Energy and Fuel Costs: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Pearse Doherty

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises that:

— workers and families have been hit by an unrelenting cost-of-living crisis;

— the Government have failed to act to end this rip-off, and get prices under control;

— the turmoil in international energy markets, as a result of the unjustified attacks on Iran, is compounding an existing cost-of-living crisis, and risks causing severe hardship for many people;

— inflation was running far above the Government's projections, even before the most recent shock in energy markets;

— record levels of people were already unable to pay their electricity bills, with 319,459 in arrears, and one in four people unable to pay their gas bills, with many more struggling to keep from falling behind;

— the number of people at risk of poverty increased in 2025; and

— the Government got it badly wrong when they decided to withdraw cost of living supports;

notes with concern that:

— in this context, the rapid rise in the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil has placed more pressure on workers and families; and

— the Government has legislated to increase the price of home heating oil in a matter of weeks; and

calls on the Government to:

— scrap plans to increase taxes on home heating oil on May 1st; and

— immediately reduce the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil, by implementing Sinn Féin's Mineral Oil Tax (Emergency Cost of Living Reduction) Bill 2026.

Táimid i ngéarchéim le coicís anois, coicís ina bhfuil oibrithe agus teaghlaigh ag fulaingt mar gheall ar phraghsanna atá ag ardú go mór ar pheitril, ar díosail agus ar ola theasa tí. Tá daoine thíos leis anois. Is é sin an fáth ar chur mé an reachtaíocht i láthair inniu chun praghas ar an phumpa peitril agus costas ola theasa tí a laghdú. Agus ní féidir le daoine fanacht. Ní mór dúinn gníomhú go tapa seachas a bheith ag smaoineamh go bhfuil an Rialtas chun súil a choinneáil ar chúrsaí. Tá daoine ar buile. Ní chiallaíonn sé tada do dhuine atá gan ola inniu. Níl chiallaíonn sé a dhath do sheandaoine atá i dteach fuar agus iad ag fanacht ar an chinneadh ón Rialtas. Ní féidir leo fanacht. Tá siad ag amharc ar an Rialtas le gníomh a dhéanamh agus le seasamh suas ar a son.

Ireland is facing another energy shock because of another unjustified attack on a sovereign country. Last time, it was Russia invading Ukraine and this time it has started with the US and Israel attacking Iran. We have to remember the horror of what war means, with 170 people killed, most of them children, when a US bomb hit an elementary school. War crimes have to be called out, whether it is Russia, Israel or the US. Even in the face of this, our job is to protect people here from another economic blow. We are two weeks into this crisis, when workers and families are getting absolutely hammered by skyrocketing prices of petrol, diesel and home heating oil. The price of diesel is now well above €2 per litre and the price of home heating oil has almost doubled. Where in God's name does the Tánaiste expect people to find €1,800 for a refill? That is the reality people are facing.

People are getting hit right now. This is why I introduced emergency legislation today to cut the price at the pumps and the price of home heating oil. People cannot wait any longer for the Government, which is dithering and delaying. They need to see action and they need to see a Government, but this one is nowhere to be seen. The idea that the Government is somehow monitoring the situation boils people's blood. It means nothing to somebody who is out of home heating oil today. It means nothing to the elderly person in a cold house tonight, afraid to turn on the heating. It means nothing to the parent who has to travel and commute to work and is finding it tough to put petrol or diesel in the car. They do not have the luxury that the Government has of waiting and seeing. They are looking at a Government that is refusing to act and stand up for them.

At the start of last week, we called on the Government to bring in emergency measures to help these people but it fell on deaf ears. We are not going to give up because we need to see action and we need to see taxes cut on petrol, diesel and home heating oil, and that should be happening tonight. Ministers were too busy packing their bags for Paddy's day. There were not even bothered with the fear that was gripping people in their constituencies. They are not listening to families who are worried about how they are going to fill the car or older people and elderly people whose heating oil is running out or running low and who cannot afford the refill.

Imagine just for a second what these people felt like when they heard the Taoiseach double down on plans to increase the taxes on home heating oil at a time when the price has nearly doubled in two weeks. This is also the plan in Fine Gael. They have told me, because I have spoken to them, that they feel disbelief that the Government could be so out of touch and they feel anger that it cares so little. It is not lost on people when these prices go up that the money ends up flowing into the State. Up to 65% of the price of every litre of petrol is taxes and levies the State collects. It was estimated that in a single week, €38 million was brought in through VAT as a result of these sky-high fuel prices alone, yet the Government refuses to act and stands by. People are demanding that the Government take action and cut the taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil. This is exactly what my legislation would do.

As I left Donegal this morning, I saw petrol stations having to charge €2.17 for a litre of diesel. On the way up, I saw station after station charging €2.10 and €2.05. These are all prices above €2. The Tánaiste knows as well as I do, if he has his feet on the ground and knows what is happening, that many of these stations have been told there is a planned increase tomorrow night of 8 cent on a litre of diesel but the Government still refuses to act. We had Ministers in here saying they were monitoring the situation and that there would not be a knee-jerk reaction and blah de blah de blah. People still have to put money in their pockets and fill their cars and the heating oil is running out in so many homes. Now is the time for action and leadership. The Government should be standing up and saying it has heard the Irish people and it will reduce taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil because that is what the legislation would do. This is the leadership the people of this State are crying out for.

Deputy Pa Daly

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this very urgent issue. Across Ireland, workers and families are being pushed to breaking point. The price of home heating oil, petrol and diesel are spinning out of control and nothing is being done to stop it. We have just come from a meeting with the road hauliers and what was coming across was Government inaction and dithering and the Government not taking action to help ordinary workers and families. When heating fuel costs skyrocket, it is not an inconvenience for ordinary people. Rather, it is profound.

It is an immediate strain on already stretched household budgets. As the Tánaiste probably knows, prices at the pumps are now regularly surging over €2 per litre. The cost of home heating oil has almost doubled from €473 to €970, as one constituent told me. For a worker commuting a long distance because there is no bus, for example, in County Kerry if there is no train and no alternative, that is an extra €20 or €30 per week just to get to work. For a family heating their home, it is hundreds of euro more every time the tank runs low.

Irish people were already paying some of the highest prices in Europe before this crisis. We are nearly three weeks into the crisis now and what is it that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the supporting Independents can come up with? All this do-nothing Government has done in response is to give a commitment to review the situation and say that it will do something at some stage.

Outrageously, the plan is to increase the carbon tax on home heating oil in just a few short weeks. Let me be clear; the carbon tax is regressive. We have been saying it for years. It is a double hit for lower income and rural households in particular. For most ordinary people, switching to an electric vehicle, EV, or a heat pump is simply not an option due to the high upfront costs or local deficits in essential infrastructure. These households are being hit twice - first by rising prices and then by a tax that presumes there are alternatives in place when there are not. The Government's record on the number of EV cars, unfortunately, is like its record on offshore wind, which one Minister described as previous Government members sitting on their hands. They are also sitting on their hands in respect of all the renewable energies.

We need relief now. Workers and families need relief. Here are the steps that can ease the pressure. This is an emergency that demands an emergency response.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

Energy and fuel prices are terrifyingly high for people. People cannot afford more delay and inaction from this Government, particularly after a budget that left families and workers worse off. This Sinn Féin Private Members’ motion is another opportunity for all those sitting on the other side of this Chamber to do the right thing, make the right decision and make life easier for people. This Government taxes energy and fuel as if they were luxury goods. People who are struggling to make ends meet are paying VAT, excise duty and carbon taxes on their fuel bills.

If we take the west of Ireland as an example, this is having a huge impact on people who have no other choice but to use oil to heat their homes and use the car to get to work. These are essentials if people are to work and live, but they are being treated by this Government as something that can be sacrificed. They cannot. The spike in energy prices over the last few weeks has highlighted the absurdity of increasing carbon taxes. Through carbon taxes, this Government continues to artificially hike the price of energy, all while there is a cost-of-living crisis domestically and turmoil in energy markets globally. The fight against climate change will not be won by plunging working people into energy arrears or forcing families to live in freezing cold homes.

This Private Members’ motion would bring an end to the regressive and cruel approach and bring energy and fuel prices down immediately, and that is what needs to be done. Let us be honest; the Government is no stranger to tax cuts. In the most recent budget, it was only delighted to cut taxes for certain people. We saw that it deemed banks, landlords and big developers as worthy of tax cuts and it left ordinary people behind, a decision that lined the pockets of the few at the expense of the many. Now, when energy and fuel price hikes are affecting millions up and down the State and there are 320,000 people in energy arrears, it does nothing. It is like it is saying that it cannot do anything on this, but it could do it for certain people during the budget. It has done nothing to end the rip-off and nothing to get prices under control. Empty words will do nothing to heat the homes of people. We need action from this Government. The Tánaiste can act, so I urge him to do so.

Deputy Matt Carthy

It is fair to say that families across the State are in absolute shock at the rising costs they are facing, especially for petrol, diesel and home heating oil. The truth that is lost on the Government is that many of these families were already struggling long before these latest price hikes arrived. They were struggling because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael removed vital cost-of-living supports in the most recent budget and actually left working people and families worse off this year than they were last year even before the recent hike spikes.

The Government's decisions to remove energy credits, increase student fees, local property tax and rent, and do nothing about the soaring costs of insurance, groceries and other essentials have meant that households today simply do not have the capacity to absorb the large increases in fuel prices we have seen in recent weeks, yet the parties in government and the Independents who prop them up seem completely oblivious to the pressures people are under. Two weeks ago, a Fianna Fáil TD told me in a TV studio that it was premature to talk about a cost-of-living crisis. It is cloud cuckoo land stuff. I ask Government TDs this evening whether they still think it is premature or have they finally realised that, for many families, the cost-of-living situation has moved beyond a crisis and become an emergency?

Of course, one of the reasons that the Government refuses to act is simple. Higher fuel costs are not an accident. They are Government policy. Since 2020, the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil has been permanently increased six times, not by Putin or Trump, but by Micheál Martin, Simon Harris, Eamon Ryan and, latterly, the Lowry and Healy-Rae Independents to such an extent that 65 cent of every euro now being paid at the pumps is going to the Exchequer. By the way, these same parties plan to increase these taxes four more times between now and 2030. When workers are struggling to fill their cars and heat their homes, the Government is deliberately driving these costs higher.

