Fuel, Energy and Carbon Tax Relief: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises that:

— households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, tradespeople and businesses are facing renewed and significant increases in the cost of fuel and energy, adding further pressure to an already severe cost-of-living crisis;

— petrol and diesel are essential rather than discretionary expenses for hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in rural Ireland where access to adequate public transport and viable alternatives to private vehicles remains limited or non-existent;

— farmers and agricultural contractors have no practical alternative to diesel for the operation of tractors, harvesters and other essential agricultural machinery, and that rapidly increasing marked gas oil, or green diesel, prices represent a direct threat to the viability of primary production and agricultural contracting;

— increasing fuel costs have consequences extending far beyond the individual fuel user, increasing the cost of producing and transporting food, construction materials and other goods and ultimately increasing prices for consumers;

— households dependent on kerosene and other home-heating fuels, particularly throughout rural Ireland, face significant additional costs as the winter period approaches and frequently have no immediately available or affordable alternative heating source;

— businesses which manufacture, produce or supply goods and transport those goods using their own vehicles make an important contribution to employment and economic activity but can be excluded from existing fuel rebate arrangements because of requirements relating to haulage licensing;

— the Government has made approximately €85 million available for fuel support for farmers and agricultural contractors, but only approximately €26 million of this allocation has been claimed to date, leaving substantial funding available which should continue to be used for the purpose for which it was allocated;

— approximately €15 million in European Union (EU) assistance towards increased agricultural input and fertiliser costs is insufficient to meet the scale of the additional costs currently being experienced by Irish farmers;

— carbon taxation has a disproportionate impact on people who have no realistic ability to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, including rural commuters, farmers, contractors, hauliers and households dependent on oil heating;

— further increases in carbon tax are already provided for under existing legislation and will further increase the cost of transport and home heating unless those increases are abolished;

— Dáil Éireann was recently recalled to prevent increases in fuel taxation from taking effect, demonstrating that Government can intervene where taxation would otherwise add further to exceptional fuel costs; and

— comments suggesting that diesel prices in excess of €2 per litre could become a "new normal" are deeply concerning and that the role of Government must instead be to use the measures available to it to protect households and businesses from exceptional energy costs;

further recognises that:

— international conflict, geopolitical instability and volatility in global energy markets are outside the direct control of the State, but decisions relating to domestic taxation, expenditure and targeted supports remain within the control of the Government;

— taxation intended to encourage behavioural change cannot achieve that objective where reasonable and affordable alternatives are not available;

— rural communities should not be disproportionately penalised because successive Governments have failed to provide adequate public transport, alternative heating systems and other infrastructure necessary to reduce dependence on fossil fuels;

— maintaining the viability of farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers and other businesses is essential to Ireland's food security, employment, rural economy and national supply chains; and

— exceptional additional Exchequer revenues arising during periods of elevated prices should, where appropriate, be used to protect households and productive sectors of the economy from exceptional cost increases; and

calls on the Government to:

— abolish all further scheduled increases in the carbon tax, rather than merely postponing those increases, and ensure that households, motorists, farmers and businesses are not subjected to further automatic increases in carbon taxation;

— maintain appropriate reductions and reliefs in excise duties applying to petrol and diesel for as long as exceptional fuel-price pressures persist, and use the taxation measures available to the State to ensure that increases in international oil prices are not unnecessarily compounded by domestic taxation;

— explicitly reject the proposition that diesel prices in excess of €2 per litre should be accepted as a "new normal", and commit to using all reasonable taxation, expenditure and policy measures available to Government to reduce the impact of exceptional fuel prices on families and businesses;

— ring-fence the full €85 million allocated for agricultural fuel support, ensure that any portion not initially claimed is not surrendered to the Exchequer or redirected away from fuel assistance, and use the remaining allocation to extend fuel support for farmers and agricultural contractors for a further five months;

— recognise the exceptional impact of marked gas oil prices approaching €1.50 per litre on farmers and agricultural contractors and ensure that future agricultural fuel supports properly reflect the actual additional costs being incurred by those sectors;

— provide additional Exchequer funding in Budget 2027 for farmers facing exceptional fertiliser and agricultural input costs, over and above the approximately €15 million being provided through EU support, and ensure that this constitutes additional funding rather than the reallocation of existing agricultural programmes;

— introduce targeted measures, in advance of the winter period, to protect households from exceptional increases in the cost of kerosene and other home-heating fuels, with particular regard to older people, low-income households and households in rural areas with limited alternative heating options;

— urgently review the eligibility criteria applying to fuel rebate and support schemes for the haulage and commercial transport sectors, with a view to ensuring that legitimate businesses which transport their own goods as an integral part of their business are not unfairly excluded from support solely because they do not hold a particular category of haulage licence;

— require a rural impact assessment to be carried out before any future increase in taxation on transport fuels or household energy, including an assessment of the availability, affordability and practicality of alternative transport and heating options;

— publish, on an annual basis, a clear account of the total revenue raised through carbon taxation, the amounts allocated to individual programmes, the amounts actually expended, and any unspent, surrendered or carried-forward balances;

— ensure that future energy and taxation policy gives appropriate and balanced consideration to affordability, energy security, food security, economic competitiveness and the particular circumstances of rural Ireland, alongside the State's environmental and emissions-reduction objectives; and

— commit that the State's response to exceptional international energy-price increases will be based on actively protecting households, farmers, contractors and businesses from costs beyond their control, rather than accepting permanently higher fuel prices as inevitable or as a "new normal".

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. Everyone knows there is a war and there are crises in different countries. When you have a crisis, you have to try to protect your people as best as possible. When the Covid-19 pandemic came around, in fairness, the Government brought out different measures to try to handle it as well as possible. It cannot solve everything and we will never claim that it can but what we have to do, as the Government has said many a day, is to see that the people who get up early in the morning and the people who cannot get up early in the morning, for one reason or another and who may have a disability, are looked after. We have to protect all parts of society.

Our motion states, as we have always said, that the carbon tax is very unfair. Future increases must be got rid of, to put it simply. It is not us. We are not economists. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, stated clearly that the carbon tax is the most regressive tax on Irish people. In fairness, measures were brought out. There were tax reliefs for white diesel, petrol and all of that. Those reliefs must continue.

Money was announced for the agricultural sector and contractors in the amounts of €85 million and €15 million. That was welcome but the problem is that there is no good looking at money when you need it. You need it spent. You need to cushion the blow.

I will give an example. I tested a tractor agitator yesterday. In one hour, it burned €64 worth of diesel. That is a fact. Agitating is heavy work but that was what it was burning. Only a fraction of the money that has been allocated, the €85 million, has been spent. That money was ring-fenced for the contractors and farmers around the country who produce the food. There is an example today from across the Border. We would all love to see a united Ireland. One of the biggest potato producers in this country has gone into administration. That is a sign of pressure. Any money is welcome and we are not against getting money but that money needs to be ring-fenced and another round of the fuel support needs to be given because if it is not, there will be consequences for agriculture and in farming circles.

The Government was a part of it when EU decided it would put an extra carbon border adjustment mechanism, CBAM, on fertiliser. That has driven fertiliser prices mad, to be quite frank. I know the EU has offered a paltry sum of €15.3 million. New money needs to be found for that. It should not come from the €85 million. That money was given by the Department of public expenditure for the fuel in the agriculture and contracting sectors. That needs to be resolved.

There is also another cohort of people. I will give an example of a discrepancy. Three days ago, I did a synopsis of the situation. If I were to buy 1,000 litres of kerosene in Dundalk, it would cost €1,610. If I were to walk down the road and across the invisible line of the Border, I could have bought it for €1,236. That is because of the differences in VAT and carbon tax. We must ensure, as we move towards the winter, that we look after the people in their hour of need, no more than when Covid was here. Any time you have a crisis, you try to help the people. Those are the people who come good again and pay the taxes of this country. Many people are under pressure, to put it simply.

If the Government wants to persist with carbon tax, we gave an alternative. People have the option to go on holidays and if they want to pay an extra bit in carbon tax, they can. However, you do not have an option to drive, especially in rural areas. People have to drive 20 km or 30 km where the Minister of State comes from, where the Leas-Cheann Comhairle comes from and where we all come from. They do not have an option but to drive to work most days of the week. That costs money. The Minister of State will say that some of the carbon tax goes to retrofitting, and it does. I do not deny that. If it were applied to aeroplanes, we would bring in more money and could put it towards whatever we want. At least a person has an option to board an aeroplane. They do not have an option when they are going to work.

The Minister of State is in the Department and I wish him well in his new portfolio. We hear about the amount that is going to agriculture, and that is right. There is an amount going to agriculture. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle and I would have quizzed the Department about that at the agricultural committee. How come in 2009, when there was no carbon tax, under a rural environment protection scheme, REPS, we were able to give farmers €700 more each? What has happened? Has the agricultural budget been cut and are we pulling money from somewhere else? We have to face up to this argument, which I am hearing being thrown out, that agriculture is getting it. Agriculture got €700 more from the Exchequer in 2009. That is 17 years ago. Saying that it is going back to farming is a red herring. Money has gone from farming.

In the past week, we met IBEC about competitiveness, as I am sure that other TDs did in their different areas. Look at yesterday. We always heard of Zetor Tractor, "Buy a Zetor and you will never forget her." Yesterday, Zetor announced that it is pulling out of Europe and going to India and China. Talk to pharmaceutical companies that have to go and tender among themselves. This is not competition. Ask them if we are losing competitiveness.

Have a look at the number of ordinary people under pressure in regard to electricity. People try to keep going as best they can. Working people are quiet people. They go to work every day. We must protect them but we must also protect vulnerable people who are under pressure. You hear the stories on the radio. There are people who are afraid to turn on their heating and lights. That is not an Ireland that the Minister of State or I would sign up to. Thankfully, the country, in the line of revenues, is going pretty well. However, it is a sad thing if a country is going pretty well and two thirds of its people are under pressure. Those are the statistics that come from the polls.

I see that the Government's countermotion does not mention where the rest of the €85 million is going. A lot of what is in our motion was side-stepped. The budget is coming in two weeks' time. We need to ensure that we do not make a hames of it, as we did the first time we tried the fuel support. We saw what happened after that.

You have to look and listen. We are messengers of the people. We are Teachtaí Dála and we listen to the voice of the people. I ask the Minister to take this motion on board and make sure that it is delivered. This is not politics; it is about people right around our country who are hurting.

