Last October, before the war in Ukraine, I asked the Government to reduce the intake from tax on fuel prices to 2020 levels. I understand the Government needs taxes to run the country, but it is taking in 51% of the price of petrol, and 44% in the case of diesel, in taxes.

My job and that of the Government is to protect the people of Ireland. The fastest way to do that is for the Government to reduce the tax that is locking the price on fuel. If that is done, people will be paying the increase in the cost of fuel but they will not be paying tax on the increase. That would benefit farmers, haulage contractors and those in every other sector. The Minister mentioned that there are 2.5 million people working in this country. I am talking about tax. The Government is taxing every single person not only on fuel but also on food because the cost of producing the latter is escalating as a result of the tax on fuel. It is the tax I am talking about.

We know that there is an increase in demand for materials that are not there. The price of wheat has risen by 67%. The people of Ireland are being asked to grow wheat, barley and everything else when they are being taxed at source. The only answer is for the Government to take its 51% tax at 2020 prices. That will automatically go into every household in the context of home heating oil, fuel to run a car and reducing transport costs. It hits everyone across the board and reduces costs.

Silage contractors have told me that other countries are giving them 20% off the price of agricultural diesel. This means that they can try to go to the farmers to bring in the crops in order that we can have reasonably priced food. It is €1.40 a litre for green diesel for doing crops. From 47 cent a litre last year, it has gone up to €1.40. Suddenly the price of milk is going up. The costs for every household are going to go up.

I want the Government to take its 51% tax on fuel at 2020 prices. Every household and person, whether employed or not employed, will be positively impacted by a reduction in the tax on fuel. That is all I am asking the Minister to do in one sector. It will help every family and person in the country.

The Deputy made reference to a number of really important sectors within our economy and society. He made reference to where we stand with regard to the haulage sector and the pressures farmers are facing. The Government has responded in respect of each of those sectors in recent weeks. We bought forward an excise reduction because it is a tax reduction and change that helps the business sector. It is unlike the proposal the Deputy is making in respect of VAT because it helps the business sector. We did that because if we look at the challenges that those in the haulage sector are facing, we know the rising cost of fuel is affecting viability and the ability of many of hauliers to move goods around the country. Not only did the Government act in that way, we also brought forward measures to make additional payments available to haulage companies, depending on how many trucks they have, to help them further with the challenges we are facing.

On farmers and the challenges they are facing, again, the Government knows that farmers are fundamental not just to the economy but also in the context of the price of food. That is why the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, secured agreement at Cabinet on Tuesday to bringing forward a set of measures to help tillage farmers to respond to the challenges that exist. Again, while we cannot do all the Deputy and many of the rest of us want us to do, what we are doing is trying to help each part of the economy in a way that we are confident that we can afford to do for as long as we need to. We are doing so in order to respond to the cost-of-living challenges people are facing and to respond to new challenges we may have to deal with as the year goes on.

The measures the Government has put in place across the year, between our budget day measures and what we have just done, are worth approximately €1.9 billion. They are measures that address the cost of fuel, which we know is going up but it is going up by less than it would if the Government had not acted. We are bringing forward measures to help with the cost of energy and the cost of living and for those who are at risk of energy poverty. These are measures that, in their scale and in how quickly we have tried to implement them, compare very favourably with measures that are being implemented elsewhere at the moment as other governments respond to the challenges they are facing.

We will do our best to help and to respond in respect of the issues that businesses, families and commuters are facing. Equally, however, we want to be honest and clear that while we can help, we cannot cover these costs in their entirety. The Government has, week by week, brought forward measures to help.

I am talking about benefiting every household in the country. If the Minister does what I have asked him in the context of 2020 costs, there will be a reduction. He stated that the cost of fuel has gone up but the Government still takes 51% of the total cost. That is for every household. No matter what way one looks at it, it is 51% tax. If the Government takes its 51% tax on 2020 prices, that will go to the 2.5 million people who are working in this country. It costs them €50 to €60 more to fuel their cars and €1,300 a year more to put on the lights in their houses. The Government is after bringing in a retrofitting system that is outdated because the cost of materials has gone through the roof. The grant system the Government is putting in is not even justified because the grant has been neutralised as a result of the cost of materials going up. This is one thing the Government can do and it will have a positive effect in every household. It will help with the cost of their groceries and getting people to school or work. It is €40 to €50 a week. Once the Government does that one thing on fuel, it will improve the quality of life for everyone - the elderly, the young, the vulnerable and everyone else.

How much would that cost?

Having 51% tax on 2020 prices would be enough.

How much would it cost?

It was enough to run the Government-----

How much would it cost?

How much would it cost? The Government will be taking in €9.6 billion in carbon tax between now and 2030.

How much would it cost?

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, he has asked me the question.

I am just asking the Deputy a simple question to which he clearly does not have the answer.

I have the answers.

He is bringing forward a proposal. How much would it cost?

I have the answer from your manifesto. In 2016, Fine Gael told everyone in this country it would get rid of the universal social charge. Is that not one cost the Minister could get rid of today if he followed through on his promises?

Is the Minister giving his time to the Deputy?

We are in a very different world to where we were in 2016.

Are you? Lies.

The Deputy is bringing forward a proposal. He does not even know the cost of it.

I have the cost but I am not allowed to answer.

He does not know the cost.

I am not allowed to answer.

Deputy, just because I do not shout does not mean I do not care.

Oh sorry. Oh my God.

What we have is a Government that continues to bring forward measures that-----

Out of touch.

Out of date.

-----we believe can help and make a difference. Unlike the Deputy, we have to know the cost of what we are doing and we have to be confident we can afford it.

We are out of time. I thank the Minister.

We have to be able to be confident we can sustain it while these pressures are building.

The Government is putting 51% tax on everyone in the country on fuel alone. The Minister should be ashamed of himself.