There is an alternative to the immediate crisis, however. It is before this House this evening. Sinn Féin has put forward a straightforward and practical solution, that is, reduce the taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil to give families immediate relief. The answer is here. All that is required now is for Government TDs to wise up and recognise the reality facing families across the State and support this motion.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

Today, the Central Statistics Office, CSO, published its latest property price index. I am sure the Tánaiste has seen the headlines. House prices have risen yet again quite significantly, but one of the interesting details in the CSO report is that the price of apartments has skyrocketed. The price of apartments in January was up 9% State-wide on the same period last year. Excluding Dublin, they were up an astonishing 12%. What that means, of course, is that for the people who invariably end up renting many of those apartments, rents are going to be higher. Tomorrow, the Residential Tenancies Board will publish its latest quarterly report and we are going to see, again, very significant impacts on rising rents. That is before we start to see the real impact of the Government's market rent reset.

Those renters, as well as those people struggling to or who will eventually be able to buy homes, have to heat those homes. They have to feed their children. They have to access childcare and education. On every one of those indicators, the cost of living is getting increasingly unbearable. We hear in our constituency clinics, as I am sure the impressive number of the Government's own backbenchers behind the Tánaiste today also hear in their constituency clinics, that the scale of the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on people that we are finding impossible to cope with because solutions are simply not being offered by the Government to address them.

What my colleagues have done today is something very simple. There has been a very dramatic increase in the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil that is impacting on huge numbers of working people, including working people on low incomes or those on modest or low pensions. We have given the Government a very simple, straightforward and immediate way of alleviating for an emergency period that enormous cost burden at a time when every other set of costs people have are rising. We come into these Private Members' motion and legislation debates week after week and we are accused of not having alternatives or solutions. This is one that is based on a similar intervention squeezed out of Government following Russia's unjust invasion of Ukraine. I cannot for the life of me understand why the Government is not simply saying "Yes" to this and that it will work with Sinn Féin because what is needed by the people we represent and the people the Government represents, and whose best interests it says it has in mind, is action, and they need it now. This motion would make a huge difference in these issues impacting on those families and single people. I urge the Government to rethink its position and support the motion.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I want to begin by reading an email I received from a constituent who is freezing in her own home because she ran out of heating oil.

She says:

I have recently run out of oil due to the massive price hike, which is reported to be up to 60% in some areas. I simply can't afford to refill the tank. As a result, I'm left freezing in my own home, which is not a situation anyone should face in 2026. This is becoming completely unmanageable, and it's wrong. The Government are punishing and crippling the average worker. This requires more than finger wagging and a slap on the wrist. This is not about comfort, it is about basic living conditions and health. No one should be forced to choose between heating their home and meeting other essential expenses.

She, like others, has been hit with the largest hike in the price of home heating oil in the EU, at almost eight times the EU average. At the same time, the Government charges almost double the EU minimum fuel tax rates, taking up to 65% of the price at the pump. Coming down the tracks on 1 May, the planned carbon tax will bring increases as well. Not only is the Government planning to leave things the same, it is planning to increase them. It makes no sense to this woman and to so many other women who are suffering. That is why tonight's motion is so important. Sinn Féin's legislation would cut the cost of petrol and diesel by 25% per litre and cut €183 off a standard 1,000 litre fill of home heating oil. For small businesses that will make the difference to enable them to stay open and it will make the difference to allow people to live and survive in their own homes. The Tánaiste has to do something about it. This motion gives every TD in here a clear choice: to stand with workers, families and small businesses who are struggling to cope or to allow the energy rip-off to continue. We need to give real relief to the people and businesses who simply cannot afford to wait any longer.

Deputy Cathy Bennett

Enough is enough. More than 300,000 people in this State are already in arrears on electricity bills. The Government has already withdrawn energy credits only a few short months ago. It did so on the basis of projected inflation rates that underestimated the actual rate by as much as 50%. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael believe that they could simply declare the cost-of-living crisis finished. In doing so, they placed the State and ordinary workers and families in the worst position to respond to the worsening crisis. The most substantive related action taken by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and their so-called Independent supporters has been to increase the carbon tax, which increased the cost of heating a home, the cost of travelling to work, dropping kids to school or otherwise going about their ordinary day-to-day business, and it plans to do it again on 1 May.

That is all while Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Ministers tell us they are keeping the matter under review or that they might take some sort of action at some unknown point in the future. I would welcome if the Tánaiste would take positive action. I would even commend him if he were to do so. Sinn Féin's motion tonight calls on the Government to immediately intervene to reduce fuel prices and scrap planned tax increases on home heating oil. If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refuse to support this motion, it is a shame on them all. The very least they can do is stop making the current situation even worse. Enough is enough.

Minister for Finance (Deputy Simon Harris)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes that, the Government:

- remains deeply concerned about the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf;

- affirms Ireland's long track-record of support for international law and the United Nations;

- continues to seek de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy so that these issues can be resolved;

- is acutely aware of the impact on households and businesses of the recent increases in fuel prices, and is actively monitoring the current geopolitical situation and developments in energy markets;

- affirms that energy affordability is a priority, and highlights that successive Budgets have provided targeted support to help households with cost-of-living pressures; and

- remains committed to decarbonising our society, increasing investment in renewable energy sources, and using revenues raised to protect those most vulnerable to fuel poverty through targeted welfare interventions;

affirms that:

- the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, with Department of Finance officials, is monitoring international and national developments in fuel markets, alongside the latest macro-economic impacts;

- the Government is working to calibrate an appropriate response, to be brought forward in the coming days, to ease the burden on affected households; and

- engagement at European Union level is continuing, including at a meeting of the European Council this week;

recalls that:

- Carbon Tax revenues are ring-fenced for climate action and just transition measures;

- Budget 2026 provided over €1.1 billion in advancement of these goals, with €350 million of those funds allocated to targeted social protection interventions;

- Budget 2026 extended the 9 per cent Value Added Tax rate for gas and electricity until the end of 2030;

- Budget 2026 increased the weekly Fuel Allowance payment by €5; and

- Budget 2026 broadened the Fuel Allowance eligibility, such that an additional 50,000 working families will now be eligible for this allowance; and

further notes that:

- Ireland operates an open market economy, which generally means businesses are permitted to set and change their own prices, however, any behaviour that breaches consumer protection or competition law falls within the remit of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and will be investigated and enforced accordingly;

- the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has initiated the process of further strengthening the powers of the CCPC in both its consumer protection and competition functions;

- the Government's Climate Action Plan commits to halving emissions by 2030, and reaching net zero no later than 2050;

- in the long run, the best way to protect Ireland from the impact of international fossil fuel prices is to reduce our dependence on them;

- Ireland is undergoing a renewables-led energy transformation, electricity generation from renewables has increased fivefold since 2005, and the milestone of over 2 gigawatts of installed solar capacity was achieved in November;

- offshore wind capacity is also being prioritised, with the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien TD, announcing the acceleration of the National Designated Maritime Area Plan for offshore renewable energy, which will identify sites for additional renewable energy development, and €3.15 billion of the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund is being provided to help achieve carbon reductions, particularly environmental and nature objectives, and this includes funding to the Department of Transport to support low-carbon transportation, and €500 million to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, to support climate mitigation and renewable energy development;

- home retrofitting is scaling up, with supports improving to bring more people in, especially those at risk of fuel poverty;

- analysis undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute, using the Simulating Welfare, Income Tax, Childcare and Health (SWITCH) tax and benefit model, to simulate the impact of the carbon tax and the compensatory welfare package, estimates that the net impact of the combined measures is progressive and half of households are better off due to the measures part-funded by carbon tax funds, with households in the bottom four income deciles benefitting the most; and

- the National Energy Affordability Taskforce has been established to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses, while delivering key renewable commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability, and the Interim Report of the Taskforce was published last November, with an Action Plan for Energy Affordability to be published in Q3 of this year.".

I welcome the opportunity to address the House this evening on an issue that is weighing heavily on households, businesses and families right across the country. It is right that we are debating this issue tonight and examining solutions that can be found. That issue, of course, is the rising cost of energy and fuel prices driven, as we all know, by the global uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf.

Let me say at the outset, the priority in all our work, all our commentary and in all our interventions should be to seek an immediate de-escalation. I think that is a view shared across this House. De-escalation is important for humanitarian needs, but also because, from an economic point of view, it would lead to the greatest level of certainty. While de-escalation is the priority for Ireland and for all EU member states, the Irish Government is actively preparing for a variety of economic scenarios.

This Government understands the pressures that families and businesses are under. They are feeling it at the pumps, where the cost of filling a car has risen considerably in the space of just over a fortnight, and they are seeing it in the cost of a fill of oil. Successive Governments that I have had the privilege of serving in have responded to a variety of global crises, whether that was during times of pandemic or after Russia's brutal illegal invasion of Ukraine. Today, as one would expect, I have spoken further with the Taoiseach. I have also engaged with relevant Ministers and I have had further briefings with my own economic team in the Department of Finance. This evening I want to confirm to this House that we are now finalising what we believe to be an appropriate intervention for the areas in which there is most acute pressure and challenge. The Government's response will be formalised and agreed at the next Cabinet meeting.

Considering the level of significant international volatility, I strongly believe that any intervention should, in the first instance, be for a short period of time. This is to fulfil two objectives. First, to enable the assistance to be applied quickly. Second, to provide the Government with the time and the space to adapt our response should this fast moving and evolving situation require it. I do not believe there is anyone on any side of this House who can speak with great certainty about where the conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf region will go and indeed the true scale of the medium term economic consequences of an enduring conflict. The volatility is that acute.