Deputy Michael Collins

Today, people are being crucified by the cost of fuel. Farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, small businesses and ordinary working families are being hammered every time they pull into a filling station or fill the tank with home heating oil. What are they being told? They are being told that diesel costing about €2 per litre could become the new normal. I want to make one thing absolutely clear on behalf of Independent Ireland. We will not accept €2 diesel as normal. There is nothing normal about families having to watch the fuel gauge because they are afraid of the cost of living and filling the car. There is nothing normal about a farmer wondering how much it will cost to keep the machinery running or about an older person being afraid to turn on the heat as winter approaches.

The Government will say that international events are responsible for rising energy prices. Of course international events affect the price of oil, but the Government decides the tax, excise, whether to impose another carbon tax increase and whether to put its hand into the pockets of people who have no alternative. Do not come into the House and pretend that the Government is powerless. It is not powerless; it is making choices. For far too long, rural Ireland has been paying for those choices. A worker in rural Ireland cannot walk out the front door tomorrow morning and get on a bus that does not exist. A farmer cannot run a tractor on fresh air. An agricultural contractor cannot harvest a field without diesel. A haulier cannot deliver goods around the country without fuel. Have the fishermen of the country been factored in when it comes to these increases and the crisis we have at the moment? They have told me that they are in a dire situation. Some boats have stopped fishing due to the price of diesel. A 700 horsepower trawler towing for whitefish and prawns burns 3,000 litres during the course of a few days. That could cost up to €30,000. This is no longer sustainable in an industry that this and previous Governments have devastated in any event. An elderly person with an oil-fired heating system cannot magically produce thousands of euro to replace it because Government policy says they should do so.

The Government cannot tax people into alternatives that it has failed to provide. That is the fundamental point behind this motion. We are demanding that all further scheduled increases in carbon tax be abolished, not postponed or delayed until political pressure dies down. If the Government wants people to change behaviour, it should give them a realistic and affordable alternative. It should not punish them for living in rural Ireland or for having to drive to work. It should not punish families for heating their homes with the only means available to them. Our farmers and agricultural contractors need action now. Some €85 million was allocated for agricultural fuel support. According to the figures in our motion, only around €26 million has been claimed. Leave the balance where it belongs. That money was allocated to agriculture and it must stay there. We are calling for the full €85 million to be ring-fenced and for the remaining money to be used to extend fuel support to farmers and agricultural contractors for another five months.

Let nobody underestimate the situation facing agricultural contractors. When the price of green diesel is heading above €1.70 per litre, the sums simply stop adding up. These contractors are not operating machinery for recreation. They are cutting silage, harvesting crops, spreading slurry and carrying out the work that keeps Irish agriculture moving. If contractors cannot survive, farmers pay more. If farmers pay more, producing food costs more. If producing and transporting food costs more, the families and hard-working people of this country doing the weekly shop ultimately pay the price. This is not simply an agricultural issue; it is a food security and cost-of-living issue. It is an issue for every household in the country.

The most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, show that overall consumer prices have risen by 3.7% in the past year, but that headline figure does not tell the full story. Housing, electricity, gas and other fuel costs are up 8.5%. Transport costs are up 5.4% and education costs have risen by 8.9%. The CSO specifically points to rising home heating oil and electricity, rents and mortgage repayments, while higher petrol and diesel prices are adding to transport costs. Winter is approaching. Thousands of households, particularly across rural Ireland, depend on kerosene. Where are they supposed to go? What exactly is the Government's answer to the pensioner in west Cork or some other part of rural Ireland watching the price of heating oil rise? Is it that they should put on another jumper? That is not good enough. We need targeted winter assistance for older people, low-income families and households that are facing exceptional heating costs.

We also need fairness for hauliers and businesses that transport their own goods. If a legitimate Irish business is manufacturing products, employing people, paying taxes and transporting goods using its own vehicles, it should not be pushed outside a support scheme because it does not tick the right bureaucratic box. These businesses create jobs. They deserve support, not red tape. There is another thing we are demanding before any future Government increases taxes on fuel or household energy: there should be a rural impact assessment taken out.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Cuirim fáilte roimh an gnó Comhaltaí Príobháideacha seo ó Independent Ireland inniu. A bill was presented to me this week by an 89-year-old woman who is a constituent in my county. She paid €860 for less than half a tank of home heating oil for her house. That is the equivalent of about three weeks' income for her. The amount of oil she bought is unlikely to do her until the other side of Christmas. That is an incredible price for any elderly individual living on their own to have to pay just for a staple good. That heating would swallow up three weeks' income in that period is absolutely incredible. The Government is taking €200 of that €860 in tax, which means that it the cause of a significant portion of the difficulties she is having in regard to paying for her oil.

Right now, it takes more than €100 for a worker to fill a tank with petrol or diesel. That individual is a worker who gets up early in the morning and who our Government is very fond of talking about on a regular basis. Of the €100 that goes into his or her tank, €45 goes in Government taxes. The Government talks about the fact that there are wars in Iran and Ukraine and that both have helped to push up oil prices. That is correct, but the Government is one of the biggest drivers in respect of the increase in the price of fuel in this country. The Government is tax-gouging the people of this country in regard to fuel. Fuel is not a luxury good; it is a staple. People cannot do without fuel. They do not have an alternative to putting on the heat in their homes or to getting into the car to get to work. It is actively the Government's policy objective to increase the price of fuel.

Aontú was the only political party a number of years ago that opposed the introduction of carbon taxes. The reason we did so was very simple. The idea of introducing a tax that, year on year, would increase the price of a product irrespective of the economic circumstances that people would be in or the international price of that product is absolutely wrong. It is scandalous, and the Government did that. We have had an acceptance and admittance - nearly an apology - from the Tánaiste in recent weeks that the idea of bringing in a carbon tax is a stupid and dangerous idea as regards families.

Let me illustrate how quids in the Government is in this case. As a result of the war in Iran and the fact that prices have increased so significantly in recent times, it will take in €280 million more this year in VAT than it did last year. The Government will take in €1.6 billion in VAT on energy this year. In April and May, it took in €440 million in accumulated VAT because of the increased price of fuel. Last year, the Government took in €4.5 billion in fuel taxes, the most in the history of the State and in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis. Just when people were suffering significantly in regard to the cost of fuel, the Government reached into their pockets and took more money out of them.

It is very important to realise why we have reached this juncture. Why has there been a change of heart among those in government in recent times in respect of this issue? It is simply down to people power. The reason the Government has taken a different tack in recent months is because hundreds of thousands of ordinary Irish citizens could take no more and took to the streets last April. Ordinary individuals, the people who keep this country going and who do the work to pay the taxes could not take any more.

This Sunday a really important meeting will take place at the Well in Moate, County Westmeath. It has been organised by those protestors. It is to look at what the next steps will be in order to try to ensure that the Government listens to the people about the price of fuel. I encourage people to go along to that. Aontú will be there standing with them, as we did last April. Does this Government not realise that its policy is bad for families, bad for businesses and bad for the economy? The Government has to change tack on taxation on energy. If it does not do so, many more businesses will go to the wall and many families will not be able to put on the heat or feed themselves this year. We will have serious difficulties as a result. I implore the Government to listen to common sense for a change on the issue of energy.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Aindrias Moynihan)

I welcome Mr. Robert Watson to Leinster House and to the Gallery, from where he has been observing proceedings this morning. Fáilte romhat, Robert.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Niall Collins)

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 ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Gulf;

— recognises and understands the pressures that have arisen due to rising fuel costs as a result of the conflict in the Middle East for all families and businesses, in particular for sectors most reliant on fossil fuels;

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

— remains committed to decarbonising our society, increasing investment in renewable energy sources and recycling carbon tax revenues to protect those most vulnerable to fuel poverty through targeted welfare interventions;

recognises that:

— this Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the European Union (EU) per head capita which has included:

— excise duty reductions on diesel, petrol and 'green diesel';

— an enhanced Diesel Rebate Scheme for the entirety of 2026;

— the deferral of the 1st May Carbon Tax increase;

— the extension of the fuel allowance for one month;

— funds made available for payments to road transport operators under the Road Transporters Support Scheme;

— funds made available for payments to farmers, farm contractors and fishers under the Fuel Income Support Scheme; and

— a reduction in the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) Levy;

— it is not possible to offset all of the increases in energy prices, which are driven by market factors, using the tax system;

further recognises that, in the long run the best way to protect Ireland from the impact of international fossil fuel prices is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel imports, which we will achieve through the progressive decarbonisation of the Irish economy and society and through the steps that will be taken to meet the Government's commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050;

further notes that:

— current support measures instigated by this Government are estimated to cost over €1.3 billion from March 2026 to the end of February 2027 and have provided significant relief for households and businesses across the country;

— the Government has responded and will continue to respond in a way that protects those most vulnerable to fuel poverty; and

highlights that, the Government remains cognisant of the pressures faced by households and businesses as a result of increased fuel prices owing to the conflict in the Middle East and will seek to address this as part of Budget 2027.".

As Deputies will be aware, we are living in an extraordinary uncertain period internationally. The consequences of this are being felt in every home and business right across the country. As a small, highly open economy and a net energy importer, Ireland is naturally exposed to movements in international energy prices. However, throughout the crisis we have monitored developments closely. We continue to examine the international situation and have always taken decisions which result in practical supports for households and businesses across the country.

The motion before the House does not fully take into consideration the array of supports which have been implemented by Government as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. This Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the EU per capita, totalling over €1.3 billion and targeted at households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, tradespeople and businesses. Since the beginning of the crisis, this Government has acted to reduce excise duty on diesel, petrol and marked gas oil and to ease pressure at the pumps. We moved to defer the 1 May carbon tax increase on home heating fuels and we are we are now examining different options available in relation to the cost of home heating oil ahead of the budget. We enhanced the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and passenger transport operators. We introduced bespoke schemes to support road transport operators, farmers, farm contractors and fishers. We also reduced the NORA levy. It is for this these reasons that the Government will not accept the Independent Technical Group’s motion.

I am happy to have the opportunity to discuss some of the key points made by the Deputies on fuel, energy and carbon tax relief. I am aware that people who live in rural communities like mine do not have the same public transport options as those living in urban communities, but to suggest that there is little or no public transport available across rural communities is simply not true. Government commitments under the national development plan and in the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan will strengthen rural economies and communities. It means investments in new and existing public transport infrastructure and increasing connectivity, particularly for those who live outside of major towns and cities. The Deputies argue viable alternatives to private vehicles remain limited or non-existent. However, reliance on petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles is decreasing. One in four new vehicles purchased in Ireland in 2026 was an electric vehicle, EV. Industry data for 2026 shows uptake of EVs in rural counties is proportionally higher than in urban counties. The recent interest in the Government’s EV scrappage scheme is encouraging and highlights increasing consumer engagement with the transition to electric vehicles.

