The former leader of Fine Gael let the cat out of the bag in recent days. He said out loud what has been whispered by senior Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael personnel for many years - this divide-and-conquer approach between urban and rural Ireland. People in rural Ireland see the carbon tax as a penalisation of them for choices they do not get to make.

They have to heat their homes with home heating oil. They need to use petrol and diesel to get by in rural Ireland. I want clarity from the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in the Dáil. I want respect for people in Ireland. The Government must stop using this approach of divide and conquer on our people. It is fooling nobody.