Speeches by Robinson.

“Mr Pang, what engagement have you had with Government, either in Northern Ireland for the Road Haulage Association or yourselves here in London with Whitehall?”

“Do you mean that it is not available?”

“Do you mean that it is not available?”

“Just to be clear, the announcement that was made last Tuesday is not an announcement at all.”

“Given that we are talking about fuel poverty, and John has mentioned regulation, it would be a good opportunity to raise a case from my constituency that I raised with John about four or five weeks ago, where SSE wrote to a customer and indicated that the price of gas would drop by 8.1%. Two weeks later, it wrote a let…”

“Thank you. That is quite stark.”

“You said there September, October and November. When we met five weeks ago, when we were talking about resolution within a week or two, you were saying this would stretch well into the autumn. We are now five weeks on and there is still no sign of a resolution. You said autumn five weeks ago; are you now saying autumn …”

“David, you might not feel it, but from your perspective, unlike the other gentlemen, there has been some Government intervention on home heating oil across the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland disproportionately benefited, but it is not a huge amount. I think you can acknowledge that, as can I. What are you calling…”

“Thank you. That is quite stark.”

“You do not get the benefit of the agricultural relief if you are dual-use.”

“You said there September, October and November. When we met five weeks ago, when we were talking about resolution within a week or two, you were saying this would stretch well into the autumn. We are now five weeks on and there is still no sign of a resolution. You said autumn five weeks ago; are you now saying autumn …”

“David, you might not feel it, but from your perspective, unlike the other gentlemen, there has been some Government intervention on home heating oil across the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland disproportionately benefited, but it is not a huge amount. I think you can acknowledge that, as can I. What are you calling…”

“You do not get the benefit of the agricultural relief if you are dual-use.”

“At the moment there is an issue around red diesel, which I raised with the Chancellor six weeks ago. Red diesel can be used agriculturally off road, and I think with the ability to travel on road for about 15 miles. I was told that the reality of that is that, for contractors moving from field to field to assist with s…”

“William, there was a hiatus last Tuesday, really, but what support do you envisage coming forward, either at Northern Ireland Executive level or in Whitehall?”

“At the moment there is an issue around red diesel, which I raised with the Chancellor six weeks ago. Red diesel can be used agriculturally off road, and I think with the ability to travel on road for about 15 miles. I was told that the reality of that is that, for contractors moving from field to field to assist with s…”

“Yes, and receiving VAT on top of that again, so we have a duty differential that is higher in the United Kingdom, but there is also increased VAT on the increased cost that consumers and businesses are paying.”

“That brings me to a point I think you were trying to open up earlier, which is what Government can do and the outlier impact. You say “outlier”; a number of European countries have brought forward support packages, for example. Hauliers have been the beneficiary. Agriculture has been a beneficiary of that. Consumers ha…”

“William, there was a hiatus last Tuesday, really, but what support do you envisage coming forward, either at Northern Ireland Executive level or in Whitehall?”

“I spoke to a taxi driver last week who just indicated to me that personally, as a self-employed person, he was spending £500 more per month to keep his car on the road. One of my colleagues was speaking to a gentleman who was delivering animal feed as a haulier, and he said their small firm operating in Tyrone was payi…”