I assure the House that the Government understands the exceptional pressure rising fuel costs have placed on our farmers and farm contractors. We have worked intensively with representative stakeholder groups with a view to providing adequate and targeted supports. The announcement of the further extension of the fuel excise rate reduction until the end of October will have provided some reassurance and certainty to farm families and to businesses. It should be noted that existing legislation provides relief for expenditure relating to carbon tax on farm diesel incurred by any person carrying on the trade of farming. In effect, this keeps carbon tax on marked diesel fixed at a rate of just 4 cent per litre for the farming sector. That is the rate that applied in 2012.

As Deputies will be aware, the Minister for agriculture acted to implement a comprehensive €100 million fuel income support scheme to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs. The scheme provides €20 million per month in supports. Farmers and agricultural contractors benefit from a support rate equivalent to approximately 20 cent per litre of marked gas oil used based on the verified fuel consumption in 2025. This targeted and practical support package ensured those most exposed to these increases received meaningful assistance at a most crucial time of the year. On fertilisers, the European Commission announced at the end of July an exceptional aid package to compensate farmers impacted by increased fertiliser and energy costs due to the Middle East crisis. The EU package is worth €540 million in total with Ireland’s allocation being €15.4 million. It is crucial to note that the EU regulation which provides for this funding also makes provision for member states to provide for up to 200% in additional national funding. In Ireland’s case, this would be up to €30.8 million which would allow for up to €46.2 million to be disbursed to Irish farmers under this scheme. The regulation provides for support to be targeted at farmers most impacted by increased costs and disbursed to farmers no later than 28 February 2027. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, and I are actively working on behalf of Government are to finalise a scheme which will deliver this funding to the farmers most impacted by higher fertiliser costs and as quickly as possible. The consideration of additional national funding to top up the EU exceptional aid funding is being actively considered as part of the 2027 budget discussions.

It is important to note that the motion also fails to reflect the reality that the spikes in the price of home heating oil are not as a result of taxes or Government policy but, rather, the wholesale price of oil. The motion also fails to recognise the drivers of energy inflation are global in nature and that it is not possible for the State to control volatile energy prices. Our need for society and the economy to decouple from fossil fuel dependence has been even more apparent in recent times given the levels of volatility in the international fuel prices. The best way to achieve energy security and insulate our economy and society from fuel price shocks is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The carbon tax is an important long-term policy tool in helping to achieve energy security.

The fuel excise applied to kerosene home heating oil is purely carbon tax. The non-carbon component of the mineral oil tax is not applied. Setting the carbon tax rate at zero would have consequential impacts for the most vulnerable to energy poverty. Carbon tax revenues are recycled and used to protect those most vulnerable to energy poverty. Successive budgets have provided additional funds for the just transition measures. This ensures that carbon tax is a progressive tax. Funding from carbon tax provides additional funds for targeted social protection payments, residential energy efficiency measures, as well as funding to encourage green farming practices. As of budget 2026, the Government had allocated over €4.2 billion in carbon tax revenue to fund the just transition and decarbonisation measures since 2020.

In examining changes to the carbon tax system, it is incumbent on us all to take into account our obligations under the EU emissions trading system legislation and the conditions of the derogation which this Government has negotiated with the European Commission. The principal condition of this is that our national carbon tax remains above the average auction clearing price of the emissions trading system for buildings, road transport and additional sectors, ETS, 2, thereby avoiding double taxation.

Heating fuels such as kerosene and natural gas are within the scope of the ETS2. Losing this derogation would result in carbon revenues being controlled at EU level, thereby undermining our national programme of home energy upgrades and retrofitting, the investment in our electricity grid and development of indigenous renewable energy on the scale required. This will take investment and time. The Government is committed to continuing to make these important investments in Ireland's future.

This motion comes less than two weeks ahead of budget 2027, in a period when we are examining the different options available in relation to the cost of home heating oil, rural impacts and agricultural supports, as raised in the motion. Looking at these issues in the round to ensure an impactful response for households and businesses across the country is the responsible way to act. While no government can fully shield all households from all the impacts of the crisis, this Government has acted time and again to mitigate those impacts. We will be taking further significant action in budget 2027, which is less than two weeks away.

Deputy Ken O'Flynn

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am not sure who wrote it, but it appears to have been a civil servant who does not understand rural Ireland and has not walked in the Minister of State's constituency or in Cork North-Central, which is mine. The Minister of State talked the big talk about energy security, yet this Government and its predecessor, in which he also served, stopped exploration for oil and fossil fuels. He talked about energy security as a benefit for people who were struggling. There are 500,000 households in energy arrears in this State. That does not sound like energy security to me; it sounds like the highest level of debt we have seen in respect of gas and electricity bills.

I bring a human story to the Minister of State's attention. I visited a gentleman the other day who was living in a cottage in Rathcooney. He had one bar lit on his fire and was wrapped in blankets. It reminded me of something one might see in a movie from the fifties or sixties. That man was frightened to death to turn on the heating. He has to choose whether to heat his home today or eat tomorrow. That is not an exaggeration on my part. Every TD worth his or her salt is out talking to people locally, listening to people at the till, talking to people struggling at the petrol pump and hearing from taxi drivers about how they might have to take their cars off the road. These are people's lived realities in this State at the moment.

I have said it previously in the House and I say it again today that carbon tax punishes the people in this country on the lowest incomes and with the fewest choices. Government members talk about energy renewal and moving to solar, assuring us people will be grand. Where will people find €18,000 or €19,000 to put solar panels on their roof, for which they will get back a grant of €1,800 or so? A person would need a ball of money under the bed to be able to avail of some of these grants. They are quite useless to the people who are most vulnerable when it comes to energy security.

As I said, 500,000 households are in arrears. Home heating oil has gone up by 45%. The Minister of State, as defender of the Government, says that this is out of its control, that it is the result of what is happening in the Middle East. Nobody denies what is happening with the conflict in the Middle East. However, if I drove my car onto a forecourt in Malta today, I would pay €1.21 for a litre of diesel. Malta is part of the European Union but it is able to keep its energy costs down. If I drive my car onto a forecourt in Ireland today, I will pay approximately €2.20 for a litre of diesel, which is the price I saw advertised on the Naas Road the other day. That is what we are looking at in this country.

How can that price be sustained for the guy living in Youghal who has to drive to Cork city or Ringaskiddy because there is no bus or train service he can use? It is all well and good to say we must look at the models in other European countries and how they are doing so well for commuters and all the rest of it. The services are not there for people in this State. The Minister of State and his Government colleagues need to wake up on this issue. What about the guy in Mallow? There is a train service from Mallow to Cork but where is the orbital bus service in Mallow town to get him to the train? He still has to drive his car to the station. For many people in this country, the car is their only option to get to work. We continuously hear from the Government that it represents the people who get up early in the morning. In fact, it is the people who get up early who are suffering. They are suffering at the pump and the till.

The Government is like Nero, fiddling with bits and pieces and giving out a reduction here and a couple of cent there while it watches Rome burn. We are constantly told we live in a wealthy country. The Minister for Finance cannot pass a microphone without telling everyone what a fantastic job he is doing and how people should be saving. There is nothing there to save. People are struggling in this economy and finding it harder than ever before. The State is not doing enough to protect them. We are not doing enough for the small business owner who is paying €5,000 to €8,000 every month in energy costs for refrigeration.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

It is unfortunate that successive Governments, going back to the abolition of domestic rates in the seventies, have been very dependent on excise duty revenue. We do not have a very broad tax base. When pressure is felt, there is a question mark in the accounts about how, if this income is reduced, it might impact on our overall day-to-day spending budget. I am sure everyone in the Government is at least aware of how much people are feeling the pinch right now, especially those in rural Ireland, who are more dependent on cars and on kerosene for fuel. They must be given a break, however temporary it might be, given the mayhem Trump is facilitating around the world.

At the same time, with the effects of climate change becoming more apparent, we are conscious that we must wean ourselves off our addiction to fossil fuels. I have mentioned energy self-security 15 or 20 times in the Chamber since I was re-elected in 2024. We must address our addiction to fossil fuels from the Middle East and elsewhere and become self-sufficient through the use of green hydrogen, electric vehicles and biofuel. We must become a net exporter of energy and have a quid pro quo when the sun is shining and the waves are moving. We need to be in a position to get the revenue from the data centres and to be 100% self-sufficient in respect of our public transport needs.

I will focus in particular on public transport and electricity because we are trying to get people off fossil fuels, but the reality is they have no option but to drive vehicles that run on those fuels. There are not enough incentives to drive EVs. In all the new housing estates, for example, the current policy is to put in a few EV chargers, which is great, but residents are paying a commercial rate to big business. They are not being charged at the domestic tariff. I am lucky enough to live in a house that was built in the 1960s. I have a driveway and can charge my EV using a cable, for which I pay a very cheap overnight rate. People are being encouraged to buy into new home developments in places like Adamstown, Kilcarbery, Seven Mills and Citywest, all of which are in my constituency, but they cannot even get a parking space. If they manage to win the fight for a space, they cannot put a cable under the ground for charging their EV because that is against planning law. Technology exists in Portugal that allows people to key in a code and pay a domestic-type tariff for their EVs. If we had that type of technology, we would accelerate the move towards electric vehicles that can be powered more by the grid.

At the moment, some of the energy produced by wind is going to waste because we do not have the capacity to store it.

We are so dependent on gas as the baseline that we are paying an excess in electricity prices. People are being screwed left, right and centre because of the lack of vision in Government circles. I have spoken before about the need to invest in the grid infrastructure so that we can have private, home production and people are not disincentivised from storing solar electricity in a battery at home and, if there is a power cut, using the power in their homes rather than having to switch off, like so many houses do at the moment, especially when it is tied to an Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grant.

We need to think about the big picture, but this motion is about the small or more immediate picture. The more immediate picture is that people are strung out trying to pay costs they have no alternative to in the short term. We need to start moving more towards the big or macro picture and increase momentum while - it is not a dichotomy - trying to help people out during the current crisis, because it is a global crisis. It is not either-or. If we are trying to wean people off fossil fuels, we are going about it the wrong way by increasing public transport prices and having ghost buses in the estates I mentioned. Even if people have the choice, they will not make it because they do not know whether they will get to work reliably. It is a mess, but it is within the Government's power to sort out some of it very quickly.

