Danny Healy-Rae urges action on soaring fuel and heating costs
Danny Healy-Rae pressed the Taoiseach on the rising cost of diesel, petrol and home heating oil, urging government intervention. He warned that people cannot sustain current pump and kerosene prices and highlighted a sharp north-south price difference for home heating oil.
Danny Healy-Rae asked whether the government could do anything about "the excessive cost of diesel and fuel and petrol at the pumps and the price of kerosene for people in their homes," stressing that constituents are struggling with higher bills.
He cited specific price and tax figures for fuels, saying pump prices had risen over €1.80 per litre for diesel and similar levels for petrol, and noting tax components of €1.15 and €1.05 along with carbon tax figures of 16.35 cents for petrol and 18.74 cents for diesel. He also told the chamber that home heating oil costs differed sharply by region, giving an example of 1,000 litres costing €1,000 in the south versus €700 in the north.
The Taoiseach replied that the budget had reduced VAT to 9% on electricity for five years and that the government had expanded supports, including free fuel and loans and wider eligibility such as those on working family payments. He also said the retrofitting budget has been significantly expanded and acknowledged that prices have come down since the escalation connected to the war in Ukraine, while conceding that current prices remain high.
The exchange focused on immediate cost pressures for motorists and households relying on kerosene and home heating oil, and on the government's mix of tax measures, direct supports and energy-efficiency investment as the policy response. Danny Healy-Rae framed the issue as one of sustainability for families facing higher transport and heating costs.
Immediate request to the Taoiseach
Danny Healy-Rae asked whether the government could do anything about "the excessive cost of diesel and fuel and petrol at the pumps and the price of kerosene for people in their homes," stressing that constituents are struggling with higher bills.
Price breakdown and regional comparison
He cited specific price and tax figures for fuels, saying pump prices had risen over €1.80 per litre for diesel and similar levels for petrol, and noting tax components of €1.15 and €1.05 along with carbon tax figures of 16.35 cents for petrol and 18.74 cents for diesel. He also told the chamber that home heating oil costs differed sharply by region, giving an example of 1,000 litres costing €1,000 in the south versus €700 in the north.
Government response in the record
The Taoiseach replied that the budget had reduced VAT to 9% on electricity for five years and that the government had expanded supports, including free fuel and loans and wider eligibility such as those on working family payments. He also said the retrofitting budget has been significantly expanded and acknowledged that prices have come down since the escalation connected to the war in Ukraine, while conceding that current prices remain high.
Consequences for households and policy focus
The exchange focused on immediate cost pressures for motorists and households relying on kerosene and home heating oil, and on the government's mix of tax measures, direct supports and energy-efficiency investment as the policy response. Danny Healy-Rae framed the issue as one of sustainability for families facing higher transport and heating costs.
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Transcript
Thank you, Colonel Taoiseach. I respectfully ask you, can you do anything at the government about the excessive cost of diesel and fuel and petrol at the pumps and the price of kerosene for people in their homes? We see now that the price per litre has gone over 180 per litre of diesel and much along the same for the petrol. The diesel has actually gone higher than the petrol in many pumps. And the make-up of the tax in the price of the diesel is €1.15 and it is €1.05 in the diesel. 16.35 cents is carbon tax and that's for the petrol and 18.74 for the diesel. I also learned, and people have got to know this week, that home heat oil, a thousand litres of it here in the south of Ireland is a thousand litres, a thousand euros. In the north of Ireland is just 700 litres, 700 euros. I'm asking, can you do something about it? The people can't sustain it. People in the road, to drive you up inflation, to drive you up everything. Thank you, Deputy Healy Ray, Taoiseach, to respond. Thank you, Deputy, for raising that issue. We have in the budget, as you know, reduced the VAT. Please, Deputy. We have reduced VAT for the next five years to 9% on electricity and so on, which, if we didn't do that, and we provided a lot of resources to do that, would have resulted in far significantly higher bills. We have also substantially improved the situation. We have increased the free fuel and loans, but also have expanded those who will be able to get the free fuel and loans. Working family, those on working family payments, for example, will be able to get it as well. And retrofitting, we've significantly expanded that budget to enable people to have houses in the end that will bring bills down substantially. But I do accept that the prices are gone high. They've come down since the war on Ukraine, you know, the escalated increases and so on like that. Thank you. Thank you.