Mattie McGrath attacks carbon tax and defends farmers

Good morning, good, and I want to thank my colleagues and Breen O'Donnell in our office and Eireann, Oireachta and Hannafin and Mairead for putting this motion and we stand proud over this motion because of what the people are telling us, we're in touch with the people and we're not going to listen to arrogance and petulance from a minister that normally leaves the chamber, you got caught today, you normally run out before we speak because you don't like us for some reason or other but the facts, what about the USC, what about the USC child that you promised in 2016, budget that you were going to abolish, what about that minister, what about you isn't the double taxation allowance, 80% of the work on agriculture is done by contractors, they don't qualify for that, if you ever stood in a field, or if you ever went outside the levee suburbs of Dublin, you'd understand that, but no, you're the Dublin force set, but you get Dublin force set from the people, turn the diner on across the effort, and to take this joke of a carbon tax, of course we voted against it, we are opposed to it because it's a punitive tax, and it's not fairly spread, and it hits the weakest people and most vulnerable to have this, and it's rural dwellers to have this, because they have to, unless they're going to walk, they can't get anybody else without a vehicle, a motor vehicle, you bought into government, bought into power, clung onto it again, by supporting the Greens, and you're dancing the merry tune ever since, that you have formed the government, it's just shocking, the cost increases that are out there, and the cost of living is so high, I'm trying to repeat them all here today, but I have them, and we all know, when mum's purse on a Friday evening, we all know that any of us that have children in college, or anyone that have children in school, school uniforms, books, you name it, but on the agricultural sector, you're welded to the big conglomerates, the multi-billions of profit that they're making, and I have words said to them, you're welded to them, Fianna Gael is certainly, and now Fianna Fáil are as well, they used to be the party of the ordinary people, now they're the party of the rich conglomerates, and you're cutting off your nose to spite your face, cutting off, closing down our power stations, because of this nice pipe dream the Greens have, stopping the peat harvesting, and importing it from Poland, so kindergarten children wouldn't behave like this, if you want to be insulting to us minister, I won't be insulting, but kindergarten children wouldn't behave like this, because it's utterly stupid and nonsense, and you've broken promise, after promise, after promise, after promise, after promise, after promise, we're proud to make this motion, you put down an amendment, your government did, I failed in this house, and thanks to the usher searching, could not get a copy of the amendment, we won't even give it to us, a copy to read your amendment, you just put it down, and move it, and say we wouldn't listen, we listen intently, and like you, when you come in here to the chair, when our turn comes to speak, you fly out, like a scarlet cat out to a skylight, in case we say something, remind you of the truth, the USC, as I said, was supposed to be removed, and it's a punitive tax on all earners, low earners especially, and it wasn't removed, but the farmers are struggling, but the farmers are struggling, they can't afford to eke out a living, farm families, the backbone of all the rural communities, and all rural families, and indeed urban families as well, they can't afford the heat, you can do, Sweden are able to drop the oil prices back, by VAT and and extra duties, back to 2018 levels, why can't you do it, you tell us that it wouldn't cost our budget, that's simple additions, that the euro at the moment is 170 a litre, and a euro that goes into government coffers, through VAT, extra duty, and VAT and extra duty, and carbon tax now as well, and not a carbon hike on the way again here, and you'll force it through, which are cobbled up, government that you have here, a licorice, all sorts, dolly mixture, but as you know, the costs out there, as I said, ordinary household items, margarine up by 37%, vegetable oil up by 16%, passed up by 15%, ordinary basic requirements for people to live, and nourishment, jam and honey, I say you don't use much honey anyway, where you licorice us here, up by 14%, lamb up by 12%, and milk 9%, eggs, etc, and the pantry summed in that you could give to pig farmers, we won't have a pig industry, I welcome the seven million, of course I do, millions don't grow on trees, but they are in trouble, they're losing a vast amount of money per item, and you could make one, do one thing for the country, nothing to do with money, speed up the passports, or the visas, applications for people that want to come in to work, in the pig industry, in the factory in the north of Ireland, they're down to 60% of the staff what they had, and they can't kill the pigs, so there's animal welfare crisis, there's a huge crisis on the farmers getting paid, and the animals being returned, so all across the economy, simply wouldn't cost a penny, just wake up in the Department of Enterprise, and then they get these workers who want to come in, many good employers have gone out to source this labour, they want to get the paperwork sorted out, their application has been dealt with now since last October, but on agriculture, the last three recessions I remember, it was the ferrimori and the heron, the farmers that rescued our economy each and every recession, and they provided for people and everything else, they'll do it again, but the spirit is nearly broken, the candle is nearly quenched, because the condiments are around them, they're forcing down the prices of the products, and they're forcing down the prices of the products, and they're buying up the land as well, but of course you give an open door, and you particularly Minister, for the vulture funds, and to all these people to buy up land, and sale, it's an abject wrong Minister, that land, that I have a property, and it can be sold on by a bank or lending institution to a vulture fund, that's not legal, but you turn your blind eye to it, laws don't matter here anymore, people don't matter, all your interest is in these big condomers, let them do what they like, we see the warning from Tesco, that we're only at the beginning of the price highs at Tesco, and the money they make, and the only bank can pay even in this country as far as I understand, and all those big condomers, they're beautiful, you love them, you love them, you love them, the small man, the small businessman, and find himself, his family, and I talk farmers here, they're probably maybe his son or daughter, maybe one or two in Labour, pay their contractors, pay everybody, they're honest to goodness people, but they will be unable to pay because they can't keep going the way they are, and we're pleading with the government, and you put down this half-baked amendment, that you won't even give us a copy of it to read, it's paper that's scarce, has him and Ryan and him bagger, and he's printing the amendments, time after time now we're going to hear topical issues, etc, and we can't get copies of the minister's reply, because the replies, you're embarrassed to have them read out, and you should be embarrassed with that amendment you put in today. Fianna Gael, supposed to be the farmers' party, the farmers' party, we always knew it was, but where have they gone? They've abandoned rural Ireland, they've abandoned the people, clinging out the power for another 10 or 11 years, to ensure that your pensions and everything else, and to hell with Dr Connacht. Cromwell wasn't as bad with the hell of the Connacht, it's to hell or any place else now with the farmers, and their families, and with their schools, post offices, every facet of rural Ireland will be undermined and attacked. And earlier today, Minister, yourself and Minister McConnell, I had a fine big chat, maybe about his trade mission he was on, I hope that was successful, and when Debbie Nolan was speaking, it was the highest of you know what, and you get frustrated about not costing, you have whole departments that cost, what happened when Mr Watt got his big in price, who costed that? Nothing at all, the right checks away, the money the HSV spent, and the scandal's been exposed by papers now, so look after the farming community, before we won't have them, and look after the people of rural Ireland, because they won't be able to look at, they won't be able to live, I said it here another day, and I said it, they'll be dying in their houses with the cold, you're talking about the retrofit schemes, they're already two years behind, in retrofit schemes in my county, and the same every other place, and they must have 500 euro up front, many, many families don't have 500 euro up front, to get the house assessed, they don't have it, something like that floating around, because they're living from week to week, and day to day, and that's the way it is, I understand I'm going, I'm taking a lot of people's time, so I will, respectfully, in my contribution, but I will not take a lecture, ever again from you Minister, because you have reneged, on every promise you ever made, in the last 10-15 years, and tell us then that, we don't cost it, and your costings, and the costings of the children's hospital, and the costings of any other project, the general broadband, and you have to cheat, tell us we didn't cost it, it's laughable to be honest, but look, anyway, I want to propose my, I'm moving, we're moving my motion, Cancola. Thank you very much.