Deputy Martin Kenny

I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion. I am disappointed the Government is once again negating its impact. We are seven months into this crisis and the situation is only getting worse, with diesel prices hitting more than €2.20 per litre at the forecourts. Home heating oil costs €1,600 for 1,000 litres and green diesel is almost €1.70 per litre for farmers. As workers and families suffer, the prices continue to rise at the pump and the Government is the only one winning, with record revenues coming from VAT.

Workers, families and farmers across rural Ireland are facing the brunt of this crisis. They need their cars to get to work, go to the shop or bring their children to school. Farmers need their tractors to spread slurry, move silage, feed livestock and much more. The majority of family homes in rural Ireland depend on home heating oil to heat their homes. The Government delays in addressing the cost-of-living crisis are adding to the pain and hardship families are going through. Thousands of families are in arrears on electricity bills and barely making ends meet.

Last night, Sinn Féin introduced legislation to remove carbon tax entirely from home heating oil, taking €183 off the cost of 1,000 litres. It was the eighth time Sinn Féin had brought forward legislation to cut the price of home heating oil and I call on all sides of the House, including the Government, to support it and give people a break.

The Minister for agriculture introduced a fuel support scheme for farmers, fishers and farm contractors with a budget of €100 million. He promised the budget would go to fuel support for farmers, farm contractors and fishers. In a reply to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister told me that more than €60 million allocated to that fuel support scheme had not been spent. This money should not be redirected to other areas. It should be allocated to, and spent on, fuel support.

The fuel support scheme was flawed. It was only a sticking plaster on a major crisis. The Minister should have reduced the price of green diesel at the pump and that is what should be done now. I call on the Government to use the €60 million to reduce the price of green diesel at the pump, which is what should have been done last April.

The cost of fertiliser has skyrocketed since the start of this crisis, which was brought on by the war in Iran. In the budget, the Government needs to provide €30 million to co-finance the EU fertiliser support scheme of €15 million. We should not take money from the fuel support scheme to co-finance fertiliser support. They are two separate issues affecting agriculture and the Minister should not use one pot of money to solve both problems. The Government needs to start putting workers and families first. It is time that half measures were over. We need to see real solutions to help farmers and workers to get through this crisis.

The reality is that much of this has been caused by the conflicts across Ukraine, Iran and Gaza and all these things. It is quite ironic that the EU puts rules in place for governments about what they can and cannot do on VAT and so on. It makes it difficult for governments to act appropriately in many of these situations, and the EU does not act appropriately in many of these situations. We need the Government to recognise that we will have huge problems if it does not act forcefully to ensure we help people out by bringing down prices for everyone across the board.

Deputy Pa Daly

At the core, this debate is about a growing sense among ordinary people that they are being left to shoulder more and more of the burden while the Government sits on its hands. Ordinary workers, families and pensioners are paying more. Rural communities are expected to shoulder the cost of Government failure and inaction. For months now, families across the State have faced soaring living costs and household budgets are going through the roof. Yet, when practical measures are put forward to help people, the Government delays, does not act and says that now is not the time. It is turning its back on ordinary people.

The reality facing people on the ground, particularly in rural Ireland where families have no alternative but to rely on private transport and home heating oil, is stretching beyond all recognition. Heating is not a luxury for people; it is a necessity to prevent them getting sick and keep them warm during winter. The alternatives are not available. There is no just transition. There is a bigger and bigger green divide, or even a wealth transfer to people who can already afford it, while other people in older homes and rural areas cannot afford it. The Government continues to pile cost upon cost on people who have few alternatives.

Nowhere is that more apparent than with carbon tax. Sinn Féin has said that there should not be any more carbon tax increases. The Government cannot keep increasing the costs for rural families while failing to provide any alternatives to allow them to transition. It cannot tell people to stop relying on oil and cars and reduce their bills while refusing to deliver on public transport, energy infrastructure and supports to make that possible. Rural Ireland is being left behind and people see it in rising fuel costs, soaring home energy bills and few or no public transport services. They see communities being forgotten, while Ministers in Dublin tell them that everything is fine. The Government says it wants to support people in the here and now, but that is now. It means helping people, including pensioners who are worried about turning on the heating, to face another winter. It means recognising that many households are already struggling with bills such as mortgages, rent and childcare and cannot face any more. Some 500,000 people are in arrears on their energy bills. We need real action, not more words. The Government has totally failed.

Yesterday, Sinn Féin brought forward legislation to remove carbon tax from home heating oil. It was the eighth time we had sought action on this issue and the eighth time the Government parties or Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and some Independents had chosen to reject the proposals. People are not fools. They can see what is happening. They can see a Government that talks about helping families but repeatedly votes against commonsensical measures to put money back in people's pockets. It is a Government that is more than happy to collect billions of euro in tax revenue as prices rise while refusing to give meaningful, practical relief. The Government has failed to understand the pressure felt in the communities, but the House has a choice. It can continue down the road of higher costs, higher carbon taxes and more pressure on families or it can send a clear message that enough is enough, that rural Ireland matters, that heating homes is a necessity and that struggling families deserve support and not lectures. It can send a message that, when people are facing a crisis, the Government will say it has their back. For these reasons, I support the motion and encourage others to do so.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Hundreds of thousands of families heat their homes with home heating oil. I can speak with authority. In Donegal, most families rely on home heating oil. They are facing into the winter and a fill costing €1,600. Last year, it was €900. It is a massive burden, particularly for older and vulnerable families.

People who live in Donegal are being penalised for making a choice they do not have. Where will older people get the money to retrofit their homes? How can people get to work without driving a car, van or lorry in a place like Donegal where the public transport system just is not there? They are being penalised for making a choice they do not actually have. This is nonsense. The Government has been doing this for years. It is not listening, but now we are at a profound point because our electricity is the most expensive in Europe. Home heating oil is at an unmanageable level and petrol and diesel are at the level they are at now. The Government has been slow to respond again and again.

I will talk about electricity.

The last time the Government gave energy credits was when people were voting at the last election. The cynicism is unbelievable. My colleague, Deputy Pa Daly, who is our energy spokesperson, has revealed that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has only met one of the energy companies this year. He has met just one, back in January. There are three he has not met at all. The Government is doing nothing to confront the energy companies about profiteering. It is giving families no energy credits. It has provided no clarity on home heating oil and has not taken one cent off the price throughout this crisis. That is why people are so angry. That is why there is again talk of protests. There is no urgency. There is cynicism. The Government is not listening to people. We in the Opposition are going to continue to come in here to tell the Government the truth as we see it in our communities and to hold the Government to account until it wakes up and does what needs to be done.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

There is a lot in this motion, which I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward, but I will focus on petrol and diesel prices for now as successive Government policies have made my home town of Drogheda a commuter town. Decisions by Fianna Fáil governments that there should be a focus on just one town in a county - in the case of Louth, that is Dundalk - has seen foreign direct investment and a lot of jobs go to Dundalk while jobs continually leave Drogheda. The closure of BD, which employed hundreds of skilled workers, is the most recent example. According to the last census and the Drogheda business improvement districts, BID, commuter survey, 8,000 people leave Drogheda every day and almost 15,000 leave the wider area of south Louth and east Meath to commute over an hour to work, usually here in Dublin. Some 65% of those surveyed leave for work before 7 a.m. and do not return until after 6.30 p.m. Because of the huge increases in fuel prices, they are paying a fortune for the privilege of doing so. That was the last census. With the huge increase in the number of residents in Drogheda thanks to the house building boom along the port access northern cross route and with job losses locally, that figure of 15,000 is sure to rise in the next census.

This State ran a surplus of €12.5 billion last year, over €2 billion more than the Government projected on budget day. It has the resources to make a real difference but has refused to do so thus far. What sorts of prices do we need to see on the forecourts before this Government steps up? Nobody wants to see people forced to once again launch protests against fuel and energy prices, shutting the country down. I ask the Government to please not let us get to that point. We in Sinn Féin have brought forward legislation to reduce taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Cuts to taxes on diesel would have made up roughly of that, with green diesel, petrol and home heating oil cuts making up the majority of the rest. Our proposals would have made a real difference to my constituents in the Drogheda, south Louth and east Meath area and to others around the State who commute daily and who are now paying well over €2.20 per litre of diesel. This cannot become the new normal. The Government parties can remedy this problem if the Government legislates for the good of the people of Ireland and cuts the taxes. It needs to lift the burden of people whose backs are against the wall with the rising cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Workers, families and everyone across this country are facing a situation in which everything seems to be going up. It is not just homelessness, house prices and rents but also the cost of petrol, childcare, home heating oil and electricity. It is absolutely everything. There is not a household in this country that are not looking at their bills, trying to figure out how to get to the end of the week or the month, depending on how they are paid, because everything has to be accounted for.

During this debate and previous debates, the Government has trumpeted the various things it has done but people know well that it had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do an awful lot of those things and that those things have not gone anywhere near far enough. To be honest, I suspect that, if there had not been enough public pressure and if the international circumstances had not changed, we would be looking at some of the duties being added back on. We also know that not a single cent has come off the cost of home heating oil and that nothing has been done in relation to energy credits. The Government ignored warnings from the Opposition that, if it got rid of the energy credits, people would fall into arrears. Lo and behold, record numbers of people are now in arrears with their energy bills. It is not just us saying that; the energy regulator is saying so as well.

People are tackling issues all the time. Families are trying to deal with rents like they have never seen before and childcare costs that are absolutely crippling them. The Minister of State needs to act on this. He needs to deal with the issue of home heating oil at last. People have seen huge increases. We need more action on the cost of living in general and on the cost of childcare, education and healthcare. It is right across the board. The way that this State is set up means that middle-income earners who pay taxes are not only not getting support but are being asked to pay a second time. Through voluntary contributions, GP fees and third-level fees, the cost-of-living crisis comes back to bite them every time.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I thank the Independent Technical Group for bringing forward this motion. Where will I start? Constituents have told me that they go cold and hungry and that some days they do both. They cannot afford to heat their homes and their kids are constantly sick. They end up cutting back on food to pay for electricity. Cold homes, empty fridges and impossible choices face some of my constituents in east Cork, who are forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table.

