Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty has said the Government’s move to delay the phasing out of cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel was the result of public pressure.
The cuts were introduced in April following nationwide fuel protests after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East sent fuel prices soaring.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mr Doherty said his party will oppose fuel duty increases which will begin in November as supports are phased out.
“There is no way that Sinn Féin will stand by and allow that to happen when these fuels prices are increased,” he said, noting that – once the temporary cuts have been removed – the price of diesel will increase by 34 cent a litre and petrol by 29 cent.
Mr Doherty said Sinn Féin would bring forward an amendment in the Dáil tomorrow calling for no further tax increases on petrol and diesel while fuel prices remain high.
He said the State was receiving more revenue because fuel prices were higher and argued that the cost of maintaining lower fuel taxes was therefore less than the Government had suggested.
“The reality is the money is there to do this,” he said.
“We cannot control the cost of international fuel. But the one thing we can control is how much tax we apply.”
Sinn Féin believes that diesel prices should remain at around €1.90 a litre, he said, adding that could not support an excise duty increase that would push diesel above €2.
Cabinet agrees revised schedule for removal of supports
Mr Doherty was speaking following Cabinet agreement that cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel would be phased out over a period from November to the end of February.
Last week, the Government announced that it was pausing the increases in excise planned for September and October amid rising fuel prices.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris got Cabinet approval for this measure this morning.
The Government has said that reduction in the NORA levy will be extended to the end of October under proposals from Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien.
The diesel rebate scheme for transport operators will now be in place until the end of the year.
Had the September increases proceeded it would have seen the price of petrol rise by 9 cent per litre and diesel would have increased by 10 cent to bring it to over €2 per litre.
It was prices like these which triggered major protests across the country last April.
The way is now cleared to put a financial resolution to the Dáil, which has been recalled early from its summer break and will sit for more than an hour tomorrow.
The House will hear that Government now intends to phase out the excise cuts over four stages from the beginning of November to the end of February.
The Tánaiste contends that this will strike a balance between supporting consumers and managing the public finances responsibly.
Both the Social Democrats and Labour are expected to back the Sinn Féin proposal to delay excise increases and both parties are also calling on Government to introduce long-term measures to drive down energy costs.
For their part, the Social Democrats have accused the Government of falling into a “doom spiral” and of “lurching” from crisis to crisis in its attempt to drive down energy costs.
The party’s deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan accused the Government of failing to set out a plan to address the energy crisis, claiming it is instead reacting to the “whims” of US President Donald Trump.
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Changing dates not enough – McPartlan
Fuels for Ireland CEO Kevin McPartlan has welcomed the extension of the cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel, but said the Government has not changed its approach.
Also speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mr McPartlan said he was not arguing for lower taxes on fuels but smarter taxes on fuels.
“Let’s not be too churlish. It is good that the Government has made this decision. What bothers me a little bit is all they have done is change the date. They haven’t changed the way in which they’re going to look at this,” he said.
Mr McPartlan also queried the Government’s policy of keeping fuel prices under review.
“What’s the criteria for this review? Is it the wholesale price for petrol and diesel at the time? Is it retail price? Is it how likely protesters look like they’ll blockade?” he said.
Mr McPartlan added that more focus should be applied to home heating oil.
“There’s quite a lot of variance with home heating oil and there hasn’t been any gesture made on that by Government really except for the NORA levy,” he said.
“That’s going to be 50% more expensive if somebody tries to fill up their home heating oil tank this autumn than it was at the start of this crisis back in February,” he said.
