It’s the Government that’s wrong to criticise the fuel costs protestors, not the protestors themselves, Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue has said, adding that the Government is “so far out of touch with reality”.
“I reckon that they’re disconnected because they’re used to having their drivers drive them around, their cars are always full and they don’t have to pay for it. Their fridges are always full and everywhere they go people are looking after them,” the Limerick TD said, who has been on the ground at protests in his home county.
“What would happen if they had to look after themselves and fend for themselves and try and make ends meet like every working person that’s paying tax in this country, and even the vulnerable people that can’t work? What would they do,” he asked.
Mr O’Donoghue’s comments came in response to the news that Exchequer returns showed an increased tax take, including from taxes on fuel, in the first three months of the year.
The figures from the Department of Finance showed that VAT receipts amounted to €3.3 billion in March, which was up by €0.2 billion (7.4 percent) on March last year.
Cumulatively, VAT receipts of €8.0 billion are ahead of last year by €0.4 billion (5.3 percent), the Department said.
“I saw a statement by Micheál Martin and Simon Harris, blaming the protesters and saying that they were wrong. It’s the government that are wrong,” Mr O’Donoghue said.
“For at a time of inflated fuel costs, that they are capitalising and taking excess tax. That’s what’s wrong. The people of Ireland are not wrong. The people of Ireland are barely surviving and they’re trying to do their best for their families. And they have a government that is so far out of touch with reality.”
The Independent Ireland TD said that businesses wouldn’t need a package of support from Government if they “curtailed the taxes” that are causing the protests.
“So on one hand they’re closing businesses down and putting them into debt, and then they’re trying to give them a package that they won’t actually get anyway,” Mr O’Donoghue said, adding that the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris was poorly placed to understand business relief “as a person that has never been in business himself”.
“So what I say to Simon Harris is very simple: You look at it this way – you take the same fuel price that you were getting five weeks ago, taxable. And you just take the tax – we’ll say €1.70 per liter of fuel – take your tax, that’s what you were taking five weeks ago.
“Any increase on that, we will pay the increase on the cost of the fuel, but we won’t pay tax on the increase,” Deputy O’Donoghue said.