As I listened to the Minister of State's response, I was sitting here thinking "Jesus wept. The Government has now normalised poverty in 2026." It is a sad indication of where this Government is going. It had a knee-jerk reaction last year when normal, ordinary working families, farmers and others who were struggling went out on a protest. It labelled those people for standing up and trying to tell the Government, which is supposed to serve its people, that they had enough and could not take it. The Government is going to see that again.

The Minister of State mentioned the Government supports. They are not working. Ministers speak about it as if it is the Government's money. It is the taxpayers' money. It is our money. The Government is supposed to support the people who support us in supposedly doing our job up here. The Minister of State also mentioned rural transport, saying that what has been said about it is a myth. It is not a myth. Rural transport is at zero. I was in contact with the NTA during the week about rural link services for Ballymacoda, Shanagarry and Knockadoon. It told me straight out that the Government is not giving it funding. Its priorities are up its backside because it is so self-centred. I hear some Government TDs say that they are listening to their constituents. I do not know what planet they are on. I can walk down the street and see people who are struggling every single day.

There is a knock-on effect here. The majority of stuff in the supermarket, in the chemist and everywhere else was carried there by a diesel-run engine. Where there is action, there is an instant reaction. If the price of diesel goes up, the price of carrying goods goes up and that will be passed on to the consumer. In all of the Government's actions, it has done nothing to serve the people. I support our Bill from last night and the Independent Technical Group's motion today but I guarantee the Government will support neither because it is not on the proper planet.

Deputy Cathy Bennett

I have said in this House a number of times, before the people, that the Irish Government is not responsible for global events precipitating global energy price hikes. However, people look to their government to insulate them from the worst impacts and the Government continues to fail on that account. Why can it not help struggling families to heat their homes? People are crying out for help and the Government has the power. Why is it waiting? There is a behavioural tax on homes right across the country and in my own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. The changed behaviour for many, especially among the most vulnerable in our communities, this winter will be that they go cold because the Government is wed to the nonsensical, unjustifiable and completely unnecessary carbon tax on home heating oil. Sinn Féin has now come before the Dáil eight times to seek the removal of carbon tax from home heating oil. At every opportunity, the Minister of State's Government has said "No." In essence, the Government believes people should suck it up and pay the increased costs. If they go cold, that is not governance. It is simply callous. People have struggled enough to pay electricity bills and to pay the tax on petrol and diesel for their cars. They are paying to send their children to school and college. They have had enough without the Government tinkering around the edges. I ask the Minister of State to please support the Sinn Féin legislation. Let us put a little warmth back in people's homes this winter.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

Many have said it before; we all accept that Government is not responsible for what has happened with the war in Iran. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are responsible and we are all suffering as a result. However, let us be absolutely clear. There are things the Government can do. It did reduce the cost of petrol and diesel when it was forced to.

We all know an insufficient amount was done in relation to that. How do we know that? We know that because we can look at the forecourts at the minute. We are looking at €2.20 per litre of diesel and costs that we could not have expected. In the long term, we know it has also failed in relation to delivering on wind power and alternatives.

We have a real problem, particularly when we are talking about home heating oil and the 700,000 households that have no choice but to use home heating oil. The carbon tax is not going to allow them, facilitate them or force them into using something else. They have no choice. I was on cheapestoil.ie. The average price of heating oil in County Louth today is €1,605.97 for 1,000 litres. The cheapest is €1,559 for 1,000 litres. That is phenomenal. The price last year was in and around €900. We are talking about removing the carbon tax on that in order to mitigate at least some of the pain. We are talking about €183 - something that could be done today that could impact on people's lives tomorrow. There are many who are waiting because they have heard kites flown that something may be done in relation to home heating oil. It needs to be done now. It needs to be done straight away.

Today, the Irish Cancer Society revealed that cancer patients are losing an average of €16,200 in annual income. If we get into that, they face monthly travel-associated-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Conor Sheehan)

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

-----costs of up to €300 a month. Some of that is fuel. We need help on that as well. Some of that is heating.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Conor Sheehan)

The Deputy should conclude.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

We need to get serious. Regarding the cost of disability payment that the Government took away, we need to ensure that is delivered. We have a lot of people under pressure, and the Government could help a lot of them now.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

As a country, Ireland has never been as wealthy. We have never had so many resources available to us to support people and to make this country even better than it is, yet we still have so many people who feel completely left behind by this Government and the previous Government. They are struggling to keep their heads above water and really cannot see a future for themselves. We saw a report yesterday about the number of young people who are planning on emigrating. We have sort of turned into a country of contradictions. Some people are doing incredibly well, but there is a huge number of people who are struggling and finding it very difficult. There are 324,000 households in this country in arrears on their electricity bills. There are 188,000 in arrears on their gas bills. These are the highest figures ever. Those people are not doing that by choice. They are in arrears because they are unable to pay the extortionate energy prices that we have seen over the past number of years. For people who are filling their cars at the moment with a 60-litre fill of petrol, it is costing €6.60 more for a fill than it did in February and for diesel it is €9.60 more than it was in February. We can see how people are really struggling.

Ireland is a small country and economy and we have been repeatedly hit over the years with these global crises that have caused huge challenges, problems and difficulties in this country. We have had the war in Ukraine and now the war in Iran. While it is clear - I think everyone would agree - that Ireland did not play a part in causing any of those wars, the Government had to rally and come up with emergency measures to deal with them. What we have not seen from this Government is a move from emergency, temporary and incredibly costly measures to actually making our homes, households and businesses more resilient to those kinds of energy shocks. Yes, those temporary measures were needed, but where is the long-term planning from this Government? Where is the strategic thinking?

The incredible amount of corporation taxes coming into this country have resulted in a very lazy Government - a Government that has no vision for the future and is quite happy to throw money at problems and situations but not actually put any long-term thinking into how to deal with these issues on a long-term basis. That is costing us a fortune. In March 2026, there was €250 million on a package of temporary fuel tax reduction supports. In April 2026, there was €505 million. Post-Ukraine, we had a €2.7 billion package in mid-2022 to tackle rising energy costs. The lump sum energy payments that were made in 2022 cost €1.3 billion. These were untargeted measures. I repeatedly was very critical of the untargeted approach that the previous Government took, essentially putting something like €100 million into the electricity meters of holiday homes. The then Government gave people who already had two homes €100 million in taxpayers' money. In 2023, those energy payments cost over €1 billion. In 2024, it was €500 million. Billions have been spent post-Ukraine on short-term relief. We are now seeing billions being spent post-Iran.

What the Government needed to do at that time post-Ukraine was not just hand over public money as an emergency measure. Rather, it needed to look at the country as a whole and ask, "How do we make ourselves more resilient?" The global energy shocks will continue and we are far from immune. We are incredibly reliant on fossil fuels and the global energy market. What the Government never said was, "How can we actually move away from fossil fuels? How can we make our homes resilient? How can we make sure that if something happens in the Middle East or in Ukraine, it is not a household in Portumna or Rathdrum that is paying for it? How can we ensure that our communities are protected?"

The Social Democrats have continually called for longer-term focus from the Government. We have our solar for all plan. One million homes in Ireland are suitable for solar panels. If those homes had solar panels, they could reduce their energy cost by €400 or €500 per year. That would be game-changing for so many households. We have repeatedly called for more grants and better supports because solar panels are still far too costly for far too many people. In fact, I first raised this in 2022 after the war in Ukraine. I asked the then Government to, please, focus on solar. I could not understand why that Government was so blind to the financial, climate and societal benefits of solar panels and making sure that houses were resilient. Yet it did nothing. In fact, it was pulling grants from people. It took away the battery storage grants that were available. It pulled support from people. That is why we are in the situation we are in now. We have a Government that has far too much money and is wasting it and is not thinking through. It seems not to care about the next five and ten years. It is just throwing money at problems. I remind the Government that it is not its money; it is the public's money. People expect it to be prudent with that money and to use it in a responsible manner, but the Government is not doing that.

There are many measures, such as the solar plan the Social Democrats have come up with, that would support people, but the Government is ignoring them. We have called for an energy windfall tax similar to what was implemented after the Ukraine war but I cannot see any advocacy for that at a European level. There are alternatives to the home heating oil crisis that people are facing at the moment. There are alternative technologies that could be utilised.

However, the Government is moving so slowly on them, allowing people to face extortionate rises in prices. The Government has no vision and is completely tone deaf to what is going on in people's lives.

I want to make a point about the cost-of-living crisis that people are facing at the moment and how tone deaf the Government is. It put forward this €100 voucher for 16-year-olds. That is simply a public relations stunt. That is all that is. A woman with four children contacted me yesterday. Both she and her husband work. However, like many people in this country who work really hard, they are finding it very difficult to keep their heads above water. She texted me and asked, "Are they actually serious about this credit?" Her daughter has teeth erupting from the roof of her mouth. She is in constant daily pain with it and it will be three years before she sees an orthodontist or else this family can fork out €5,500 to get it done privately. The Government is completely tone deaf and does not understand the struggles that people are facing. It does not seem to understand where it is wasting money. It is not acceptable to have a teenager in daily pain because dental services are not being provided in her in her locality. What family has €5,500 to fork out on orthodontics? That is an incredible amount of money. I ask the Minister of State to bring this message back to the Government. The money it is wasting now it is not its money; it is public money and we need it to support communities, support people and spend it wisely.

Deputy Ciarán Ahern

I thank the Deputies from Independent Ireland for bringing this motion forward today. Everyone in this House knows and agrees that we are going through a severe and extended cost-of-living crisis. We all want to do everything in our power to protect people most at risk from energy poverty. Many people in the country are struggling now. However, the vast majority of us in this House, in opposition at least, agree on the reasons for the cost-of-energy crisis and the long-term solutions. The climate crisis is not mentioned once in this motion. That is just wild. Where is the acknowledgement in this motion that the current energy crisis has been directly caused by Donald Trump? Where is the acknowledgement that Trump, whom Independent Ireland welcomed with open arms to this country a week ago in the Phoenix Park, whose politics some of the Deputies here try to ape and assimilate, is the direct reason that energy bills are high here and across the world? Trump's illegal, reckless and pointless war on Iran has brought us here, not the carbon tax. Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg and their billionaire class are the only economic migrants into this country who are actually responsible for our problems, but Independent Ireland Deputies cannot find it within themselves to criticise them. Independent Ireland cannot punch down on them.

