The Labour Party supports this emergency legislation. We support the rebate because the haulage industry needs relief and it needs it fast. We must act with urgency and a sense of responsibility to the workers and businesses that keep this country functioning. This emergency legislation is not technical and nor is it distant from the daily lives of people. It deals with a crisis that has struck at the very heart of Ireland's supply chain. The sudden and severe spike in fuel prices following the attacks on Iran is drastically affecting large swathes of our constituents. The haulage industry is not just another sector in Ireland; it is the circulatory system of our economy. As for every loaf of bread on the shelf, every medical supply delivered to hospitals and every export leaving our ports - none of it happens without the trucks that are on our roads day and night. In my county of Wexford, this is not just theory. It is central to the economic reality of a county that is home to some of the largest haulage companies in the country. Be it Rosslare Europort, our agricultural producers or our manufacturing base, Wexford depends greatly on the haulage industry, just as does every other county on this island. Thousands of jobs directly and indirectly rely on a functioning, affordable and stable transport sector. When fuel prices explode overnight, it is not just hauliers who suffer but also every family, every business and every community that depends on the sector. Supporting this legislation does not mean giving the Government a free pass. It does not mean ignoring the gaps, inconsistencies and unanswered questions associated with it. There is one question in particular that demands an answer. Why has the Government chosen to backdate this rebate to 1 January? What is the difference between the haulage industry and the thousands of householders across the country who have been struggling, week in and week out and for months upon months? We have all heard the stories of individuals and families having to make the choice between food and fuel. Do those people not deserve the same treatment, the same rebate and the same relief? Is their lobby group not as effective or influential? If this measure is a response to the extraordinary shock triggered by the attacks on Iran, then the timeline must make sense. Is this simply a date chosen for administrative convenience? The Minister owes this House a clear and unambiguous explanation. People deserve transparency and honesty. There is another issue, which goes beyond Government policy and strikes at the heart of the behaviour of certain actors in the fuel supply chain. It is time to call it out plainly. When the attacks on Iran occurred, prices at the pumps rose instantly - not gradually, not cautiously but instantly. We were told the global markets had reacted, suppliers had no choice and the increases had to be passed on immediately. Yet now, when prices are falling and the immediate shock has eased, fuel industry representatives are telling us, as reported in the Irish Independent this morning, that it will be some time before reductions are reflected at the pumps. Prices went up like the rockets that were falling but are coming down like a feather. I say without hesitation that this behaviour is unacceptable, opportunistic and profiteering. It is gouging on the double. People cannot have it both ways. It cannot be that prices are raised overnight when global markets spike and then feet are dragged when those same markets stabilise or, indeed, when the Government intervenes, as is happening tonight. The industry cannot demand sympathy when costs rise and then refuse to show fairness when costs fall. It certainly cannot expect the public to swallow the idea that price increases are immediate but price decreases require time. This House should not tolerate it, the public will not tolerate it and the Labour Party condemns it in the strongest possible terms. The Government is stepping in with reductions intended to support consumers at a time of deep crisis but if we allow this behaviour to continue and suppliers delay passing on reductions, it means that support is not going to the consumers, workers and small businesses struggling to survive, but is going straight into the pockets of companies exploiting volatility for profit. That is not a functioning market. That is not fair competition. That is not acceptable in a country that claims to value fairness and transparency. While we support this legislation, we also demand oversight. We demand monitoring of fuel pricing behaviour. We demand accountability from suppliers who seem to believe that crises are opportunities for profit rather than moments for responsibility to assist everyone. Families are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for fairness. Workers who have to commute to work are asking for recognition of the essential role they play in our economy. They are asking for support during this moment of global instability that they did not create and cannot control. We absolutely understand the importance of the haulage industry to this economy. We see the trucks on our roads. We see the goods moving through Rosslare Port and other ports. We see the livelihoods that depend on a stable affordable transport sector. We know that if we fail to act to support this industry, the consequences will be felt far beyond the haulage yards. They will be felt in every corner of every county across the entire country. While we have to pass this legislation, we also have to demand answers. We have to demand fairness. We have to demand that fuel suppliers act responsibly and transparently. There is absolutely no way that we can facilitate this. The Irish people will not be taken advantage of at a time when families and individuals across the board are put to the pin of their collar to live anything approaching a semblance of normal existence. I am glad to hear that coach and bus operators are included in this. However, we also have taxi drivers and people who must meet spiralling transport costs in their businesses. Protection must be afforded to the many sectors that rely on the use of vehicles of all shapes and makes to keep their heads above water. We will be supporting this legislation, but there certainly are questions that need to be answered.

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