Since the outbreak of this conflict, I have been engaging extensively with European counterparts. What is clear from all my conversations and meetings is the need to avoid knee-jerk responses, but instead to focus on informed, sensible and proportionate measures. It is important to remind the House tonight that the Government has already taken a number of actions on energy, the benefits of which are already in place. We extended the lower 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity to the end of the decade. We have increased the weekly fuel allowance, which remains in place. Last week we expanded eligibility to 50,000 more homes, who will now receive for the very first time the fuel allowance, with the payment backdated to 1 January. This means a back payment of €380 for so many, that is already in people's pockets. These are practical supports designed to ease pressure and to provide some certainty in very uncertain times.

The crisis also reminds us of something deeper. Ireland and the European Union remain exposed to fossil fuel price shocks. As long as we rely on imported fossil fuels, events far away, far beyond our shores, and decisions taken far away will continue to impact in a real way on households and businesses across Europe. This is not a sustainable position, and it is not a secure position. The only lasting answer is to reduce that dependence. That means accelerating our transition to renewable energy, improving efficiency and building a system that is more resilient and more within our own control. That is about stability, security and protecting Irish people from future shocks like the one we are experiencing today.

I have already said the Government will take that decision at the next Cabinet meeting and I have already said that would be before the final vote on the Sinn Féin motion. That is what I have said. Not everything has to be partisan. Not everything has to be shouting and noise. As I heard the Sinn Féin First Minister of Northern Ireland say today, maybe a little less noise and more working together. I think that is sage advice from Sinn Féin on this occasion too. Maybe let us apply it to here and not take a partitionist approach.

We will act in a fair manner. We will act in a responsible manner. We will conclude that work in the coming days. We are living in times of great uncertainty, but I am pleased to say that our economy is resilient. We do approach this moment from a position of relative strength. It is a moment that is causing real anxiety for people. I want people to know we approach this from a moment of relative strength. More people are in work than ever before. We have buoyant public and private sector investment in our country. Real incomes are continuing to rise for the first time in a while and there is a medium-term fiscal plan that will safeguard our economic future and that of our people. We know this is a difficult time. We know the pressure that families and businesses are under. We are supporting them and we will continue to support them.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Liam Quaide)

I thank the Tánaiste. We move back now to Sinn Féin and Deputy Martin Kenny.

Deputy Martin Kenny

The reason we are here tonight is because for the past two-to-three weeks we have been listening to people the length and breadth of the country, as I am sure the Tánaiste has as well, who are under serious pressure because of the vast increase in the cost of their home heating oil but also of their fuel when they want to go to work and whatever they want to do in life. That has an impact. It has an impact on everybody and it is an immediate impact. It was an immediate impact last week and the week before. This idea that the Government was considering it and analysing it and is now thinking about doing something about it-----

Deputy Simon Harris

We are going to it. We are going to.

Deputy Martin Kenny

People are very annoyed it has taken so long for the Government to come to this situation that the Tánaiste is now able to stand here this evening and say the Government intends to do something. Up until now the Government would not even acknowledge that it intended to do anything. All it intended to do was examine the situation and monitor it. What people hear when the Government says that is that it is going to wait to see if things get worse and that it is not going to do anything about it now. That is what they have been hearing until now and that is not acceptable.

We have thousands of people across the country who have to go to work, bring their children to school and do all these things. They drive past the petrol pumps and look up and see the price going up and up all the time. We have farmers coming into this time of year when they are filing their tanks with fuel, with their green diesel, and that has all gone up. They have to spread fertiliser. That has to come through the Strait of Hormuz as well and that will be going up.

There is a serious crisis coming at our economy if we do not act. The reality is that the Government's tax take, because the base rate has risen, has gone up along with it. People are asking why the Government does not do something. Why has it done nothing up until now? It is only when we come here this evening with this motion and a Bill that will do something that the Tánaiste is able to say the Government is now going to act.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy Martin Kenny

That just seems a little bit-----

Deputy Simon Harris

Thank God for Sinn Féin. We would be lost without you.

Deputy Martin Kenny

It just seems a little bit rich that the Government could do nothing but monitor it until this evening and now that we are here and we are actually going to produce something that will have an effect for people and will reduce the tax rate that people have to pay on their fuel and home heating oil, all of a sudden the Government has managed to find the road to Damascus. The Government has turned and is going to do something about it. I wish to God the Government had found that road a couple of weeks ago when people the length and breadth of the country were realising that the price of their home heating oil was going through the roof.

Deputy Denise Mitchell

This feels like 2022 all over again. Honestly, workers and families just cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to this cost-of-living crisis. We have seen fuel prices surge over the past two weeks and Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have sat on their hands and twiddled their fingers here for two weeks. Then, while people have been worrying and going through massive stress, the Government parties come into the Chamber and say to people they are going to do something for them but they have to wait until the next Cabinet meeting. The thing is, people cannot wait. The Tánaiste needs to use his powers now.

He can do it by reducing the excise duty on home heating oil, petrol and diesel and easing the pressure on families across this State. He can also not bring in the Government's plan to increase carbon tax on 1 May. Sometimes it really does feel like Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are living on another planet. People are struggling with their bills now. They need the Government to do something now to help them alleviate this cost, not to keep dithering and running around like it usually does. Elderly citizens cannot afford to heat their homes. We have commuters paying an arm and a leg to get to work and all along the Government is raking in huge taxes on these fuels. It is good to hear the Tánaiste now say he is going to do something, but please do it now because people cannot wait any longer.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

That is how it is going to work. I will very clearly thank Deputy Doherty because he recognises there is an emergency. The Tánaiste's response is that the Government actively prepares for a variety of scenarios. I can tell the Tánaiste what scenario is unfolding in homes the length and breadth of this State this evening. It is husbands, wives and partners sitting down and talking about how they are going to be able to pay their bills, how they are going to make ends meet and what more they can cut. When they look, they see there cannot cut any more for they are cut to the bone. They have cut back and cut back.

There is an emergency. There is an emergency right now but, hold on, something might happen next week or perhaps the week after for the 470,000 people who are in receipt of the fuel allowance and who desperately need it, need it to be increased and need it to be extended. They are facing a cliff edge next April. They also are very concerned.

The Tánaiste needs to come to this Chamber with action, not words. Words are not going to pay people's bills. The Tánaiste needs to come with action and he has not. He is short this evening when he comes in here and tells people they have to hang on and wait and that another scenario might unfold. God forbid there might be a knee-jerk reaction.

They have to make awful choices in homes the length and breadth of this State. They want the Government to step up and be on their side. The Opposition needs to speak with one voice. At the very least, the Government should not make the situation for ordinary workers and families worse. The carbon tax that is coming down the line will increase the cost of heating people’s homes. People cannot afford it as it is and they most definitely cannot afford an increase. The Opposition will be united in confronting the Government on this and putting forward solutions, which is exactly what we have done.

Deputy David Cullinane

It is not a case of the Government coming a day late and a dollar short. Rather, it is a year late and several hundred dollars short for the vast majority of families. The clock did not start ticking in the last number of weeks, although it has got worse for families and fuel prices have gone up. In the budget last year, the Government had an opportunity to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, but it did nothing for families. Of course, before the election – people could see this clearly and transparently - any amount of money could be made available and supports were put in place. As soon as the election was over, however, all of those supports disappeared like snow off a ditch. People were left with rising bills, not just in the context of fuel prices, but with food prices and insurance costs too. Almost every cost families have is increasing, leaving them unable to pay the bills.

Sinn Féin has come with proposals, not just this week but before the last budget, when the Government had the opportunity to support families and workers but decided to look after vested interests instead. Fine Gael is the party that looks after a cosseted, privileged class. It has showed that time and time again.

Deputy Ciarán Ahern

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this timely motion forward. As we saw at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the cost of energy and fuel has skyrocketed in the weeks since Trump and Netanyahu’s bloody misadventure in the Middle East began. Never ones to waste a crisis, whether at the garage forecourt or in our home heating tanks, fuel providers here saw an opportunity for profit and they went for it. Prices changed not by the day, but by the hour. On top of an already crippling cost-of-living crisis, working people are struggling to cope. No action is not an option. Unfortunately, that is all we have got from this Government so far.

I heard the Tánaiste’s comments earlier that action will be taken in the coming days, which I welcome. The Labour Party has called on the Government to release part of our 90-day petroleum reserves as part of a range of cost-cutting measures to protect people from the immediate price shock, a measure the International Energy Agency, IEA, has subsequently proposed and endorsed. The Opposition is united in wanting to support the most vulnerable in our society who are suffering from energy poverty. We can and must protect people in ways that are both environmentally and fiscally responsible. The Labour Party will not attack the carbon tax, however. There are other ways to crack this nut, which I will get into a little later.

Deputy Simon Harris

Hear hear.

Deputy Ciarán Ahern

The surge in fuel prices triggered by instability in the Middle East is a stark reminder of just how exposed Irish households remain to global shocks. How did we get to this point? First, unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of strategic planning. The Government has reacted far too slowly to a rapidly escalating problem and the crisis seems to be getting ahead of it. This is our second energy crisis in four years. How are we being price gouged again? How have we allowed ourselves to be caught by surprise? Second, it comes back to our overdependence on unreliable, intermittent, imported fossil fuels. We are overexposed in this country, even compared with our European neighbours, when it comes to the amount of fossil fuels we continue to import. This crisis should serve as a reminder to the Government – not that it should need one - of the urgency with which we need to transition our economy away from its reliance on fossil fuels and towards clean, indigenous, renewable energy. Wind energy produced off the Irish coast will not get stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. The inertia from the Government in building up our offshore capacity can no longer be tolerated. It leaves us vulnerable to an increasingly unstable geopolitical arena, and it is ordinary households that pay the price.

The only urgency we have seen from the Government, from an energy perspective, is to rush through legislation to build new fossil fuel infrastructure. Yesterday, we saw Donald Trump trying to bully our Taoiseach into buying American liquefied natural gas, LNG. We cannot bend the knee and expose ourselves to further risks arising out of global instability and fuel shocks. We are already overexposed to US interests when it comes to our corporation tax receipts. We cannot allow ourselves to become reliant on the US for our energy needs as well. In any case, the European benchmark price of LNG has, as of today, soared by around 60% since Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war on Iran commenced. I hope this latest crisis in the fuel market gives the Government pause for thought on its plans for a new LNG terminal that would see us importing highly polluting fracked gas and leave us further exposed to these kinds of shocks.