Where in this motion are the proposals for a tax on excess profits of energy companies? Where is the support for a moratorium on data centres which are adding to household bills and being built to placate tech billionaires? There are none, because these are the guys Independent Ireland Deputies want to cosy up to. Where have they been while we have been protesting against the hikes in public transport fares that are facing commuters, students, people with disabilities and people who cannot afford cars? They say they are concerned with transport costs but, just like the Government, only for certain cohorts.

We can absolutely agree that there is no question that households and small businesses across Ireland have faced extraordinary pressure from energy costs. Families have seen electricity and heating bills rise, motorists have faced much higher costs at the pump, and many people have been left with difficult choices between heating their homes, travelling to work and meeting other essential household expenses. Such is the scale of the energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis more broadly that we now have more than half a million gas and electricity accounts in arrears. The pressures are very real and any serious discussion of energy policy or climate policy has to begin by recognising them.

An equally important point needs to be made: those pressures are being exacerbated and prolonged by Ireland’s continued dependence on fossil fuels, which the Deputies are seeking to subsidise indefinitely in this motion. The existence of a cost-of-living crisis does not remove the need to address Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels. The experience of recent years has demonstrated why reducing that dependence should be an economic and social priority as well as an environmental one. Our over-reliance on imported fossil fuels means that we are massively over-exposed to international energy markets and geopolitical shocks, as we have seen following Trump's and Netanyahu’s misadventures in the Middle East.

The Minister has pointed out previously that our dependence on imported fossil fuels is a vulnerability, including the fact that approximately 80% of our gas is imported from our nearest neighbour. We urgently need to reduce that dependence and the carbon tax has an important role to play in that. What is important is the policy framework we put around it, how the proceeds are used, and whether we give people realistic and affordable alternatives.

This motion notes that for a lot of people in rural areas, and notwithstanding the progress that has been made with respect to the Local Link in recent years, there is still a lack of alternatives to private cars or fossil fuel-powered home-heating systems, and I agree with that. We need to go further and faster in rolling out supports and incentives to allow people to wean themselves off fossil fuels. We need to make EV grants, heat pumps, insulation, solar panels, batteries and so on more accessible to larger cohorts of the population, particularly people in rural communities and low-income households.

However, we will not be able to do that if we do away with the mechanism designed to fund those supports. Labour’s position has always been that carbon tax should form part of a just transition rather than being considered in isolation from household incomes and energy affordability. To be fair, we have supported increases in carbon tax while arguing for a refundable carbon-tax credit for low- and middle-income households. That distinction is important. Carbon tax is intended to reflect, through the price of fossil fuels, some of the environmental cost associated with their use. Yes, it is also designed to incentivise the move towards lower-carbon alternatives.

Carbon tax detractors often claim that it is a regressive form of taxation, but I do not believe that. In last year’s budget, over €1 billion raised through the carbon tax was allocated to alleviating fuel poverty and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, thus protecting those who need it most from inflationary shocks. The largest stream of ring-fenced funding went to retrofitting, social protection, and - the Independent Ireland Deputies might be surprised to learn - farmers, through the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES. The evidence has shown for years that carbon tax is a progressive measure and that our most vulnerable households are better off as a result of it.

Of course, the precise treatment of revenues from it should be transparent and must be scrutinised but the underlying principle is straightforward: if the State asks people to change how they heat their homes, how they travel and how they consume energy, the State must invest in making those changes possible. That sentiment is somewhat reflected in the motion, but the proposal seems to lean more towards the State just ceasing to ask people to make those changes.

I would lean the other direction; we must continue to encourage people to transition towards cleaner energy, but crucially we have to support them in doing so and protect those who are not yet capable of doing so. The unfortunate reality for some Deputies in this House is that climate change is real and it is accelerating. We have just emerged from a summer of extreme weather events both at home and abroad. We need immediate, targeted protection for households under pressure but we also need sustained investment that reduces the underlying need for that protection. Scrapping the carbon tax would be catastrophic in both respects.

Let us look again at the figures from last year’s budget. Some €558 million, the largest stream of ring-fenced carbon tax funding, went to retrofitting, including the warmer homes scheme which gives grants to low-income households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. That funding is helping struggling families to keep their homes warm and lowering their bills.

The second largest stream of funding, €350 million, went to social protection payments to help alleviate poverty and protect people from the cost-of-living increases. These payments were chosen on the basis of research by the ESRI which focused specifically on determining how to make the carbon tax progressive and to ensure that the most vulnerable were not worse off as a result.

If we are going to be in the business of making policy here, we have to ensure it is evidence based. Contrary to proclamations that the carbon tax is regressive, the opposite is in fact true. This tax helps us to alleviate poverty. It particularly targets groups known to be at greater risk of energy poverty - low-income families and single adults living alone, exactly the people most in need of support at the moment.

Will the Deputies who are advocating for cuts to the carbon tax go back to their constituencies and gleefully tell pensioners on fuel allowance the good news that they will not be getting any further increases because they have successfully got the carbon tax slashed? Delaying the increase in carbon tax costs the Government millions that would otherwise go to targeted supports for those who need them most - low-income households, single pensioners and farmers.

In budget 2026, there was €163 million more in ring-fenced funding from carbon tax than there was in budget 2025. However, because of the suspension of the carbon tax increase, there will be no such additional funding for just transition measures next year.

It is also worth noting in all of this that some sectors, including heavy industry, haulage and farming, are already eligible for partial or even full reliefs from the tax. Of course, the Government has utterly failed to make clear the value and purpose of the carbon tax, how it works and who it helps. None of this is to say that I or the Labour Party do not have issues with certain aspects of the carbon tax. For example, the first €20 per tonne of the tax is not ring-fenced for just transition measures. I think it should be. However, this motion amounts to simply prolonging our dependence on and subsidisation of fossil fuels, leaving all of us - farmers and hauliers included - exposed to international price shocks like the ones we are experiencing at the moment, as well as defunding the supports available to help people wean themselves off fossil fuels.

We need a two-pronged approach - one that protects the most vulnerable in the immediate term, while also supporting people to reduce their dependence in the longer term. That is what a just transition should be. We in Labour have consistently called for targeted energy credits to help households struggling with bills and, at the same time, we want to see far greater investment in retrofitting schemes so that more households can improve their energy efficiency and bring those bills down in the first place. A temporary reduction in the price of petrol or diesel might bring the price down for a few weeks until Trump decides to, in his words, annihilate another country, but it does not reduce our dependence on oil. A retrofit does reduce that dependence, as do renewable energy, public transport and EVs. That is why Labour has consistently put these measures at the centre of our climate proposals. Not only are they climate measures in their own right, they will also help with the cost of living not just today or for this electoral cycle, but in the long term.

Households that are given the right supports can afford to retrofit their homes today and can reduce their energy consumption and lower their bills tomorrow. Those supports are funded by the carbon tax. This motion presents a false choice between helping people and tackling climate change.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1:

To delete all words from "notes that the Government:" to "will seek to address this as part of Budget 2027" and substitute the following:

"recognises that:

— working people, families, students, households and pensioners are facing renewed and significant increases in the cost of fuel and energy, as well as increases in public transport fares, adding further pressure to an already severe cost-of-living crisis; and

— the Government is directly contributing to this cost-of-living crisis by refusing to introduce price controls on fuel, energy or groceries, abolishing energy credits, enabling data centres to push up energy prices, gutting rent controls, underfunding retrofitting and solar panels for low- and middle-income households and imposing a regressive carbon tax;

calls on the Government to:

— impose strict price controls on fuel, energy and groceries and abolish standing charges for electricity and gas;

— stop the planned increases in public transport fares and introduce free public transport to incentivise public transport use;

— introduce a €500 energy credit in the Budget, to be funded by an energy levy on data centres;

— abolish the carbon tax and replace it with higher taxes on big business and the wealthy, including a new multimillionaire's tax on wealth, that will also fund a massive expansion of retrofitting grants and free, frequent and expanded public transport; and

— freeze and cut rents.".

This morning, I went to a briefing in the audiovisual room by the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association. There, we heard about the financial impact of suffering from lung fibrosis or pulmonary fibrosis. For some people, it is €5,000, which is a third of their State pension. It is no surprise that more than one in two said that as a result of having this disease and the cost of living crisis, there had been a moderate or severe impact on the financial situation of their family. There were also lots of very reasonable demands, which we of course support. To be honest, what struck me was how on earth, in 2026 in one of the richest countries in the world, with a massive budget surplus, we have the spectacle of groups of people who are suffering like that having to come in here to beg for small amounts of money in order to avoid being put in an even worse situation of poverty. That is a result of the political choices this Government has made in respect of particular groups, but also, in general, its choice not to protect people from the cost-of-living crisis.

I welcome some measures proposed in this motion, such as maintaining the excise cuts on petrol and diesel and not further increasing the carbon tax, but the truth is this motion does not go nearly far enough to protect people from this crisis. The crisis is getting worse and all the indications are it is going to continue to worsen. Why? Because of Trump's imperialist war on Iran, which continued with new threats last night. The Deputies in question obviously welcomed Donald Trump to Ireland. It is because of the Government's refusal to tackle the housing crisis or to stop the runaway growth of data centres from driving up energy prices, of which there is more and more evidence every single day. To really protect people, we need price caps not just on petrol and diesel, but also on electricity, gas, groceries and public transport fares. When prices keep rising, excise and VAT reductions are not enough. Even after the reductions, we are already back over €2 per litre of diesel, which is the level that prompted the fuel protests. Yesterday, we heard wholesale electricity prices are up 77%. We need price caps to give people security.

We also need to abolish the carbon tax. The Independent Ireland motion proposes scrapping the extra increases but the continuation of the carbon tax. We need to abolish the carbon tax entirely. People Before Profit has always said it is the big polluters who should pay, not ordinary people. All the evidence shows it is big business and the wealthy who have caused the climate crisis. Some 80% of emissions are coming from just 57 companies. Here in Ireland, it is big agrifood companies and big livestock farmers that are increasingly joined by big tech in terms of their data centres. They are the ones causing and profiting from the climate crisis.

However, we also need to get off our addiction to fossil fuels. We need to get people to switch to cleaner and cheaper renewable energy as quickly as possible and to use public transport or active travel. That cannot happen overnight, which is why we need price caps on fuel and energy. We need to massively increase the grants and pace of retrofitting and public transport roll-out. Every household that needs it should be getting free retrofitting and solar panels provided directly by the State. Instead of public transport fares going up, they should be going down and we should have free, green and frequent public transport.

