“The sooner the government realises that when it drives up the farmer’s costs, it drives up the cost of the food being put on the consumer’s table, the better,” Independent TD, Danny Healy-Rae, told the Dáil earlier this week.
He said he has a “big gripe” about green diesel, which “has been blamed for everything and before the war was 38 cent a litre,” he told the house.
“Then it went up at the same rate as white diesel, maybe, and was at approximately 90 cent per litre for a number of weeks.”
“Then, all of a sudden, it was driven up to €1.40 a litre, and it is still hovering around €1.20 a litre all the time.”
“That has the effect of driving up the cost of agricultural produce because you cannot do anything on a farm without a tractor,” he outlined.
“Then the government says that it will claw back the increases on-road diesel and petrol.”
That will, he stressed in the Dáil chamber, hurt every man, woman and child working in rural Ireland and will hit rural Ireland “more than any other place”.
Cost of electricity
The deputy highlighted that the cost of electricity is “very punitive” and is hurting many people, especially those in rural Ireland, as they have “no options” when it comes to electricity for heating and all other appliances.
“They find themselves hit so hard. The government has been asked several times to put a cap on this, and it will not do it.”
“I honestly believe now that the government is satisfied with the way things are going because it is getting more tax out of it.”
“The more profit and the more VAT collected by these companies and handed over to the government in tax, the better it is doing, at the expense of people, especially elderly people, who really need electricity.”
“For as long as I am elected here, I will stand by and appreciate those people who do their best in the summer months to collect enough turf to tide them over until the winter.”
“A lot of this winter was very cold, and people who did not have a fire certainly would not want to be perishing with the cold,” he concluded.
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