People are feeling this energy crisis in their pockets right now, and we need to see action from the Government on this now. We can use the social welfare system and taxation to deliver help where it is most needed. As well as an additional four weeks of fuel allowance, we would like to see a double social welfare payment and targeted income energy credits of €400 to support households with incomes of less than €80,000. This type of intervention is needed to ensure we do not add to the 320,000 families who are already struggling to pay their energy bills. This needs to be addressed urgently, as does the behaviour of energy suppliers.

Both at the forecourt and with home heating oil, there has been clear and significant price gouging in the days immediately after the start of the Iran war. The Government has powers to investigate price gouging and anti-competitive behaviour in energy markets, and those investigations must happen and any wrongdoing must be dealt with decisively. As we all know, however, investigations take time and people cannot wait while their heating bills continue to rise. That is why we need to see the Government bring forward supports sooner rather than later. The Labour Party has already called on the Government to use maximum price orders to tie the cost of home heating oil to what it actually costs suppliers. Ministers can set a maximum price on home heating oil today. We know other countries have already done this.

Unfortunately, what we have seen is the usual cycle whenever a crisis falls at this Government’s feet. First, there is paralysis. Second, there is dithering. Third, there is a cobbled-together piece of PR that does not address the problem. We are possibly in the middle of that process now, at the advanced dithering stage, with the promise of some kind of plan next week, we hope.

The price of petrol and diesel has neared or surpassed €2 per litre. The average cost of 500 litres of home heating oil has rocketed from €498 to €870. These are only the average prices and there are individual cases around the country where we have seen much higher and more dramatic hikes. The giant companies that provide us with oil and gas products that heat our homes or fuel our cars are quick to respond to a crisis and turn it into an opportunity. This Government has lacked the required urgency and seems to be playing catch-up. Who gets caught in the middle of this thirst for profit from the private sector and the inertia from the State? It is the hardworking families across the country who just keep paying more and more to live their daily lives. We must urgently move away from our over-reliance on fossil fuels. The Government must abandon its plans for a new LNG terminal and show the same urgency in developing renewable infrastructure and supporting households to decarbonise as it has for importing more fossil fuels from America.

Deputy Eoghan Kenny

There is no doubt that families across this country are under real pressure. I see it every day in my constituency, with people coming into my office looking for help and non-political point scoring. That is exactly why I stand here. I am looking for real, tangible solutions to what the people of Ireland require and need. People are worried about their next electricity bill, the price of home heating oil and the cost of filling the car just to get to work. For many working families, the cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. It is still there week after week, bill after bill. When international events drive up energy prices, it is ordinary households who feel it first and hardest. We know how serious the situation already is. Hundreds of thousands of households are struggling with energy bills, with many already in arrears on electricity and gas payments.

At the same time, petrol, diesel and home heating oil prices are rising sharply, putting additional pressure on workers who commute, on families trying to heat their homes and on pensioners to get through the week. This debate really matters but we also need to be honest about solutions. Our conversation must be solution-focused; not rhetoric but real action.

While Sinn Féin's motion focuses heavily on reducing fuel taxes, Labour believes the most effective response is targeted support for households that are struggling the most. Labour has set out practical measures that could be implemented now. First, we have proposed an energy income tax credit of up to €400, targeted at households with incomes below €80,000. That would provide real support to working households who are earning, paying tax and struggling with rising energy bills. Second, we have called for four additional weeks of fuel allowance to support households that depend on the payment to heat their homes during the colder months, such as many older people and vulnerable families. Third, we believe the Government should introduce a double social welfare payment as outlined by my colleague. Taken together, these measures would deliver targeted support where it is needed most, and, importantly, they are affordable. The Government already has a €1 billion contingency fund set aside in this year's budget meaning the capacity exists to support hard-pressed households if the political will is there.

We must address the issue of sudden fuel price spikes. We have seen how prices can surge almost overnight when international tensions escalate. The Labour Party is, therefore, calling for the use of maximum price orders tied directly to the real costs faced by suppliers to prevent excessive price increases during periods of market instability. We should also examine whether strategic oil reserves held by the National Oil Reserves Agency could be released, as Ireland has done previously in co-ordination with international partners, to help stabilise fuel prices. These are practical actions that could ease pressure on households in the short term and are very much Labour Party-focused actions.

There is a long-term question in relation to this debate and that is our approach to carbon tax. I understand that people are frustrated - I meet them on a daily basis - about the rising costs. Those concerns are very real but the Labour Party and I fundamentally believe we must be careful not to undermine the very measures that help households reduce their energy bills permanently. I am not here to defend Government action on this but I am being realistic that the revenues from carbon tax fund the fuel allowance, support vulnerable households and invest in home retrofitting programmes that make homes warmer and cheaper to run. Those programmes are not abstract climate polices; they mean warmer homes, lower bills and less exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Every home that is properly insulated, every retrofit completed and every household moved away from expensive fossil fuels is a household that is less exposed to global energy shocks. Yes, we must move forward with more retrofitting, warmers homes and lower energy demand and with renewable energy that reduces Ireland's dependence on imported fossil fuels but moving forward does not mean ignoring what we can do right now.

There are actions that can ease pressure on families overnight and I will go back to them. We can introduce the €400 energy income tax credit for working people; we can provide additional weeks of fuel allowance for those who depend on it to heat their homes; we can deliver a double social welfare payment to households struggling with rising costs; and we can act to stop sudden price spikes by using maximum price orders on heating oil and examining the release of strategic oil reserves if necessary.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I thank Sinn Féin for introducing this motion. It is, unfortunately, very timely. We are witnessing the worst oil crisis the world has ever seen. It is worse than the oil shocks of the last century and worse than the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which we can all remember very clearly. However, for Irish people, this comes during an existing cost-of-living crisis. People are already struggling and this is compounding that struggle for them. While people are watching their rent climb, their mortgage interest eating deeper into their monthly income and their grocery bills rising week after week and with 320,000 people in arrears on their electricity bills already, it is clear that something needs to be done. The Government keeps on saying it will do something, that it is under review and that some measures will be put in place. What I suspect is happening is that it is trying to hold out as long as possible just to squeeze a bit more out of that time and money but families really cannot wait any longer before support is given to them.

Not just in this term but in the previous term when the energy credits were being given out, the Social Democrats has consistently said that any energy credits should be targeted at those who need the money most. We remain steadfast in that call for a €400 targeted credit for people who really struggle. I ask the Government to please not turn around and give another €100 million, or whatever it was the last term, to the electricity meters of holiday homes. Will it please target the money and not waste it? I also ask that we would reduce excise. We propose that would happen because we cannot have a Government that is profiting on the backs of people really struggling at the moment. This is a critical and a very time-sensitive issue and the Government should be supporting people now.

I want to talk in broader terms as well. What has happened in Iran and the resulting disruption to our global oil supplies has to be a wake-up call - without a doubt. I think we said it the last time when the war on Ukraine began. Unfortunately, we did not put in the measures and the framework we needed then but this has to be a wake-up call. Everyone in this Chamber knows that Ireland is energy insecure. However, instead of addressing that vulnerability, the Government's current strategy risks deepening it. The decision to fast-track legislation to allow the State to build a near-€1 billion LNG import terminal is the perfect example of backwards thinking. The Government says it wants energy security yet it is proposing a system that exports our security to international LNG markets. It is clear that there is no stable LNG market. Whether we are talking about what is coming from Russia, from the Middle East, or what could possibly come from the US, there is no security and no certainty with any of those markets. These markets are unstable, volatile and now heavily disrupted by war. Reliance on LNG will not bring us energy security. It will not bring us national security. The new LNG facility has an estimated cost of €900 million over ten years yet there is no clarity at all on how this could impact energy bills. At a time when families are already struggling with arrears, that is unacceptable. How can the Government continue to justify exposing households to even more volatility and more costs if this LNG facility comes into play?

The climate committee’s report on the Government’s LNG Bill was clear. We warned of the gaps and called for a new assessment of geopolitical risks, renewable deployment, battery storage and demand reduction before the Bill proceeds, and that was before this crisis escalated. The need for that assessment is now an absolute necessity. I ask that the energy security review be updated to reflect what is happening in the Middle East and what could potentially happen if relations with the US continue to become as volatile as they have been. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the energy security analysis was updated to reflect that and it needs to happen again. It also needs to be honest about what is possible and what we are able to achieve in Ireland without an LNG facility. It needs to look at alternative fuels and at battery storage and at what we could do in that instance.

Instead of pouring €1 billion into an LNG terminal, why is the Government not putting that money into accelerating renewables? What we have seen when it comes to this LNG facility is a real sense of urgency. We have seen emergency legislation coming in, we have seen significant changes in Government policy to facilitate it, and we have seen a commitment for a €1 billion piece of infrastructure. Why have we not seen that same level of urgency when it comes to developing renewables in this country? We really have not seen it.

The Tánaiste will be well aware of the Arklow Bank wind farm. That is no longer generating any offshore wind. Ireland has zero offshore wind being generated at the moment whereas 20 years ago at least we had some from the Arklow Bank. We have less now than we did 20 years ago and that is a crazy situation for us to be in. We could nationalise and build a 1 GW offshore wind farm costing just over €2 billion that would power 1 million homes.

With €1 billion per year coming in from carbon tax revenue, is that not exactly what the funds should be used for? We are not as a party saying we should stop the carbon tax because it is an important revenue that needs to go back into ensuring people at risk of energy poverty can be supported to deal with that. We are calling for the entirety of the carbon tax to be ringfenced and used for energy security measures, and not just the increases.

We urgently need a Government that understands what real energy security looks like. What it does not look like is shipping in LNG from across the world at enormous cost. It looks like building up infrastructure that we control here at home. It looks like investing in wind, storage and grid resilience. It looks like ensuring that Irish households are protected from the next geopolitical shock, not left exposed to it. Right now, instead of giving people certainty, the Government is giving them higher prices, higher risks and a long wait for supports that may or may not arrive. That is just not good enough.

