Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 April 2026
300. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the Government intends to introduce a national temporary farm fuels support scheme to provide monthly payments to farmers and agricultural contractors in respect of increased fuel costs compared to 2025 levels, and if such a scheme will be backdated to 1 March 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27537/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra302. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being considered to address the indirect impact of rising fuel and fertiliser costs on farm operations, including contractor services and transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27539/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 300 and 302 together.
The Government recognises the exceptional pressure that rising fuel costs are placing on our farmers, contractors, fishers and food & drink processing sectors.
On 24 March the Government introduced €250 million of targeted measures to provide for temporary reductions in the rates of Mineral Oil Tax applying to petrol, auto diesel and Marked Gas Oil (green/agricultural diesel). To further ease the financial impact, the Government reduced the NORA levy from 2 cents per litre to a nominal amount for a period of two months.
Following these measures, I continued to engage with agriculture stakeholders. In early April, the Tánaiste and I met with farm and farm contractor representatives. I held a further meeting with a wide range of agri-food stakeholders on 10 April, followed by a series of bilateral meetings over the weekend.
On 12 April, Government announced a new package of measures on fuel costs to support the transport, farming and fisheries sectors, reducing excise on a VAT inclusive basis as follows:
• Diesel, by a further 10 cents bringing the total reduction on diesel to 32 cents.
• Petrol by a further 10 cents bringing the total reduction on petrol to 27 cents.
• Marked Gas Oil by a further 2.4 cents bringing the total reduction to 7.4 cents.
These overall reductions include the NORA levy reduction.
Marked Gas Oil is subject to a reduced rate of excise duty compared to petrol and auto diesel, and the combined reductions mean the non-carbon excise duty on green diesel is now zero.
Government is also deferring the planned increase in carbon tax, scheduled for 1 May, until the Budget. This will impact green diesel and non-propellant fuels such as kerosene heating oil, natural gas and solid fuels.
The reductions in the excise on fuel for consumers take effect from 14 April and run until 31 July. The NORA levy reduction will also run until 31 July.
In addition, I announced a comprehensive €100 million Fuel Subsidy Support Scheme to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers. It will cover the months of March up to the end of July, which coincides with peak fuel usage on farms. The Scheme will provide €20 million per month in supports, with funding directly linked to fuel usage last year to ensure those most impacted by the fuel price increase receive the greatest assistance.
Farmers and agricultural contractors will benefit from a support rate equivalent to approximately 20 cents per litre of marked gas oil based on verified fuel consumption in 2025. Approximately 120,000 farmers and 1,500 full-time agricultural contractors will be eligible to apply for support. Up to €5 million per month of the fund will be used to support fishers and other sectors affected such as forestry and specialist horticulture.
This targeted and practical support package ensures that those most exposed to these increases will receive meaningful assistance at the most critical time of year. We have worked intensively with representative stakeholder groups in recent times, and I believe that this represents a fair and effective scheme based on actual fuel usage, taking account of the vital work played by farm contractors in our farming systems. This approach ensures that funding is directed where it is needed most, helping to sustain essential food production and rural economic activity.
