You have wasted public money and do not care what taxpayers feel about it. You can go on with your gimmicks all you want.

Do not point your finger at me, Tánaiste.

You are a serial waster, Tánaiste.

For months, the Government has tried to present abolishing the triple lock as a reasonable and necessary change. Yesterday, however, the Taoiseach made the implications of that decision crystal clear. He argued that Ireland must be free to participate in EU military missions without a United Nations mandate. That marks a profound shift in Irish defence and foreign policy. It weakens one of the key safeguards underpinning Ireland’s military neutrality. As the Government today rolls out the red carpet for Ursula von …

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "expenditure sustainably, and in accordance with this allocation": "; and calls on the Government to: — recognise that increasing diesel by 34 cents and petrol by 29 cents a litre before the end of the year will put unjustifiable pressure on workers and families already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis; — rule out any increase in excise duty prior to budget day and conditional on a review of the market conditions at that time; and — i…

They are not agreed.

The Government, in response to the outrage in relation to the cost of excise on petrol and diesel has decided to kick the can down the road. In doing that, it has made the decision that before the end of the year, it will increase the price of diesel by 34 cent. Everybody knows what they have been paying at the pumps. This will push the price of diesel well above €2. It is simply unacceptable at a time when so many people are feeling the pinch. This cannot go ahead. I ask that there is a full debate in relation to …

The Minister’s Department led a forum for stakeholders for representative bodies and policymakers in relation to the savings and investment accounts scheme under design. These voices, no doubt, have a role to play and a place in the discussion. A scheme of this scope, however, would traditionally have had a public consultation process, and that was not the case here. What engagement has there been with the public? What research has been done by the Minister or his Department on public views of how to design a savin…

The Tánaiste is right in saying there has not been a public consultation in relation to this issue. The funds review was separate. It looked at the taxation aspect but did not argue for this type of savings and investment scheme.

That was not the consultation that was under review at that time. To tell the Minister the God’s honest truth, we know very little because we are still in the dark in relation to what this scheme is going to look like. We are told it is going to be announced on budget day. There has been no consultation with the public. There has been consultation with stakeholders, other groups, with very wealthy asset managers and so on. The Minister has had extensive meetings with asset managers, wealth managers, financial plann…

We have discussed deemed disposal and how that could be changed, making sure it does not just benefit the ultra-rich and allow for the avoidance of tax on significant assets. There is a real question in relation to the public scrutiny of what is going on. The Minister said we know a lot but, in fairness, we do not. We do not know what the thresholds are going to be. We do not know what the rate is going to be. We do not know if there is going to be tax inside the investment. We do not know if it is going to be for …

What about public consultation?

I am trying to get to the bottom of what the Minister's intentions are for excise duty. Last week, he passed the Finance Bill in the House, and that Bill will see the price of diesel increased by 32 cent and the price of petrol increased by 27 cent. That is just a number of weeks away, on 1 August. People are aghast at the idea that in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis prices would rise again. In some cases, prices will go up to €2 per litre, given where they are at the moment. The Finance Bill is going through…

I am well aware of the legislation, the 1920s Act which requires financial resolutions to be put into primary legislation within four months. The reality is that the Government last week voted against deferring the increase until budget day. As things currently stand in Irish tax law, diesel will go up by 32 cent and petrol will go up by 27 cent in August. The Dáil is only sitting for another three weeks. There are people and businesses, including hauliers, that have to plan. They are wondering about the contracts …

First of all, that does not provide the clarity that is needed. This is not as simple as the Tánaiste said, which was that this was putting the resolution into primary legislation.

It is not.

The Government voted against delaying this measure until budget day. It voted against not increasing costs on 1 August. That is what happened last week. The Tánaiste was not here, was he?

Perhaps the Tánaiste was not here. Let us be clear: that was what the vote was last week. Amendments were put down to defer this measure until budget day for consideration so that these increases would not happen when the Dáil was on holidays. If the Government decides to increase the costs of petrol and diesel, even if it decides that they will only go up by 20 cent, we do not know what is going to happen the week prior to that and the Dáil will not be sitting. The sensible thing to do was to accept what Sinn Féin…

There was a vote on the amendment.

Is the Dáil going to sit?