Deputy Seamus Healy

Carbon tax is just another unfair tax heaped on families already reeling from a cost-of-living crisis and it must be abolished. It unfairly penalises working people rather than the big corporate polluters and drives families and vulnerable people deeper into fuel and energy poverty. The major polluters must be made to pay, including the big oil companies that are making obscene profits. The eight biggest companies have made $93 billion in profit in just three months.

Of course, most ordinary families will never benefit from the carbon tax. Retrofitting of council houses is almost non-existent. A recent report on local authorities shows that only 2,671 were retrofitted in 2025, 37 more than in 2024. Middle-income families already under huge financial pressure cannot raise the funds to cover the grant shortfall. This is called the green divide. Is it not contradictory that although we have a carbon tax, we continue to increase the cost of public transport, thereby forcing people back into their cars? A 15% increase was announced recently and there is more to come, as we were told at a recent Oireachtas meeting by the deputy chief executive of the National Transport Authority.

Petrol and diesel are essential rather than discretionary for hundreds of thousands of people, especially in rural Ireland where access to public transport is either very limited or non-existent. People in my constituency in south Tipperary have very limited public transport and therefore have no practical alternative to using a car. If you live in south Tipperary and work in Clonmel - in Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Tipperary University Hospital, MSD, Medite, Tipperary County Council or any of the other businesses in the town - you must use a car. If you attend university in Clonmel, you must use a car. If you shop in Clonmel, you must use a car. If you attend college out of the county, in Waterford or Limerick, for example, you must use a car. Of course, farmers, agricultural contractors, haulage companies, small businesses and the self-employed have no alternative but to use petrol or diesel. The supports that are already in place must be retained and increased.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I welcome the fact that the Deputies have given us an opportunity to discuss the cost of living crisis and the energy price hikes, but I will repeat what I said last night: shame on Deputies, some of whom have put forward this motion, for expressing support for Donald Trump and his rotten agenda, which is directly responsible for the energy and fuel price hikes inflicting misery on hundreds of thousands of people, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in arrears and unable to pay their gas and electricity bills or crippled with the high price of home heating oil, fuel or diesel. Trump did that and the people who express support for him should be embarrassed by their support for that agenda and the misery it inflicts on people.

Of course, it is better than nothing to do as their motion does, which is to suggest we should defer further increases. However, what is actually necessary is imposing price controls on gas, electricity, petrol, diesel, home heating oil and all the things that have spiked as a result of Trump's war for oil.

It has also, more importantly, imposed death and destruction on the people of Palestine, the Middle East, Venezuela and so on. It is a war for oil which has now driven up the price of energy and fuel for people across the world, including in this country. We need to control the prices that he has driven up by imposing price controls to make things affordable and making those who are profiteering from the cost-of-living misery pay for it, which is also completely absent from the Deputies' motion and the Government's thinking or amendment.

We can protect people from the cost-of-living misery if we look at the massive profits of those who provide home heating oil, the cost of which went up again last year. The electricity and energy providers, oil companies, data centres and their billionaire owners have seen their profits go through the roof. Tax these people and make them pay their fair share of tax. Of course, we do not want to talk about that. We do not want to talk about the gross wealth and income inequality and the fact that there is a minority of people who are profiteering from the cost of living and housing misery that is being inflicted on others.

I hope and expect, although I say that half sarcastically, that the Deputies will be enthusiastic in supporting the public sector workers who are balloting for industrial action and demanding decent pay increases because of the rising cost of living and inflation caused by Trump's warmongering and the misguided priorities of this Government, which is always looking after the rich, the billionaires and the corporations that are doing so well while ordinary workers suffer. We intend to go much further in our amendment, by imposing price controls, introducing free and frequent public transport, and taxing the data centres in order to pay for real relief, to give people an energy credit, give people with disabilities support and to support workers balloting for decent pay.

Deputy Michael Cahill

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion on fuel, energy and carbon tax relief. This issue matters enormously to people in my constituency of Kerry and across rural Ireland. When we talk about energy prices in this House, we have to remember that behind every statistic is a family, an individual trying to heat his or her home, a person trying to get to work or a small business trying to keep its doors open. In Kerry, many households are particularly exposed to the cost of home heating oil. For those families, filling an oil tank can mean a significant one-off expense. It is very different from receiving a monthly electricity bill and for many people it can create a serious cashflow challenge.

Energy arrears remain at historically high levels. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, reported earlier this year that 316,000 domestic electricity customers and 179,000 domestic gas customers were in arrears, with average debts of €492 and €207 respectively. There is absolutely no question that affordability remains a serious issue but we also need to be honest about what Government can and cannot control. Energy prices are heavily influenced by international wholesale markets and geopolitical developments. The State cannot determine the international price of oil or gas and Mr. Trump has made hundreds of thousands of lives here at home and throughout the globe an absolute misery, of that there is no doubt.

What can Government do to protect households from these pressures? There has already been a very significant response. We have strengthened supports for people on lower incomes, including through the fuel allowance, and we have invested substantially in energy efficiency and retrofitting. Those measures are important because we should not simply be dealing with high energy bills year after year. We also need to reduce the amount of energy that households need to purchase in the first place. There are also measures taking effect in the electricity market. From October, the public service obligation levy is being reduced by 66%, while the CRU has reviewed network charges to limit the impact on customers. That is the type of practical intervention that can make a real difference to household bills.

On the motion before us, budget 2027 is just two weeks away. That is the appropriate point at which to consider the full package of measures, including taxation, energy costs, income supports and the cost-of-living crisis. We should look at the evidence and ensure that whatever measures are introduced are targeted towards the people who are experiencing the greatest pressure, including people in Kerry who are dependent on home heating oil. I will certainly be looking at what the forthcoming budget does to address these pressures. We should continue to invest in retrofitting and energy efficiency because making a home warmer and more efficient provides a longer-term benefit to the family than simply responding to a price spike. The CRU has also highlighted that suppliers have obligations to work with customers experiencing payment difficulties, including affordable repayment arrangements and protections against disconnection where customers are engaging with their supplier.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

I thank the Deputies for bringing this forward. I really love talking about energy and savings. Last year, the Minister of State confirmed an underspend of €120 million. I understand that since then the SEAI has been spending it. The Minister of State will have no doubt heard me talk about plug-in solar. I want to imagine how that €120 million could be used immediately for the Irish public. Let us take a ballpark figure - back-of-the-envelope stuff - of €120 million. If we could bulk buy plug-in solar systems, which are on average €500 per unit on the German market, through a Government scheme and could get a reduced price of, say, €400 per unit, which could immediately be plugged in, that €120 million would mean 300,000 plug-in solar systems. That is 300,000 households, including apartments and properties on which solar systems cannot be on the roof, which would immediately start seeing savings.

Plug-in solar systems do not work like the ones on the roof. Electricity goes towards the path of least resistance, so it is for a fridge, washing machine or any appliance that is drawing electricity where one will see the savings. It is not like another system. At current electricity prices per kilowatt hour, and based on the UK savings of €230 per year - it legalised plug-in solar systems on 27 August - in the first year, from that €120 million, Irish households would see up to €70 million in savings. These plug-in solar systems last ten years. The payback and the return on investment is huge. I urge the Government to examine this. I know the Independents have been pushing it and supporting me on it.

We need to examine every assessment, the BER requirements, and the simpler retrofit system. I understand we cannot print money out of nowhere and I understand the carbon tax provides for these systems of retrofitting but I would love the money to be spent more efficiently. We should ensure people get the benefits, and not through a BER system or through someone who knows they have a grant, so they will increase the price of a system because they know they have a Government grant. We saw it with the cycle to work scheme. Some bikes suddenly had a higher price because the seller knew people were getting a grant. We see it with the solar schemes and with the retrofit scheme with the council where people put the price up because there is a council grant. That price gouging and gazumping needs to be examined. SEAI approval for solar system grants needs to be examined so the benefit goes to the people, not the people installing the systems.

We need to use infrastructure much more effectively, which is why I introduced to this House the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026. I look forward to people on all sides of the House supporting that. I have introduced it and I look forward to debating it in this House. With the private wire system, if we have a large-scale energy user, it should be easier for them to create on-site renewable energy and reduce costs.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I thank Deputy Michael Collins and Independent Ireland for giving us this opportunity to talk about these important issues. The carbon tax has to be got rid of.

Fuel is dear enough. The purpose it was brought in for in the first place does not exist now.

I want to talk about people in Kerry who use heating oil or kerosene. The cost of it has cone up from 90 cent to €1.68 this week. People just cannot afford that. They will only be able to purchase far less than what they need to keep themselves warm for the winter. It is the same with green diesel. Some people were not included in the packages given out in May. The agricultural contractors and farmers were given packages at that time to help them to reduce the cost of the green diesel. Many of them could not draw it down because they had infringements for spreading slurry outside of the time. Maybe some of them were not up to date with Revenue. They were not eligible. That is why the Government has some money left over. I am asking the Minister of State to check with the people who were refused and give it to them forthwith.

Another sector was left out completely. The Taoiseach was sitting where the Minister of State is now and said construction vehicles would be included. He said that sometime around 5 May. That has not happened. The construction sector has not been included at all. I raised with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, last week, and he said that he was beginning to work on it now. I asked who the Minister in charge was. He did not know. He was not the Minister in charge. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, is not the Minister in charge of it. Is any Minister responsible to help the people with construction vehicles, whether it is diggers, rollers, cranes, or teleporters? They are all the different vehicles that use green diesel to keep them rolling in the construction and civil sector. They do maintenance along our roads, repair our water breaks and all those things. Quarries were meant to have been included. Those people did not get a bob. The Tánaiste said that they were going to be covered. He said it to the media around that time. If a person does not have their word, they have nothing at all. The Taoiseach said in this Chamber that construction vehicles would be covered. They are not. It has gone from 90 cent up to €1.68 since. How long will it be before these vehicles grind to a halt? A lot of these contractors have entered into fixed contracts.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Conor Sheehan)

The Deputy is over time.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

They are losing money, hand over fist.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Conor Sheehan)

Deputy, you are way over time.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I am asking the Government to come out and do something about it.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

As the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, said earlier, I reiterate that the Government is moving a countermotion in respect of the Deputies' Private Members' motion. I fully appreciate the Deputies' concerns raised here this morning. As a Government, we do not control the wholesale price of oil but we have acted in a significant way to assist households and businesses with the real impacts of this energy crisis.

