Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Mattie McGrath (IND), Tipperary South

No farmers, no food. Irish forestry contractors will be in the audiovisual room this evening.
People are at their wits' end. The Taoiseach does not seem to realise it. I mentioned the Taoiseach’s hand in the people’s pockets. The data centres and all these other companies have very deep pockets and the Taoiseach is saying to me he is very afraid to even go near their pockets or even ask them to take out their handkerchief. He will not touch them at all. Fair play is what is needed here. We need to finally get rid of this excessive carbon tax. It was slipped in in a shoddy way seven or eight years ago in the convention centre for ten years without ever a vote in this House again. Many parties here now who are opposing it and shouting about it were party to it so it is codology to think that.
People out there cannot afford to retrofit their houses. They have not the first €25,000 to put up in the first place. They are barely about to put food on the table. They are barely able to send their kids to school. That is the reality of it. I do not know how the Taoiseach is so adrift from it and Fianna Fáil has removed itself so much from the ordinary people, na daoine na hÉireann. They are out there and struggling. They are willing to put their shoulder to the wheel – they always do – but they need supports and they need meaningful support from this budget-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30