Councillors in Mayo reject fuel package

COUNCILLORS in Mayo have supported a motion rejecting the government fuel support package announced at the weekend.

And there was criticism of the Fianna Fáil leadership from within the party, with Councillor Brendan Mulroy telling them to step up and start listening to people.

A petition with over 500 signatories was handed into the council by Independent Ireland Councillor Chris Maxwell, with a lengthy debate discussing the support measures, protests and blockades as standing orders were suspended at the start of yesterday's meeting of the local authority.

Describing the government supports as 'unrealistic', Councillor Maxwell said no one is listening to ordinary decent people fighting for their livelihoods and it's time their voices are listened to.

The ordinary person cannot afford to heat their house and they got 'absolutely nothing'.

People are to the pin of their collar and families and businesses may well go under, he warned.

Councillor Maxwell read the petition - signed by 500 Mayo residents - to the chamber which rejected the 'inadequate' government package - a 'drop in the ocean that fails to address the core crisis'.

The petition asked for a resolution recording Mayo County Council's rejection of the government's 'half measures', and a total suspension of the carbon tax, not just a tactical delay until the budget.

Councillor Maxwell commented on the inadequacy of the package, with the measures already neutralised by market volatility. And there was also the exclusion of home heating oil, which showed the government's disconnect, he said.

Describing it as a seminal moment in national and local politics, Independent Councillor Harry Barrett said the people have said 'enough is enough' and what started as a fuel protest, badly handled by government, had morphed into one about the cost of living crisis.

People are saying they want relief and they want government to hear their concerns. Working families must be supported.

Councillor Patsy O'Brien (Ind.) said at top level government has 'lost the plot' and he appealed to them: “Just listen to the people on the ground.”

The package was inadequate, he said. The most vulnerable are being punished with home heating oil, while for the agri sector, the package to claim back VAT on fuel had too much red tape when the simple answer was to take it off at the pumps.

Councillor Damien Ryan (FF) agreed the government had been reactive rather than proactive and lessons must be learned. But it is important to give space to see what the package will deliver, he said.

Further intervention may be needed in the weeks and months ahead, he noted in what is a worldwide crisis.

Cost of diesel is one thing but scarcity of supply is another and boats not being allowed to disembark cargo should not happen again, he added.

There is anger among people who are genuinely worried, Fine Gael Councillor Peter Flynn commented, but he felt things had gone a step too far.

He quoted a letter in a Saturday newspaper by Castlebar man Mark Mellett, former head of the naval service, who said the right to protest is fundamental in a democracy. There is a line between protest and disruption and that was crossed.

He recognises that people have economic issues and concerns and are struggling, but to talk about the fact TDs and senators had been targeted and called dictators and other language is not suitable.

They had been voted in through a system and we have to respect that, and pulling up outside offices and roaring abuse is not what we should be about as a society.

Councillor Flynn appealed to people to back off and allow democracy to evolve and allow the Oireachtas members to address the issues.

Describing himself as 'a very disgruntled Fianna Fáil members right now', Councillor Brendan Mulroy said: “This should never have happened. People should have been listened to.”

There are people in government, unfortunately, who have forgotten where they came from, he commented. And they have underestimated what is going on in the country, with people in a minus when they pay their bills every week. And it's not just the hauliers and farmers, with, for example, the disability sector 'discarded' by this government.

At the end of a debate that lasted an hour and a half, Councillor Maxwell thanked all his colleagues for their support and for listening and debating the issues.

“If the Irish government in Dublin had listened, none of this would have happened,” he commented.

The problem is the leadership in the government, he said. The cost of living is out of control, while we see the wastage, and that is where the frustration comes from, but government doesn't seem to listen any more.

*Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme