DONEGAL TD, Pearse Doherty, has slammed the Government for voting to pass the Finance Bill, which will see the cost of petrol and diesel increase from August 1.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance challenged Taoiseach Micheál Martin today during Leaders’ Question.
He said the Government is heaping further pressure on households already struggling to keep up.
“You’re going to make things even harder for families. You’re going to increase the price of diesel by 32 cents and petrol by 27 cents.”
Deputy Doherty said it was a mistake for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to vote against Sinn Féin’s amendments to stop these fuel hikes.
He said: “You need to recognise that the pressure on people isn’t easing – it’s increasing. So, you cannot go ahead with these petrol and diesel price hikes.”
He urged the Government to listen and act now before ordinary people pay the price.
He said: “There’s still time to change course, Taoiseach. You need to listen. You need to make it clear that this pressure won’t be placed on families at the pumps in the next few weeks.
“Will you urgently bring forward a financial resolution to stop these huge increases in the price of petrol and diesel taking effect in just a number of weeks.”