home heating oil situation and to allow people to burn fossil fuels and to try and put something sensible in place. Instead of punishing the people of Ireland, can you not just bring in some measures that make sense and maybe exercise some common sense when it's needed? Because as I say, we are at a point now in deep crisis, and what we need from government is action. Because I've been answering calls to my constituents all day, and they're absolutely flabbergasted at the lack of action and at the lack of meaningful actions. I mean, what happened in the announcement today, as I said, is a mere drop in the ocean. But we know that the price of diesel and petrol has shot up and will continue to shoot up. So it's not going to solve the problem. But what you will cause is serious disruption to our supply chain, because we'll see many hauliers having to park up. And I don't want to see that. So I am pleading with this government and indeed on behalf of the ordinary working people who are struggling to survive, please take meaningful and urgent action. You're not always bound by EU directives. There's nothing stopping you from dropping the carbon tax on the home heating oil. As far as I'm aware, there's no EU directive there. But what you do need to do is be fair, be compassionate, and take meaningful action that will help people in this country.