Peter Burke: Defends €750m Fuel Support Against Sinn Féin
Peter Burke rises in the Dáil to support a motion of confidence in the government and to outline a combined intervention package worth three quarters of a billion euro to help citizens with rising fuel and household costs.
Details of the intervention: Peter Burke explains the scale of the measures, including payments for petrol and diesel fills and a separate payment for MGO used by contractors and hauliers. He cites figures: 16 euro per 60-litre petrol fill, 19-20 euro for diesel fills, and 55 euro for MGO fills for affected workers.
Support for supply chains: Burke highlights Minister Darragh O'Brien's weekly 40 million euro package to support supply chains and keep groceries moving onto shelves, aiming to mitigate inflationary pressures on essentials such as bread and milk.
Response to criticism: He strongly rejects narratives that the government is profiting from the crisis, calling such claims disingenuous and disgraceful. Burke argues that removing the government during this international shock would deny vulnerable citizens critical support.
On the opposition motion: Burke criticises Sinn Féin's motion of no confidence and their single-line prescription to "take maximum action necessary to reduce fuel prices," calling it inadequate and arguing the opposition repeatedly fails to agree on practical measures. He frames the motion as risking stability and the capacity to deliver further interventions.
Details of the intervention: Peter Burke explains the scale of the measures, including payments for petrol and diesel fills and a separate payment for MGO used by contractors and hauliers. He cites figures: 16 euro per 60-litre petrol fill, 19-20 euro for diesel fills, and 55 euro for MGO fills for affected workers.
Support for supply chains: Burke highlights Minister Darragh O'Brien's weekly 40 million euro package to support supply chains and keep groceries moving onto shelves, aiming to mitigate inflationary pressures on essentials such as bread and milk.
Response to criticism: He strongly rejects narratives that the government is profiting from the crisis, calling such claims disingenuous and disgraceful. Burke argues that removing the government during this international shock would deny vulnerable citizens critical support.
On the opposition motion: Burke criticises Sinn Féin's motion of no confidence and their single-line prescription to "take maximum action necessary to reduce fuel prices," calling it inadequate and arguing the opposition repeatedly fails to agree on practical measures. He frames the motion as risking stability and the capacity to deliver further interventions.
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Transcript
You should recognise and respect our army, you're respecting another army for not enough. Thank you Lascán Comhairle, I rise to support the motion of confidence in this government and the accumulated package of three quarters of a billion euro of an intervention to support citizens right across our country. I do so while acknowledging the huge pressure that many families are on, families who play by the rules in our society and that's why this intervention together with the one a couple of weeks ago is very significant. And when you look at the scale of it, for every fill of petrol for ordinary families up and down the country, for 60 litres of petrol we're given 16 euro per fill, for diesel we're given 19 euro, 20 for fill. And for contractors who use MGO together with the intervention negotiated with my colleague Minister Martin Hayden, we're bringing forward 55 euro for every fill of MGO for workers right across the economy. And also Minister Dara O'Brien bringing forward a package of 40 million euro a week to support the supply chains, to ensure that groceries getting on the shelves for our workers are doing so with mitigating the increases of inflation. The bread, the milk that so many of our hauliers bring, that key mitigation factor. One thing I would say, there was huge disingenuous narratives being put forward over the last week and more, saying that government was profiting from this crisis. That is absolutely false, it's disingenuous and it's disgraceful and should not be allowed to take hold, considering the measures that we have introduced and we will further introduce. The final thing I would say, last count Corla, is actions have consequences. When someone brings forward a motion of no confidence in the government due to an unprecedented crisis in international limits that we've seen through the Iran shock, that we would leave a country, leave vulnerable citizens without a government, without the capacity to make key interventions to support our families right across the state. And we know one thing about the opposition is they cannot agree in anything. We brought forward a quarter of a billion euro package here a few weeks ago and the whole opposition could not support that. A simple quarter of a billion euro package to support vulnerable families right across our country. It proves point time and time again that the opposition cannot agree on anything. But you want to tear down a government and leave the country without a government. And the key thing that shows this, the motion that Sinn Féin bring forward tonight, the motion that Sinn Féin bring forward tonight, how do they solve a complex problem? Look at the one line in the motion, take maximum action necessary to reduce fuel prices. My God, what a shambles.