The public can see the connection between global conflict and the price they pay at the pump, at the supermarket checkout and on their energy bills. They know Ireland is more exposed than it should be, and they know the Government's decisions have contributed to that vulnerability. Today I ask the Tánaiste to take action to address that. l am asking him to support struggling households immediately with timely and targeted supports, not with reviews and not with promises. l am asking the Government to roll back on its eager LNG plans and follow the recommendations of its own committee before making a €1 billion mistake. I am asking the Tánaiste to take the carbon tax revenue and put it into building a secure, renewable and publicly-owned energy future that will insulate us from the volatility we are living through right now. Families cannot absorb one more avoidable shock and the time for delay is over.

Deputy Eoin Hayes

A few months ago, we had another debate on energy costs. I have yet to receive any response to the issues I raised. I highlighted in that debate that those on the lowest incomes, those reliant on pensions or disability allowance would be €250 worse off this year as a result of the Minister's budget and the acceleration of energy prices. Those prices were already the highest electricity prices in Europe and that was before the onset of the energy crisis brought about by Trump's illegal war in Iran. I asked the Government what its advice would be for people on low incomes. I asked if they should go cold or if they should go hungry. It seems to have no answers. Electricity prices in Ireland, again the highest in Europe, have approximately doubled in the past five years. With the onset of this disastrous and unconscionable war they are expected to sky rocket again this year. Ordinary people are already paying higher rates than data centres. Many of them are reliant on pay-as-you-go meters, paying higher prices again. The Government has not strengthened price transparency whatsoever or held the price gougers accountable.

As climate activists have said for decades, strengthening our energy security is the only way to address the source of the price issues. Yet, under this Government there are, as Deputy Whitmore said, zero offshore wind farms operational today. There is a huge, missed opportunity in solar that the Government has not tackled. The opportunities for retrofitting exclude those with the least financial resources. Yet the Government continues to support 22% of electricity demand going to data centres and corporations as well as the reliance of this State on imported fossil fuels from an LNG terminal.

The Government must act now and introduce the Social Democrats' energy credit for 800,000 households most in need, implement the emergency payment for disabled people, tackle price gouging and, crucially, chart a new path for cheap, domestic, renewable energy to become the bedrock of our country's energy supply. I urge the Government to act without delay.

Deputy Jen Cummins

Families across this country are already at breaking point. I want the Tánaiste to imagine he is in a family that already counts every single euro going grocery shopping, maybe filling the car if you have one, only turning on your heating for a small amount of time in the day and then all of a sudden the President of the United States goes to war with Iran and you can no longer afford to do many of those things. This is the reality for families across this country. Already before this war, there were 320,000 households in arrears.

At this exact moment, the Government has now written to schools to ask them to charge families to sit the leaving certificate, the leaving certificate applied and the junior cycle exams. It is €109 for the junior certificate and €116 to sit the leaving certificate and the leaving certificate applied. Families, when they budget to the penny, have not budgeted for this. This has to be paid up in a five-week period. It is something that was not done during Covid. It was a temporary situation but we were able to manage without it and we can manage again. At a time when costs are so expensive, and families are really tight, this was an unexpected thing. Schools have contacted me to say they were not expecting this. It has come out of the blue, and now families are contacting them saying they do not know how they will pay this. This is at a time when parents are saying it is the most expensive it has ever been in the supermarket, when they are not able to pay the electricity bill or using it so little or are not heating their homes. There are so many choices they have to make. We have heard that adults are reducing their food intakes to make sure their children are able to eat. At a time when this is an impossible place for some people to live, to introduce those costs is absolutely scandalous.

Deputy Paul Murphy

It feels in many ways like Groundhog Day talking again about a cost-of-living crisis. Of course, this cost-of-living crisis comes on top of a cost-of-living crisis that had not gone away, despite what the Government pretended at the time of the budget. The result is people again choosing between heating or eating, with fuel prices spiralling and people in crisis situations. What lies behind it is a US and Israeli criminal and imperialist attack on Iran, which the Government refuses to condemn and to say is in breach of international law. What lies behind that is our continued reliance on fossil fuels and most immediately is short-term profiteering, which we know, in the previous cost-of-living crisis was responsible for two thirds of the price increases.

The Government's response, to quote the Taoiseach, is to say that we have to respond in a measured, balanced way that targets our resources and that is effective, and that we understand the pressure people are under. I do not believe that. I do not believe a government that understands the pressure people are under would have cut incomes for the poorest people in the most recent budget. I do not believe such a government would have cut income for disabled people by over €1,400.

The action that should be taken is very simple. It is not putting the profits of the corporations first. It means scrapping the carbon tax and putting an energy levy on data centres instead, abolishing standing charges for electricity and gas, immediately reintroducing energy credits to tackle people's home energy bills in the short term and link that to price caps.

We have a Bill to do precisely that, introducing a €1 per litre price cap on home heating oil as well as caps on petrol, diesel and home energy, and linking that to the idea of renationalising our energy system. We used to have the cheapest electricity in Europe. We now have the most expensive as a result of the failed project of liberalisation. Put people first, not the profits of corporations.

Deputy Brian Stanley

Prior to the imperial oil war in the Middle East being waged by the USA and Israel, we already had a cost-of-living crisis. We are now really in a difficult situation. In County Laois the lowest price for road diesel is €2.10 per litre and it continues to increase. In this State, the increase in home heating oil is eight times the average increase across Europe. It was €480 for 500 litres. It is now €585 from suppliers in the midlands. It has almost doubled in price. Of course, once fuel goes up, everything goes up, including all other goods. There are higher costs for agriculture, haulage, couriers and carriage. Hauliers are exposed. Truckers and hauliers are under severe pressure and need assistance to get through the current crisis. Today the Irish Road Haulage Association said that without a tax reduction many haulage operators will simply not be able to continue absorbing the rising costs, which would result in empty supermarket shelves.

Middle- and low-income households are under pressure with financial hardship. It is a severe situation. One in six is in arrears with electric bills and cannot pay them, and one in four of those who have gas is in arrears with gas bills. Households in the midlands and in County Laois are exposed because of the high number that depend on home heating oil in rural areas and in areas where there is no natural gas. A number of homes also have a low energy rating. People in County Laois have long commutes as well.

The Government can do a number of things. It can halt any additional increase in VAT, because it is a percentage, and reverse the gains so far. It should not go ahead with the increase in the carbon tax. I accept it is collecting carbon tax, and that is fine. It should use it and use it well.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Liam Quaide)

Deputy, your time is up.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I ask the Government not to go ahead with the planned increase in it in March. There should also be targeted energy credits and supports for middle-income and low-income households.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

There is a real sense of worry in Irish households now as they see the increase in fuel prices occasioned by the war in Iran. They are seeing the repeat of what was seen four years ago following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It demonstrates yet again our vulnerability to international energy price shocks because of our dependence on fossil fuels.

I respectfully say that the Cabinet cannot delay clarity for Irish householders any longer. It is our party's view that the most vulnerable need to be protected immediately. We see this in the context of a €200 payment for every household taking the fuel allowance or household benefit package. We estimate that this is about 750,000 households and that it would cost about €150 million. We also think there should be an examination of another round of energy credits. We think this should be in conjunction with a targeting mechanism at this point and that this would manage to insulate large numbers of Irish households, particularly those in the squeezed middle, from the impact of the energy price spikes we are seeing now.

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to support this particular Private Members' motion tonight. I think the targeting of the carbon tax that is part of the motion is a step backwards. The reason we have a fuel price crisis in Ireland now is not because of the carbon tax but because our economy continues to be entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels. The carbon tax is the one piece of public policy that is ring-fenced to tackle that, through immediate supports for the most vulnerable, increased social protection payments and longer term measures to support the insulation of homes through a range of targeted measures. If we cut the carbon tax, that would only prolong our addiction to dirty, unpredictably priced imported fuels. People are hurting because of the Iran war. The Government can take targeted steps to address that but changing the carbon tax is not the right thing to do at this time.

Deputy Seamus Healy

There has been a cost-of-living crisis in this country for a number of years. That crisis was, to some extent, addressed by way of energy credits and once-off social welfare payments in the 2025 budget. Of course, that was in the run-up to the November 2024 general election. It was a blatant device, obviously, to buy that election. Once the election was over, these measures were callously scrapped. The election was bought, and was done and dusted, and the Government did not do anything further except sit on its hands.

The cost-of-living crisis for families is devastating as a result. On top of that, we now have the illegal Israeli-US war on Iran. This has sent energy prices, including those for petrol, other fuels and home heating oil, through the roof. These increased costs are already feeding into general inflation. The 2026 budget was predicated on a 2% inflation rate, and that rate was already being exceeded before the current crisis. Before the current crisis as well, we had 319,000 families in arrears with their electricity bills and 185,000 in arrears with their gas bills, and thousands more families are struggling to pay their bills and keep their heads above water. Families are facing an appalling financial vista as a result of this situation.

The Tánaiste's Government is not only sitting on its hands but it is proposing to increase energy prices further from 1 May. We would wonder if this Government is real. In my view, the Government must immediately reduce the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil, scrap plans to increase the cost of home heating oil on 1 May 2026, immediately pay a €400 emergency winter payment and increase the fuel allowance and extend its duration by at least four weeks. I support this motion.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this important motion on the cost-of-living crisis. As well as the issue of the action the Government needs to take to address the spiralling cost of living, and particularly the cost of energy that has hit hard, I would just like to underline a point about the failure of the Taoiseach to speak up yesterday on the economic impact of Trump's war on people here. Even if he is not willing to condemn the death and destruction being rained down on the people of Iran and Lebanon as we speak and the ongoing genocide being committed by Trump's partners in war, Israel, on the Palestinian people, if he is willing to hand over a bowl of shamrock and stay mute about those things, could he not say something even on the much more parochial basis that Trump's war is costing every single person in this country now? There is the cost of energy, petrol and home heating oil. This means every single person in this country and in the world is now paying a price for what Trump is doing. Is that not a good enough reason to condemn him and for the Government to do everything in its power to stop this madness, as well as the immorality of the killing of people in an illegal war? It seems to me that it is.

I just wanted to say that because we are all paying for Trump's war now, for his bloodthirst, for narcissism and for his ego. God knows what it is that motivates that psychopath. There is no other word for what he is. He is a psychopath.

