Tá áthas orm deis a fháil labhairt ar an mBille Airgeadais seo atá os ár gcomhair tráthnóna inniu. As an Independent TD for Offaly, I have consistently highlighted the intolerable burden of high energy and fuel costs on families, farmers and hauliers across my constituency. I accept that this Bill seeks to provide some temporary relief in that it increases the diesel rebate scheme cap to €120 per 1,000 litres for qualifying road transport operators, until the middle of this year. It also implements cuts to mineral oil tax rates on petrol, auto diesel and other fuels until July, while postponing further carbon component increases until October but these steps are not enough and they offer modest short-term respite. We need a long-term strategy to protect our businesses and safeguard tens of thousands of jobs, particularly in rural areas, where we have haulage companies and agri-contractors. That is what I am concerned about. These steps represent a wholly inadequate response to a deep and sustained crisis. I stood with agri-contractors, hauliers, and construction workers on the lines in my constituency during the protests. I found it remarkable that there is a lack of acknowledgement of the struggles that businesses face in this country. What is very concerning is the fact that I have seen businesses going to the wall in my constituency, Offaly, but I have never heard of one NGO going to the wall in this country. We have 34,000 NGOs. Let us face it. They are not known for creating employment. They are certainly not known for creating tens of thousands of jobs in rural counties like Offaly, yet we have a situation where there are 34,000 NGOs and there is massive duplication. We could have the same categories of NGOs over and over again. We paid out €6.2 billion of taxpayers' money last year. I have not heard of any of them going to the wall, but I have heard of agri-contractors and small businesses in my constituency going to the wall. I have heard of job losses. This is shameful. I ask the Government to reflect on its policy position. When it comes to NGOs or overseas aid, it seems to have shifted too far to the left. They are left-wing policies. It is crazy. The Government has abandoned businesses. All we have to do is look at overseas aid. There are five countries on the watchdog list for human rights abuses. What did the Government do in this year's budget? It decided to pay them €840 million in overseas aid, with taxpayers' money. Some of those countries, incredibly, include Afghanistan, Sudan and North Korea. We have the Irish taxpayer paying overseas aid to North Korea and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, our own businesses go to the wall and 34,000 NGOs get €6.2 billion of taxpayers' money. That is not to mention the sham of the asylum system and the money that is handed out in social welfare payments. We need to put Irish citizens first. We need to put our own businesses first and there needs to be a proper focus. The Government needs to move back from its left-wing policies because I can see it shifting further and further to the left. All it has to do is look at its position on NGOs and on paying countries with appalling human rights records. It is handing out our taxpayers' money to that sort of thing. It is crazy. I have stood with many businesses in my constituency. They tell me that they are crippled with diesel costs, VAT costs, tolls, auto-enrolment costs, energy costs, regulatory costs and input costs for farmers. It is crazy. It goes on and on. Rural households continue to face some of Europe's highest energy prices while small peat producers and turf users in the midlands in counties like mine are penalised by policies that ignore basic realities and common sense, yet the Government has nothing to say about that. It has nothing to say to how it states, in the event of an energy crisis, people should not be allowed to cut their turf. They should be allowed to. The Government is bowing down to its EU masters all the time. It seems that its policy is to appease its EU masters, forget the Irish citizens and people in County Offaly who depend on solid fuel. It throws caution to the wind and forgets and ignores those people. I have repeatedly criticised Government's misplaced priorities. It is directing vast sums of money where it should not be going, on asylum accommodation and on social welfare payments which are far too generous. It is acting as a pull factor, bringing in people we do not want on this island. All we have to do is look at what happened in Belfast. Do we want that down here? No we do not. We do not want that on any part of our island. It is high time the Government got its act together, clamped down on and cut the social welfare payments for people who are not genuine asylum seekers and treat the Irish taxpayer with respect. Contrary to what a previous Fine Gael Taoiseach said about people getting up early in the morning getting fair play, they are not getting it. People in this country who get up early in the morning are being punished. There is tax upon tax on working people. That is where the Government is hitting them, yet it squanders money and pays into the whole sham of the asylum seeker accommodation. We do not have vetting of the people coming in and we do not have vetting of the cowboys and chancers providing the accommodation either. It is an absolute sham. I will continue to call it out because I think that as Irish citizens we need to stand up. I am listening to what people are saying to me. That is my job as a politician in here. I serve the interests of Ireland only and that is why I am raising it here again today. The Government needs to look at its policies. It has gone too far left altogether. It is just crazy what is going on. I have constituents at absolute breaking point. I have had people in my office who are very upset. They are working people who are trying to make ends meet and put their children through college but instead of being helped, they are being taxed and punished. We must deliver permanent and meaningful tax reductions on fuel and energy. The USC, which was meant to be a temporary measure, must be abolished. We have to help working people here. Our own interests should always come first. The Government should suspend punitive carbon charges for rural Ireland. I am glad to say I was one of the 12 who voted against the climate action Bill. I recognised at the time that it was not good and I remain opposed to the carbon tax. We need to support our local fuel and peat producers and place the needs of Irish citizens first. This Bill is a small concession but it falls very short of the decisive and long-term action that Ireland demands. We need an end to the squandering of Irish taxpayers' money and to the crazy amounts of money going into NGOs. We need to support our businesses and working families in this country.

Sentiment score: -0.03