Independent TD, Danny Healy-Rae has urged the government to “give back to the people on the road who are suffering”.
In the Dáil earlier this week, he warned that if the government does not act, “wheels will grind to a halt” and “people will go down under”.
He told the chamber that people “just cannot keep going” in light of the current cost of living crisis.
“Whether it is the lorry and tractor men, men and women going to work or mothers taking their children to school, we do not have school transport in every part of our rural areas; they are all suffering.”
He believes they are “the most” entitled to get money back. The deputy told the house that these people are paying the extra tax and suffering “the most”.
“The men and women on the road – whether driving a car or a lorry – are suffering.”
“The farmers driving tractors and jeeps are all suffering because of the extra cost of fuel.”
Tax take from fuel
He claimed that the government is taking in “way more” tax now than it was at the time of the budget last year.
During that time, he said fuel – diesel and petrol – cost around €1.20/L at pumps.
He said it is “nearly” double that now, and, therefore, as a result, the government has “nearly doubled” its tax take.
Healy-Rae urged the government to address the matter “today” and not in October, during Budget 2023.
He said the government has “extra tax and wriggle room”.
“Please give it back to them – some of them – and do not be keeping it for bankrolling some other airy-fairy idea by the Green Party,” he urged.
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