Deputy Charles Ward

I welcome this motion from Sinn Féin and Deputy Doherty. Families across County Donegal have watched in despair as the price of fuel at the pumps has continued to creep up. The cost of home heating oil has completely spiralled out of control. The price of fuel at the pumps has gone up so much that families are paying, at least, between €30 and €50 a week extra just to fill up their cars. For example, it now costs an extra €32 to fill up a 1.6 litre family car compared to last month. It is costing an extra €50 to fill up a 2 litre car compared to last month. Families are now down between €150 and €200 a month on the cost of transport alone. Since last month, however, the price of home heating oil has nearly doubled. On 28 February, 1,000 litres of heating oil in Donegal cost €940. Two days later, that price had risen to €1,015. Today, at lunchtime, the cost of 1,000 litres of home heating oil is €1,650, more than €700 of a difference in just 18 days. It is scandalous and no family can afford it.

The average family in County Donegal is out the guts of €1,000 a month. How can families be expected to sustain this? Families in Donegal do not have the option of using public transport. It is basically non-existent. Every price hike is like an attack on them because of where they live. Most houses in the county are older and rely on oil-fired central heating, the price of which is out of control. This means people are choosing between heating and eating. My constituents are bearing the brunt of this situation. It has added an unbearable cost onto the defective concrete families. They keep the heating on every day of the year just to keep the damp down. The houses do not hold the heat. I am asking the Government to intervene, end the rip-off and help the families being squeezed.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The past two weeks have seen a significant increase in fuel prices for families. It is now costing well over €100 to fill a tank of petrol or diesel for a normal family at the moment. That is absolutely scandalous. Incredibly, 65% of that cost is Government tax. Of the cost of petrol at the pumps currently, 65% is Government tax. This Government is an engine of fuel inflation in this country. This Government is pushing up the price of fuel now. Home heating oil is well on its way to costing €2,000. Again, it is the same with the majority of this tax, which is absolutely scandalous. This is coming at a time when 300,000 families are in energy arrears. That is roughly about 900,000 people. Nearly 1 million people are in energy arrears.

I spoke to an older gentleman in the past couple of days. He went to buy home heating oil but he could not afford it. He has a few sticks left in his backyard. That is all he has to heat his home currently with one open fire. He can heat one room in his house at the moment and he has no hot water at all. It is absolutely scandalous. In 2024 and 2025, the Tánaiste's Government took more than €4.1 billion in fuel taxes. The Government is making more on fuel taxes now than it ever did before.

In the cost-of-living crisis, the Government is quids-in in terms of fuel taxes in this country. As diesel increased by 35 cent, the Government took 8 cent extra in VAT. The Government is profiteering off the misery of families in terms of the fuel crisis. The State is €14 million better off because of the taxes caused by this energy crisis across the country. That is scandalous.

The Government is saying the worst is yet to come. It is planning to put up carbon taxes in a number of weeks. Last week, all of the Ministers travelled all around the world. They burned through 200 million tonnes of carbon. This week, they are saying we need to put up carbon taxes to stop people using carbon. The hypocrisy is incredible. Fuel is not a luxury good; it is a staple good. People need it. This is not a progressive tax. It hurts people in the lowest income brackets and rural Ireland the most. The hypocrisy of Ministers just back from flights where they burned through 200 million tonnes of carbon saying that in five weeks they are going to put carbon taxes on families is incredible.

I wish to quickly raise the issue of biodiesel and bioethanol. We have a situation at the moment where the Government is charging carbon tax on the portion of diesel and petrol that is biodiesel and bioethanol. There is no excuse for that. It is immoral. Why is it that the Government will not reduce the price of hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, in this situation? Hauliers are crying out for a reduction in HVO prices. They want to make a change to a fuel that is carbon neutral but they cannot because the Government will not reduce the tax on it. It seems to me that this Government is oblivious to the pain and suffering families are going through at this moment of real fuel arrears and pain. Unless it actually pauses and gets rid of any increases in carbon taxes and reduces carbon taxes while there is a surge in prices, it will do more damage to families.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

I take on board what the Government said about not having a knee-jerk reaction to fuel prices. We are in a very volatile situation and who knows which way it is going to go over the coming months? At the same time, there is some space for some sort of interim coverage. I would say it is going to be coming, to be quite honest. I would like more proactivity in terms of the timescale of what the Government is doing.

Ultimately, as others have referred to, the companies have pushed the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene up at a rate never seen before. I can only see it as price gouging. The companies will argue differently. We have to look at ways of clawing that back over a period of time. There is an argument in the medium term for the excise duties but I am initially thinking of electricity bills especially as well as home fuel costs.

I reiterate once again that we have to be more proactive in terms of our energy self-sufficiency. This current shock may or may not have been predicted. We had a discussion during Leader’s Questions a month ago on what Ireland was doing in terms of the despotic Iranian regime/ There is no love lost in terms of wanting to see it gone. Equally, however, what the Trump Administration and Netanyahu have done is counterproductive, and it is impacting on all of us.

This reinforces the argument that we have to double, treble or even quadruple our efforts on energy self-sufficiency and ramping up renewables, not only wind, but also wave, tidal, solar and producing green hydrogen. We have to treat it like a war-time situation. If this eases off, something else will come down the road.

Deputy Michael Collins

The most important thing to come from this debate, which I thank Sinn Féin for arranging, is that people might see some hope that something is going to happen. Listening to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, during Leaders’ Questions today, he kept saying that we would not have a knee-jerk reaction. It is 19 days since the war started, but outside of the real, horrible war going on, there was a war going on anyway in people's homes. They could not pay their previous bills and now we are in a crisis situation. I meet many constituents and some of them have told me – I presume it is the same in the Tánaiste’s constituency – that they had not filled the oil tank on the basis that the weather would turn fine in early March and they would not have to. They could put it off until the end of the year and have one less bill. They have now run out of oil. For elderly people, that is very difficult.

Across all of the country, but especially in rural Ireland, people are crippled by the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Families, workers, small businesses and the independent forecourts that keep our communities going are all being pushed to the brink. The facts are laid out very clearly by the Irish Petrol Retailers Association. Retailers are operating on margins as low as 1%, with underground tanks holding just a few days’ worth of stock, meaning they must pay rising wholesale prices immediately or go without supply. They cannot absorb these increases. They are price-takers, not price setters. Meanwhile, the State takes 60% to 65% of the cost of every litre in taxes and levies - excise, carbon taxes, a National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy and VAT on top of everything else. The list goes on. We are told that international instability is pushing up prices but the reality is clear, in that Ireland's pre-tax fuel prices are around the EU average, yet once taxes are added, we shoot to the top of the European price table. That is not caused by retailers or the ordinary motorist. It is caused by Government policy. Who pays the highest price for that? It is the rural communities where a car is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is lower and middle-income families who cannot afford an electric vehicle. It is tradespeople such as fishers, farmers, carers and haulage operators who keep the shelves stocked. Many can no longer absorb these hikes. For them, the weekly fuel bill has become a crisis.

The Irish Petrol Retailers Association has been crystal clear in its asks: reduce excise duty on petrol and diesel; pause carbon tax increases until the real impact is assessed; review the layering of the levies and the practice of taxing taxes; and establish a proper, consultative forum so that these decisions are not made over the heads of the people most affected by them. This is not about avoiding climate action. It is about fairness and balance. The current approach is regressive and hits rural Ireland hardest. No Government committed to regional equality can stand over it. I am calling for immediate relief at the pumps because every €10 or €15 spent filling a tank is a €10 or €15 cut to a worker’s income, a family's budget or a small business’ future. I met representatives of the Irish Road Haulage Association here today and it is in dire crisis. Unless there is an immediate announcement, some serious decisions are going to have to be made.

People are left deciding between either heating or eating. For many of the elderly, it has got to a choice of eating only. People might think that is not true, but many elderly people tell me that they are sat with duvets and blankets. That is very unfair. It is still cold and nasty weather out there for an elderly person. A bit of heat is worth the world. I get phone calls every day of the week; my phone is on fire. I am told that the office is being called constantly by people who feel they have been hit hard, robbed, this and that because they are paying through the nose for oil.

I am very concerned about the price of food, and the price of fertiliser is going to go mad. If the price of fertiliser is going to go mad, the price of food on the table is going to go crazy and people will not be able to afford it. That is another crisis in itself.

I listened to the Green Party, which promised the world and spent four to five years in government but delivered absolutely nothing save for more taxes. People would like to turn to solar energy. There is no point in anyone saying we should not have solar energy; that is only nonsensical rubbish. People are anxious to turn to solar, but if you want to run a home on solar energy - I listened to a person recently who is getting solar energy – you are talking about a cost of €17,000 to €20,000. The grant is €1,800. That is paltry. In the name of God. That was the Green Party. Deputy O’Gorman does not want to agree with this motion because it might mean we would have to lower the carbon tax and help people. The Green Party does not help people. When it was in government, it could have delivered a grant aid that would have encouraged homes to go solar. A grant of €1,800 when it will cost €20,000 is a pittance of a grant to encourage people. That is where there was a massive lost opportunity. When the Green Party was in government, it failed to deliver for the ordinary people who maybe would have turned around.

To go back to 2022, I had a conversation with the Taoiseach on fossil fuels. I dug out my speech. Everybody around the world knew we needed fossil fuels. We are all trying to move away in a different direction. I fully understand that.

Unfortunately, the Taoiseach at that time was brainwashed by the Greens. All the Deputies on that side were brainwashed by the Greens. I could not get them to understand that they would need fossil fuel going forward. They did not want to be knocking on the door of Moffat in Scotland for our fuel and we were to have independence in terms of fuel, wind energy and solar, but we did not. Nothing happened. We seem to be brain-blocked. Barryroe field was there to be explored. Not at all, we could not touch it. We could bring it in no problem, but we were not to have energy independence. This has cost us extremely dearly. I have put my speech that day up on my Facebook page if anybody has any interest in watching it. In 2022, the Taoiseach told me I was wrong. Today, we are right.