As I have stated already, the Deputy's Private Members' motion does not fully reflect the considerable supports, which have been implemented by this Government. These are supports have been designed to share the burden of the conflict in the Middle East with households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, tradespeople and businesses. The motion also fails to take into account obligations set out in EU legislation in relation to fuel taxation, to which the Government must adhere, including Ireland's obligation in respect of the emissions trading system for buildings, road transport and additional sectors. The motion does not reflect that the reality of global commodity markets or recognise that the drivers of energy inflation are global in nature. Consequently, it is not possible for the State to fully absorb all of these costs. Government policy must be considered and measured.

To date, this Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the EU per capita. In doing so, we have deferred the 1 May carbon tax increase on home heating fuels; reduced excise duty on diesel, petrol and green diesel; enhanced the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and passenger transport operators, mitigating price increases in these sectors and the associated knock-on effects they have on food and passenger transport prices. We have funded payments to road transport operates under the road transport support scheme. We have funded payments to farmers, farm contractors and the fishing sector under the fuel income support scheme. We have reduced the NORA levy. We also extended the winter heating season by four weeks, increasing the total yearly payment to €1,216.

The Government recognises the exceptional pressure that rising fuel costs have placed on our farmers and farm contractors, and worked intensively with the representative stakeholder groups, with a view to providing adequate and targeted supports. The Government reduced the tax on MGO by 5.4 cent a litre, and the NORA levy by another 2 cent per litre. On top on that, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine implemented a comprehensive €100 million fuel income support scheme to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and the fishing sector facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs, which gave a support rate equivalent to approximately 20 cent per litre of green diesel. This Government has been doing its best for farmers and the agricultural sector. I have no doubt that it will continue to do so.

As regards rural Ireland, I know better than most the impact that the fuel crisis is having on households in my constituency and others. I appreciate that people living in rural Ireland are twice as likely to use home heating oil as their main heating fuel. In fact, according to the latest CSO figures, around 26% of households in Ireland use it as their main heating fuel, which is around 500,000 households. This Government understands that these are disproportionately older, rural, and, in a lot of cases, lower income households. Many of these households would be eligible for the aforementioned fuel allowance. The Government is also very conscious of those who use home heating oil but do not qualify for that payment. That is why the upcoming budget will also deliver for middle-income families. The facts are that this Government has acted time and again to provide for households at risk of fuel poverty, and to ease the burden on all households impacted by the crisis.

The upcoming budget will build on the work of budget 2026 to protect households from rising energy costs. Budget 2026 provided an extension until 2030 of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity bills. It provided for enhanced social protection payments, including an increase to the fuel allowance rate. As mentioned, there was an expansion in the fuel allowance eligibility rules, benefiting approximately 50,000 households. It provided the €400 income tax disregard for households involved in microgeneration, which was extended for a further three years to the end of 2028. While no Government can fully shield households from all the impacts of this crisis, this Government has acted to mitigate the impacts of the crisis time and again. We have acted to support households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, tradespeople and businesses. This Government will continue to take action in budget 2027. For the reasons stated earlier, I reiterate the Government's countermotion.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

I will cover some of the comments those on my right made. They talked about Donald Trump coming to the country and said that some people went to meet him. I have no problem meeting Donald Trump. As a public representative, I would meet him because of 300,000 jobs in this country. If you multiple that by two or three, up to 1 million people are employed in this country as a result of American investment. That is why I would meet him. Do I agree with what is happening in the Middle East? I 100% do not. I am sitting here with some people to my right, or far right, and I do not agree with them but I acknowledge them the same as I would Trump. I will sit here and talk to the Deputies. It does not mean I like them or their policies but I will sit down in this Chamber and talk to them.

Deputy Paul Murphy

Deputy O'Flynn explicitly supported the kidnapping in Venezuela.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

The Deputy has had his time.

The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's party had a good old swing at us as well, so I will comment on it and its support of carbon tax. His colleague spoke a while ago. When the Labour Party was in government, it introduced water charges and property tax. It then cut child benefit, rent allowance and fuel grants and supported the USC. These are the same people who are trying to lecture me here today.

We will go back to the motion at hand. The Minister of State and the Department might just listen to this. I might be able to educate them today. The Government does not import fuel into this country. It has nothing to do with importing fuel into this country. Let us tell the public today that these are the facts. What the Government is responsible for is putting the taxation on the fuel when it lands here. I will tell everyone here today, including the people in the Gallery, who are all welcome, to please listen.

Fuel is brought into this country by the likes of Fuels for Ireland. It arrives and then all the taxes that the Government puts on it are collected at the port. It is then sent to distributors, who add the VAT for the local filling station. The local filling station then puts on three or four cent of its own. This Government has nothing to do with bringing fuel into this country. All it does is put tax on it.

I will simplify matters. If a litre of fuel comes into this country at €1, the Government puts tax of €1 on it. People in this country work and pay tax at 20% and 40%. I want everyone in this country to know that when they or their parents collect their children, when they go to hospital appointments, when they go to hurling matches and when they go to work to, for example, feed the vulnerable in this country, for every €1 of fuel they put into their cars at the pump the Government takes a €1 in tax. So, it is taking €5 in tax in every €10. People have voted Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and others into power. Those people have allowed them to do this every time. I would say to the people of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, for their children’s sake or their grandchildren’s sake, that we need to get rid of these people in government.

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan

The Deputy has a microphone.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

All they are good at is taxation. They talked about electric vehicles and that we need to change to them. They never mention that electric vehicles are twice as heavy on tyres as normal cars and twice as heavy on road surfaces. If you replace a battery in an electric vehicle, it will cost you €20,000 to do so when it has been driven for 200,000 km. They never mentioned about the cobalt that goes into these batteries. They mentioned that this year one in four cars sold were EVs, so that is 25% this year. They forgot to mention that EVs count for 4% of vehicles in this country and that 96% of people drive fossil fuel vehicles. It is those people work in this country and who look after other people every day that the Government is taxing, despite the fact that they pay tax at work. That is what the Government represents.

As a businessman, I would tell the Government to cap the tax on fuel. Take the tax up to a certain amount and the Government would have the same amount of tax - it would not be down 1 cent - but when the price of fuel increases, we will pay the increased tax without the 50% tax or a 100% tax on top of that. This is what we are asking. That is a business approach. Those in government would know nothing about that because they are not in business. Civil servants all the way up; never had to worry about putting food on the table for other employees. That is what is wrong with those in government. They came through the Civil Service and they knows nothing other than taking money off the hard-working people of Ireland.

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan

The Deputy is taking a swipe at the civil servants.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Conor Sheehan)

I call Deputy Fitzmaurice.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

On behalf of Independent Ireland, whether you agree or disagree with the motion, I want to say thanks to each speaker for making the effort. We respect democracy and we respect different views. People are entitled to their views.

There are a few things that need clarification. We have always put forward an option if people wanted to find the money. Some 340,000 or 350,000 flights come into Ireland, and people have a choice to fly or go on holiday. However, they do not have a choice about driving between 20 and 80 miles to work. The carbon tax is affecting that. We want solutions, but the problem is that the Government’s masters in Europe will not allow it to do implement solutions at the moment. You can fly wherever you want on a holiday and not pay carbon tax. When you have to go to work, however, you pay carbon tax. Something just does not add up.

Retrofitting has been good. No one is against retrofitting - we are all for it – but a few things need to be made very clear. With the warmer homes scheme, if an engineer comes out and sees that someone has PVC windows and insulation on the walls, they will say “Bye, bye. No more. That is it”. That is the box ticked. Let no one cod themselves about what has been done. Second, if someone has a dormer house, the engineer will run away. They will not do insulation on dormer houses. Those things need to be made very clear.

We in the Dáil need to get a grip of ourselves. If we have more electric vehicles and there is more help for people, we are not opposed to that. Let us look at the statistics and the facts, however. Most cars bought in Ireland this year and last year are in the €10,000 to €15,000 bracket. You cannot buy a new electric car for that amount. That is what people can afford. We have to deal with the cards we have been dealt. No one has anything against giving more grants for EVs or whatever if the Government wants to do that, but this is the reality.

In addition, we just think we can run out of this room, flick a switch and go into a new world of wind, solar and whatever. Solar is very good in houses - there is no problem with it – but have a look at the TAMS grants. The system is now done on a points basis and farmers who wanted to get these grants are being refused them. That is the madness, and I smile about it at times.

On wind, more turbines have been put up around the country. However, there is a reality here. Look at the amount of wind in July. It is nearly as if people would deprive us of a bit of sun or the good summer we had this year. When we got a bit of fine weather and the turbines did not move, we were down to 22% for the month of July. That is the reality. What do we do when that happens? Do we say that we are going to live in this fancy, lovely world and knock off the lights for 80% of the people and leave them high and dry?

We need to focus on what we have. There are fossil fuels. Those fuels are going to be needed. If we move to other ways of doing things, that is fine. Provided it all adds up. If it does not add up, you do not make the decision. The one part that does not add up is for someone to tell people like those of us in the agricultural sector that carbon tax is a great thing and that it goes back to agriculture. In the past under REPS, when there was no carbon tax, farmers got nearly €1,000 more under their environmental payments. Those are the facts. They cannot be proved wrong. Show me why someone who does not have an alternative to using a harvester of 900 or 1,000 horsepower and who has to cut silage in one window of a particular month has to pay carbon tax when an alternative machine, whether electric or whatever, that can be used to do that work has not yet been made.

If we want to live in the perfect world, there is a thing called hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO. The latter would reduce someone’s emissions by something like 90%. Why are all the taxes on that if you want to tick the box? HVO, with modifications to a boiler, could be used in place of home heating oil and in diesel cars and tractors if it was made attractive to use. We put constructive proposals forward for the simple reason that we have to live realistically. We have to listen to the people. At the moment, people are hurting and when you are hurting you try and solve it and try and help them. That is our job collectively. It is not a case of “Me better than you” or anyone better than anyone else. We will disagree and have different viewpoints. Ultimately, however, people in each constituency voted for us to make their lives better. That is why I am asking the Minister of State to take that-----

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan

Deputy Fitzmaurice is proof that you can make valid points without bursting our ear drums, screaming across the room and putting our hearing at risk?

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I thank the Minister of State.

Amendment to amendment put.

An Ceann Comhairle

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time this evening. The Minister of State’s point is taken. To be fair, there are microphones. For staff and all Members in the Chamber, it should be considered that the microphones are on and everyone can hear you.

Deputy Ken O'Flynn

Some of us have deeper voices than others.

An Ceann Comhairle

I understand, but the staff have to be considered.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026

Fuel, Energy and Carbon Tax Relief: Motion [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026