The protesters who were on the streets were there, by their own explanation, because their backs were up to the wall to the extent that they simply could not sustain the fuel price hikes they were enduring. That is on top of a cost-of-living crisis that is absolutely crushing people in terms of the cost of accommodation, energy price hikes, the cost of childcare and so on. It should be obvious to the Tánaiste that the Government has utterly failed to address that crisis. The demands that were made by those who were on the streets, which the Government is refusing to bow to, were for price controls. That is what they asked for. In fact, price controls they asked for on petrol, diesel, home heating oil and green diesel were almost exactly what we put in a Bill we brought into this House two years ago and that we brought in again a number of weeks ago almost word for word. They would actually bring down the cost of fuel, green diesel and home heating oil to levels that are affordable and where there would be certainty because all of the measly concessions the Government has given, which are totally inadequate, can be wiped out virtually overnight. Price controls are what is needed. I do not know why the Tánaiste set his face against it because when it comes to handouts, as we saw in the budget, they were given to big business on research and development tax credits or, for example, €1 billion last year in excise cuts to the aviation industry to a few very profitable airlines. How can it give it to the big corporate sector but it will not give it to ordinary people who are being crushed with the cost-of-living crisis?

Sentiment score: -0.26