Deputy Michael Cahill

There is no doubt that the rising cost of energy is placing enormous pressure on households right across County Kerry and, indeed, the entire country. For many families, it is a weekly decision between buying food, heating the home, filling the car or meeting other essential costs. In a rural county like Kerry, where people rely heavily on their cars and on home heating oil, these increases are being felt particularly sharply.

It is a very genuine frustration people are feeling and while there may be differences in approach, I believe this debate presents an opportunity to all of us to focus on practical measures that can deliver real relief. In that regard, we need to seriously examine a number of options. First, there is a case for targeted, time-limited supports to help households with rising fuel costs. Expanding eligibility for existing schemes such as the fuel allowance should be firmly on the table. Second, we should look again at the overall tax burden on fuels to ensure it is not disproportionately impacting those who have no viable alternative, especially rural communities. Third, we need to accelerate investment in energy efficiency and home retrofitting so that people are less exposed to those price shocks in the first place.

This is not about quick fixes or political point-scoring. It is about recognising that people need help now while also planning for the longer term. There is space here for a more constructive cross-party approach, one that focuses on targeted, workable solutions rather than absolutes. Ultimately, the people we represent are not interested in who wins the argument in this Chamber. They are interested in whether we can ease the pressure on their daily lives. Let us use this opportunity to work towards measures that are fair and practical and deliver real support where it is most needed. I refer to workers who drive to work and rural dwellers. I wish to call for the immediate reduction of fuel excise duties and the introduction of an emergency fuel allowance and targeted supports for workers and rural dwellers. We have to ease their pain.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

As it is the first time I have addressed the House since the passing of my best friend and the person who got me involved in politics, I hope the House will allow me to say of Ellie: ar dheis Dé go raibh h-anam. Of the woman who wanted to get on the boat when I went to Palestine even though she had stage 4 cancer, I want to say: Ellie, thank you for believing in me and getting me into this House. I will keep you close to my heart. Condolences to Justin, Sean, DJ, Richard and Kate. I appreciate that leeway from the Minister.

The reality is that Ireland remains too exposed. Yesterday, the Taoiseach was in the White House. I commend him for diplomatically saying about Churchill that Ireland had a different perspective in regard to its own War of Independence and that Churchill had created a bit of difficulty for us. During the Second World War, Churchill reduced the supply of coal to Ireland to try to force de Valera’s hand to end our neutrality. That is what we do when we do not allow our country to have its own energy independence and security.

Speaking of LNG, when I was in the committee, I asked why we were doing this. They said it added to our energy security. Surely if there was – and please God, there never will be – a foreign power that wanted to attack the gas or energy supply to our country, adding one single other point of failure would not add to energy security or independence. Surely adding multiple long-duration energy storage green hydrogen gravity pumps, with the private wires Bill I am looking forward to working with the Minister on, would be a much better way. The cost of the LNG terminal is extortionate and it needs to be put in a cost-benefit analysis to compare what we would get benefit-wise if we instead invested in our grid or long-duration energy storage battery packs and everything like that. They are moving too fast and the solutions are not there. I am blue in the face saying in this Chamber that we have to enable private wires to connect renewable energies, invest in long-duration energy storage and accelerate other storage systems like green hydrogen, particularly alongside offshore renewable energy. We cannot have curtailment and dispatch down.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

The sooner the Government does what I am asking it to do, the better because people are going under every day with the cost of fuel on the road. Any man or woman with a wheel and an engine is already being kicked very hard at the present time. It is reported that the Government is taking in €40 million a week more in taxes. I am asking it to give that back.

The Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, said today that it would be given back in targeted measures. I am asking the Government to give it back at the pump where the people are paying for it and to reduce the amount charged at the pump by the amount of extra taxes that it is getting in. It will cost the Government nothing but I am asking it, please, not to charge the people on the road and those depending on home heating oil. Do not charge them any more than they are being charged already. They are being charged enough taxes. I ask the Government to give it back by reducing the cost per litre at the pump and to get home heating oil in the door.

I refer to people who are going to work in cars or picking up schoolchildren, or the people with lorries or trucks on the road going hard every day delivering services and whatever. Farmers with tractors using green diesel are being hit doubly because it has gone from €1.12 up to €1.68 or €1.70, as has home heating oil.

It is very easy to do it; I ask the Government to give it back at the pumps where it is taking it from. The sooner the Minister does it, the better because people are going under. They cannot stick the pressure.

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí

Unfortunately, Deputy Tóibín is gone. Twice he asserted that the Government had burned through 200 million tonnes of carbon in the past two weeks. I would love to see him stand that allegation up. It seems like an enormous figure.

First, I welcome confirmation from the Tánaiste that the Government is planning to take action on the issue, that a plan is being worked on at the moment, that decisions are to be taken at the next Cabinet meeting and that whatever will be done will be targeted.

I want to ask Sinn Féin how long its proposed temporary reductions would last. Is it one year or three years? Where is the sunset clause?

Deputy Pearse Doherty

It is in the legislation.

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí

Where is Sinn Féin’s targeting of its proposal at those who need help the most?

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Maybe the Deputy should read the legislation.

What programme of activity would Sinn Féin cut to pay for these reductions? As the Opposition finance spokesman well knows, the estimated cost of reversing carbon tax increases in the past two years is well north of €300 million. That money directly funds energy upgrade works, schemes for those in or at risk of energy poverty, the fuel allowance, the working family payment and several other vital schemes. It is populist politics but poor policy-making. It is easy to make assertions like that from over there but government requires difficult decisions at times.

Ultimately, decarbonising our energy system is the best way to secure energy independence and reduce costs for families. That means clearing the decks for progress in offshore wind, like others have mentioned here, and as Deputy Heneghan said, clearing the decks for progress in long-duration battery storage in particular so that renewable energy can be held on this island and made available for when it is needed the most. I urge an tAire to make energy decarbonisation a non-negotiable priority for this Government.

Deputy Albert Dolan

We need to be abundantly clear here. Families across this country are under serious pressure and the fuel costs are a major part of that pressure.

In Galway East and across rural Ireland, people do not have a choice. They rely on their cars every day to get to work, bring their children to school and keep their livelihoods going, and right now, they are being squeezed. When people are paying more than €100 to fill a tank of diesel, that it not just a number. It is money being taken from groceries, heating and, ultimately, supporting their families. People feel they are doing everything right and are still falling behind.

I understand and accept that prices are set and influenced by global markets - we get it - but that cannot become an excuse for inaction. What has to happen is that the Government needs to assess the costs, see that this appears to be a sustained conflict, and examine and assess every option, such as whether tax measures or targeted measures would be the right response. For many households, there is simply no more room left. They have already cut back and cannot take another hit. The central point stands - we cannot stand by while working families in rural communities are hit again and again. This is about fairness and people need to know that, when the pressure seriously comes on, as it has been sustained over the past 19 days, the Government will take appropriate measures and actions.

Deputy Catherine Callaghan

People are feeling the sting in their pockets. As I passed filling stations in Ballon and Tinryland on my way to work this morning, I saw diesel well in excess of €2 per litre, which I had never seen before. It is clear to me that this matter affects all households and it requires an appropriate, well-thought-out and fair response, not a knee-jerk reaction. This war is not of our making and it is happening many thousands of kilometres away from us, but we are all feeling its effects, which indicates to all of us how small this world of ours is becoming and how interdependent global economies are.

While the focus this evening is on fuel and energy costs, let us make no mistake that without an end to this war, there is worse to come for all of us. I ask the Government to please keep a firm focus on seeking a de-escalation of this war through the peaceful means of dialogue and diplomacy. I ask it to continue to act responsibly. We need to look at and plan for solutions rather than focus solely on calling out the problem in outrage. We can all do outrage, but it is outcomes that make a tangible difference to people's lives.

We need an appropriate intervention and I am happier now than I was this morning, having heard the Taoiseach confirm that appropriate measures to assist households will be finalised in the next Cabinet meeting early next week. I am asking on behalf of the 14,000 people across Carlow and Kilkenny who voted for me that fairness be placed at the centre of this response. Will the Minister please ensure that the people who get up to go to work every day are supported in any measure invoked by the Government next week? I am also asking the Government, for now, not to remove or reduce carbon taxes because they are ring-fenced to ensure we can extend the fuel allowance to the most vulnerable and ensure that more Irish homes are retrofitted, thereby reducing the long-term cost of running our homes. As I said at the start of my contribution-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Aindrias Moynihan)

Go raibh maith agat.

Deputy Catherine Callaghan

-----we live in an increasingly volatile and interdependent world, so can we please keep all measures open to review for as long as the conflict in the Gulf continues?

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

I thank Deputies for the opportunity to discuss the pressures Irish households are facing as a result of high energy costs. I have listened intently to the contributions this evening. I assure Deputies that the current crisis is of deep concern to the Government, as has been articulated very well by Government colleagues and, to be fair, Opposition colleagues this evening. I know everyone shares the Government's concern about the humanitarian impact of the conflict and our desire, as Deputy Callaghan said, to see a de-escalation.

In addition to the significant humanitarian impacts, we have seen significant disruption and uncertainty, which has resulted in impacts on global energy supply and on us in Ireland as it has on every other country. This is not a matter unique to us. Energy prices and the impact this most recent conflict has had on them are of deep concern to me and to the broader Government. I assure people that the Government understands the pressures families and businesses are under. I have engaged today again with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste on a Government response to the areas that are under the most acute pressure. As the Taoiseach and Tánaiste outlined, this work will be finalised next week and we expect it to come to the Cabinet on Tuesday. It will set out the interventions we will make in a targeted and time-bound way that will assist those who need it most.

We must also be aware that this situation is ever evolving. From the outset of the conflict, it has been clear that it presents serious challenges and risks from an energy perspective. At my request last week, the energy security group met to assess the implications of the conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf region and to ensure the Government is fully informed of ongoing developments in global energy markets. The group reviewed current supply and pricing conditions for oil, gas and electricity and heard from the fuel industry representative body. It was noted that appropriate contingency arrangements were in place across the energy sector. I have also written to retail electricity and gas suppliers, as well as to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and fuel suppliers to emphasise the importance of reducing the exposure of Irish consumers to price shocks that global uncertainty can create and is creating and to ensure Irish consumers are supported to the greatest possible extent throughout this uncertain period.

