The crippling fuel hikes, carbon taxes, public transport , traffic congestion and M50 tolls are among some of the issues up for discussion at a public meeting in Castleknock next week. (16thApril).
Aontú Cllr Ellen Troy says she has been inundated with calls by the public and business owners who are buckling under the weight of the ever-increasing cost of fuel , M50 tolls and cost of living pressures coupled with congestion and lack of public transport.
Cllr Troy says
“There is a glaring and growing disconnect between this government and the people of Ireland.
Extortionate fuel prices are having a devastating effect on people.
Ireland is ranked amongst the most expensive countries in the European Union for petrol and diesel.
The Government can try and spin it all it likes but make no mistake it is the key driver for the huge prices that people have to pay for diesel, petrol and kerosene.
It is not a helpless bystander despite its assertions to the contrary.
The basic cost of fuel in this country is much the same as other European countries; however it is the high tax heaped on top that is the issue.
To spell this out, this Gov is taking €1.20 for every litre of diesel and petrol people put into their vehicles.
Fuel tax brought in a record €4.3 Billion last year, the highest ever in the history of our state.
Carbon tax reached €1.17 Billion which is another record.
Aontú was the only party to vote against the Climate Action Bill which paved the way for the introduction of this punitive tax.
It is due to go up again in May and the government is behaving in a hugely belligerent and highhanded manner, refusing to listen to the common-sense argument to defer this impending hike. The government has an inalienable duty to the people of Ireland, and it is failing miserably.
It is failing men, women and children is so many ways and if ever there was an example of a government that has been in power for too long, this is it.
It is frankly tone deaf and seems gripped by inertia and arrogance, a bad combination in a government.
It is taxing people to the hilt through these insidious tax hikes.
We are now in Spring, but I know from talking to so many constituents across West Dublin that they are already dreading the winter.
This is shameful in a county that is raking in tax.
The rebate scheme that was given to licenced hauliers has to be extended to other businesses that are heavily dependent on diesel. HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil) needs to be included in the rebate scheme.
The Government is milking the public on tolls. Remember the M50 is a state-owned motorway, fully paid for by the public. The M50 bridges were built for 58 Million punts at the time and the private company behind the project recouped its costs within just one year of tolling. The state later bought the bridges for €600 Million in 2007, yet motorists are still paying.
It is shocking that the government continues to extract even more money for the so-called privilege of using it.”
Since 2008 the government has collected an estimated €2.2 Billion in M50 toll revenues
The daily cost for cars without a toll tag can now reach as much as €8 for multiple journeys, a significant expense for commuters who rely on the M50 to get to and from work. As someone who travels between Castleknock and Sandyford, I know firsthand that avoiding the M50 is not realistic—it saves hours every day. If I had to leave Castleknock to go to Sandyford where I work without using the M50 it would take me hours. Using it takes me twenty-five minutes, and this is what angers me the most on behalf of the people in my area; the government knows people have to use it, they are sitting ducks for these price increases”.
“In my constituency of Dublin West, Estate Agents use proximity to the M50 as a selling point, which of course it is, but they forget to say if you happen to travel South everyday you can rock up an annual bill of €1,352.
These are the people who get up early for heaven’s sake.
One of the basic contracts in a functioning democracy is that people are taxed fairly. It is totally unjust to tax people so much that it has detrimental impacts on their lives.
A lot of people are genuinely frightened, and they don’t have the financial wherewithal to withstand this tsunami of price increases.
It is having a terrible effect on their quality of live and mental health. Remember that long before any war in the Middle East there were 320,000 households in arrears with their utility bills. This amounts to a huge swathe of the population already living in poverty.
People want their voices to be heard, and I am urging them to turn out for this meeting and we will listen”.
