It is not lost on the Irish people that the electricity credits were removed as soon as the general election was over. People received those credits as they prepared to vote. The cynicism behind what was done was off the scale. The Government only decided to reduce excise duty when there were strong protests across the State. The people I saw protesting in Donegal are the salt of the earth. They are responsible for delivering goods and producing food . To quote Leo Varadkar back in the day, they are the people who get up early in the morning and keep the country running. It was those people who were out protesting in desperation. Only after that did the Government introduce cuts to excise duty. It now proposes to increase excise duty again - to sneak it back in - while the Dáil is in recess. People who are trying to get by in this country face being charged €2 per litre for diesel and petrol. You can imagine what we will face in the winter if that is where the Government goes with this. I ask it to reflect very hard on what is proposed. People who say that carbon tax should not be increased are attacked by the Government. The reality for those living in a place like Donegal is that, in the main, they do not have the option to drive electric vehicles. People are not choosing to purchase petrol and diesel. Those in a place like Donegal have to have it in order to get by, to get to college and to get to work in order to earn a living. People are being penalised for choices they are not in a position to make. People do not have the resources to retrofit their homes because the costs involved are huge. Older people in particular cannot afford it. That is why there is heavy reliance on home heating oil in places like Donegal. The Government should stop talking about this in a way that makes it seem that people are backward when they say that those who live in rural communities should be penalised for living there.

Sentiment score: 0.02