However, Ireland faces particular challenges in energy costs as a result of long-standing factors, including our isolated island location, low levels of interconnection, our population settlements and historic reliance on fossil fuels that is diminishing year on year. Specifically in reference to fossil fuels, I am firmly of the belief that our island nation must continue to increase our renewable energy capacity and reduce the impact of fossil fuel prices and volatility on energy prices in Ireland.

Last week, we reached a significant milestone of 8 GW of renewable energy and energy capacity installed in Ireland and we are already seeing the impact of renewables on prices with what energy renewables are producing. We must continue to accelerate that. I want to increase that by building more renewable capacity and more storage. We have more than 1 GW of long-duration battery storage, which helps us to distribute the energy at the appropriate times. We will do more, including the introduction of private wires, unprecedented investment in our grid of up to €18.9 billion, which will allow additional renewables to be built and the distribution of their energy into our system, and close collaboration with all of the sector. We need to see projects like the North-South interconnector built. It will bring average savings per household of more than €100 per annum. It is critical we do this. In addition, we are investing a record amount in home retrofitting and business supports.

Like many Government Deputies and many of the Opposition, I am completely opposed to removing the carbon tax. Why do I say that? It is because since 2019, Governments have been able to provide 240,000 energy upgrades to homes. We are looking at permanent savings of up to €1,100. This year, we are targeting 73,000 home upgrades. We have changed our grants and made them more accessible. They are critical to ensuring households can have reduced energy bills and are more resilient against future shocks. Looking at this year, €558 million in Exchequer funding is being provided to home energy supports and business supports. That directly comes from the carbon tax. It is ring-fenced for that. Where would Sinn Féin get the money? Would it scrap the retrofit programme? These are permanent savings. I, like many in the Government and many of the Opposition parties, think we have a system under which carbon tax can be focused on those who need it most through such schemes as the warmer homes scheme, under which there were 13,000 more fully funded home upgrades this year.

Chun críoch a chur leis an díospóireacht, leanfaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an Teachta Pat Buckley.

Deputy Pat Buckley

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. This is bonkers. I have sat here and listened. I thank Deputy Doherty for bringing this motion and for the upcoming legislation. We come in here and we talk about having solutions but the Minister is in government and the Government is supposed to serve the people, not profit from their misery as it is at the moment. The Minister heard a while ago about 64% of the price at the pumps being duties. That 64% is the Government's problem, but a lot more than 64% of people are being hit. Instead of helping the people the Government has decided to make an extremely difficult situation even worse. It is talking about increasing the carbon tax again in May, which is another kick in the you-know-what.

I will tell the Minister how bad it is. This is something that haunts me and upsets me every time I speak about it. I will tell the Minister how bad it is for people. I have seen a mother in her sitting room, with a young child on a beanbag on 24-hour oxygen, who had to give up work and is crying because she cannot look after her child and cannot go to work but her biggest fear is she cannot keep the money in the pay-as-you-go meter to keep the electricity going to keep the child's oxygen pump going. That is the reality. The Minister can come out with his VAT figures and so on and so forth, but that does not appeal to the people who have been hit directly.

The Minister knows the craic with the kerosene. It can be done. We are not talking about wiping out carbon tax. These are measures to make things more affordable for people. I cannot understate how much people are struggling with the rising cost of fuel, but that is on top of a constant cost-of-living crisis the Government never got. Its members gave themselves a pat on the back. I have listened to some of the Government TDs speaking about it and saying we have to do X, Y and Z but at the end of it all I hear is excuses. We know there is a war but the Government still has it in its remit to do the right things, but it is not doing them. I call on all the Cork TDs in here to get a grain of conscience, do the right thing and support this motion and the legislation.

Deputy Louis O'Hara

Families have been left in shock by the steep rise in their fuel costs. These families are already under enormous pressure. We know 320,000 households across the State are in arrears on their energy bills under the Minister’s watch. This comes after the Government slashed cost-of-living supports in this year's budget. It left households to fend for themselves, including elderly people and people living alone. People with disabilities were left €1,400 worse off. It was really shameful and the price increases since this war began have turned a cost-of-living crisis into a cost-of-living emergency. Where has the Government been? It has been missing in action for the past two weeks.

Throughout that time families have really been suffering. Many have not been able to afford the fill of oil and they are watching very closely how much they are putting into the car. However, the Minister has come in here and once again kicked the can down the road. There might be something next week. The Government is totally out of touch with the reality of life for people across this State and the pressure households are under. It is very easy for the Minister to say we should wait and see and that the Government is keeping things under review but my constituents cannot keep their bills under review as they have to pay them today.

We have given the Government the solutions it could implement immediately. It could implement the legislation to cut the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil and it could scrap the carbon tax increases. It is breathtaking to hear Government Ministers insist the carbon tax increases on home heating oil should go ahead. They cannot give any clarity to households on what supports they will bring to the table but they were quick to tell them the carbon tax increases on home heating oil, petrol and diesel all the way to 2030 will be going ahead. It is time for the Government to get real and listen to people across the State who cannot keep up with any more increases. The Government should enact this legislation, scrap the carbon tax increases and bring forward real supports to households.

Deputy Thomas Gould

I thank my colleague, Deputy Doherty, and the party for bringing forward this emergency motion and legislation, because we are trying to bring hope. We are trying to bring hope to the families out there who are absolutely struggling and are out of their minds with worry about how they are going to fill their car and buy heating oil. We are trying to be constructive and bring forward solutions. I just heard the Minister say, and virtually all the TDs on the Government side say, that we are not going to have a knee-jerk reaction. A knee-jerk reaction would have been two weeks ago. We are nearly three weeks into this crisis and the Government has brought forward nothing. Does the Minister know what happened on the first day of this crisis? Prices went up on petrol, on diesel and home heating oil. He is the Minister and what did he do? He did nothing for three weeks. He has done nothing. This is in his remit. We have workers and families who have to use a car to get to work, college, hospital and school because governments never put in the rail infrastructure and the bus service is not dependable. Then the Government says it is going to help with its taxes. We are not in a cost-of-living crisis because it is a cost-of-living emergency now. People cannot pay their bills. What is the Government saying? The Minister and others say they will monitor it and look at it. The Minister just said they are going to analyse it. The Government should forget about analysing it and look after the people who cannot turn on their electricity. There are pensioners who will not turn on the heating in their houses because they are afraid they do not have the money to pay the bills. At the same time, this Government is giving data centres electricity for half price. Families are struggling. In the name of God, will the Government do this today and give the people the hope they need now?

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Cuirim deireadh leis an díospóireacht faoin rún atá curtha chun tosaigh agus bogtha agam ar chostais peitril agus díosail. I listened to the Minister and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, and their colleagues. Some of them have not even read the legislation and did not inform themselves of what we were debating before they came in and started asking stupid questions. The Minister will be able to see the legislation and see the fact that it is for six months and allows the Minister to review that period, to extend it or to increase the length of time. He will see in the legislation that it provides flexibility for the Minister also to increase or decrease the supports depending on the situation in terms of wholesale fuel costs or the cost-of-living crisis that people are suffering from. This is a responsible course of action from this party. The Minister talked about back-of-envelope stuff. No harm to the Minister but that was Fianna Fáil's job, the last time you wrecked the economy, yourselves down in the Galway tent with the back of the envelopes with the bankers and the developers. We know all the lectures in relation to that. This legislation is detailed. It is presentable. The key thing about it is that it is the solution. It is the plan that people are looking for. People cannot wait any longer for the Government to get its act together. I am glad the Ministers have all returned from St. Patrick's Day festivals but while they were away, people here were seriously struggling. This is the problem here. They left without providing the support that was required.

People are demanding action right now. The action they need is a cut in taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil. The Minister talked about how the price of kerosene has gone up really high and how it is putting pressure on families. He should be honest with people about what he is planning to do. He is planning to increase the cost. His cheerleaders in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are calling on him to increase carbon tax on 1 May, the legislation he has already passed. He should not give these crocodile tears that he feels for the old woman who has to fill up her tank and it is costing her €1,800, when he is sitting there saying we have to increase carbon tax in a couple of weeks. That is going to make it more expensive for people to heat their home and stay warm during this time of crisis. That is the reality of what the Government is doing. As Deputy Gould said, we are three weeks into this crisis and still the Government does not have a plan. We listen to the Tánaiste and he says we are going to do something. Something - nobody yet knows what he is going to do. I bet my bottom dollar that the Government will not cut taxes on home heating oil because it is wedded to this idea that it is carbon tax and therefore it is the Holy Grail. The Government wants to increase taxes on home heating oil. It is simply unjustifiable. You ask simple questions like how do we fund retrofit. We fund retrofit from the taxes that we take in as a State. There was €12.5 billion of a surplus last year. In one week, €38 million more has been taken in by this Government as a result of sky-high fuel costs. The Government Deputies sit back in their ivory towers and say to people out there who cannot heat their homes that they have to wait another week, and the Government might come up with something. That is not good enough. It does not cut it. People want leadership. They want action. We have provided the solution, the plan and the legislation. What the Minister should be doing, and what a responsible Government, one that cares about people and that understands the cost-of-living pressures people are under, would be doing is standing here and saying "Folks, tonight we are taking action, cutting petrol and diesel costs and the cost of home heating oil." Those are the solutions we put forward. In the real world, things continue to move on while Ministers are dithering and delaying and dallying. People are having to pay these costs. Today I talked to a forecourt owner. This is putting huge pressure on businesses also. They are buying diesel in for €2.13. This evening they were told what the prices are going to be tomorrow night and it is going up again, they will have to buy it in for €2.19. The Minister is going to delay and come up with something some time next week. It is simply unacceptable. People will have a decision now. I am glad the Government did not move their amendment so they will have a decision here now to actually support this motion and support this legislation.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Aindrias Moynihan)

Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta. Tá leasú----

Deputy Pearse Doherty

The amendment has not been moved during the debate and you are only allowed to intervene once, under Standing Orders, a Chathaoirleach Gníomhach. The Standing Orders are very clear. The Member is only allowed to speak once and the debate has now concluded.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 18 Mar 2026