Transport Minister Promises Further Fuel Supports For Clare's Agri Sector

Just last week a week ago, 245 million euro worth of supports. That's a week ago.

To support our supply chain, like our haulage sector, the

backdating of the diesel rebate scheme and the increasing of that to 12 cents per

leisure also. And we will continue to monitor. We have to be careful about using

the people's own resources. It's their hard-earned tax as well

that we need to deploy in a sustainable and affordable way.

And I think by any fair assessment, if someone looks back at the last

number of crises that we've worked through together, like the outbreak of the

war on Ukraine, cost of living crisis, COVID, even prior to that Brexit.

That this government and the previous government, I think we proved that the

measures that we brought forward were appropriate, were sustainable and protected.

Our people and our economy and our society through those crises. It's not

going to be easy. We're not going to be able to protect against every single

shock or every single price increase.

But we're going to work hard in that regard. And we will ensure that people

have the best information that they need and will continue to support

them through it.

He didn't mention there the housing crisis, which we're

aware of, like the government didn't sell that.

I know we discussed this before you and I as well.

And I think if you look back over the last five years, again by any

fair assessment, I would say, we built 135,000 new homes in this country.

We brought it up to a level when we need to do more and this government is

absolutely committed to doing more. We've actually reduced vacancy rates just

last year alone and one year by four percent.

We brought forward the vacant property grants that over 17,000 applications

in that five and a half thousand properties bought back into use already.

First time buyers purchasing properties, purchasing homes at the highest

level since 2006. They're not my facts. They're the real facts.

But we've a more to do in that regard. And I think if one looks again at the

response post to Ukraine, the outbreak of the war there and the

support through cost of living, the COVID crisis, I think any fair

commentator or someone who would assess that fairly would say that those

supports worked.

And fairness is well done Minister. More than half of a liter of fuel is

going directly into the government's pack of pockets, still even after the

measures that we're brought in. There is more you could do.

And I'm sure you've heard from famine groups this week that

that while prices for them have gone up 50 cents a liter in recent weeks,

the excite cuts for them are equivalent to trees and to leaders. So

and you're talking about suppliers for the likes of a service station like

they definitely need more help.

Hey, look, that is a very real issue for agricultural contractors and

for the agricultural sector. The initial coach was three was three cents on

agricultural diesel. That's something that we are looking at and we will be

deploying further assistance as we need to do. But we have to do that in a

sustainable way in a targeted way. And I think if you if you compare let's say

Ireland and the measures we brought forward in the Republic of Ireland last

week with our nearest neighbor in Britain, the full supports for all of

Britain were about 50 million sterling short of 60 million euro for a

country of 60 million people. We've brought forward measures of nearly a quarter

of a billion. But we do have much higher taxes on fuel than they do.

So I mean it's proportionate. Okay, well I might just answer your

question. Okay, so what I'm saying is I know that this

situation is very serious. Government understands that we will do a level

best to help people through the crisis and we will do that.

But we've got to do it in a way that's sustainable and that's affordable as

well. And of course we we've listened to the agricultural sector, the food

producing sector. And we will support them further.

Of that you can be sure. Supermax owner and founder Pat McDonough Pat, a very

happy day for you and proud day. As you finally get to officially open the

banner plaza here at Junction 12 Kilbrek and Dora,

straddling the borders of Kerkassel and Ennis as well. Look it's been a long

time coming but great to get the reception and to crowd out here today

clearly shows what it means to local communities. Yeah it's fantastic to have

it open officially here today and thanks to Dora O'Brien for doing the

the necessary. Yeah it's it's a great day. It's a great day for supermax.

It's a great day for the banner plaza and it's a great day for the people

at a little locality. And I've often said before and I'm not sure what the

reason for it was but we got a great welcome here at the minute we opened.

And I think maybe it was because it took so long to get here

that everybody was anxious and they were anxious because there are only

places around the country. I met a clear person who was from the locality

was asking when is the banner plaza opening and to be honest in a lot of

case they couldn't answer that question but today is

is the official opening and where the light is. It was great even for my

life as a local walking in here and knowing some of the people that are

working here now you mentioned that look it was a 20 million euro

investment double the cost of the Brackle Bam plaza but local suppliers

local contractors as I could tell us a little about that. Well obviously

during the course construction we had a lot of local suppliers, a lot of

local tradespeople and again it's benefiting

the local community. At the moment 70% of our staff are from the immediate

area and there's 25% in there's our non-national

and then the the banners are from the other parts of the country that

roptures across the country in different locations. So it benefits it's a

win-win situation as far as I can unconcern it's

as I say there's a lot of students who work here the weekends that helps them

hopefully get through college and they learn quite a lot

from why the work here about dealing with people about the value of the euro

about what it is to run a business etc. So you know it's

and we learn a lot from them as well because they have new ideas their

tastes change a bit as the generations pass on and obviously

even introducing the likes of Mama Rich that the location is the first one we've

we've done across the country and it's gone down extremely well. So when it

benefits the whole community then that's when you're on a winner. When you have

a team working like here at the moment where they all help

out to help one another and they'll all get on very well

with one another. That's the key to it. And just finally on that obviously

look it's a very proud location for the people of Claire as well in the banner

plaza I'm sure we'll have a special place in the air to us for a very long time.

You did mention that you want to expand that kind of interpretive

visitor offering. Yeah well in all the pleasure locations we have across the

country we try and localize it as much as possible. So whether it's in sports

or it's in music or it's in business or it's in whatever it's sort of

supporting the local areas key because we want it to be their plaza

as much as anyone else's. We want the people of Claire the people of

of Venice and the surrounding areas to be proud of it and that's our objective

to make it a place to be proud of and that people can come and enjoy

themselves and you know whether it's in the food

side of the business or whether it's in the retail side of it

and the experience. And so therefore you know when you walk through the

the premises you will connect with somebody along the way there whether you're

from the locality or whether you're a tourist here this is our objective to help

at the win-win situation with Claire tourism and with the locality.

And parents there are any more big plans?

Well sure you always have to be planning but as I say now we've

with the current situation it's very difficult to plan because

you know there's a lot of fluctuating in prices of fuel and

and in general across the board and my supposed my big fear is that

you know with the fluid with the fuel situation as it is

that is where it creates a scarcity of dispose of

Lincoln and that's what I say everyone in business would be concerned with

because the soon this thing is over the better

but you know that could take a little while

but if the Americans pull out of Iran I think that might be

the next step to solving the problem but as I say it is a

situation where you know when there's uncertainty out there are people

hold back and the and businesses obviously hold back as well just to see

what's what's going to happen down the line.