An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

The surge in fuel prices is catastrophic and threatens to undermine rural communities and food production. The reality is that, if it costs more to produce food, it will cost more to put it on the table. Right now, the rising costs of agri-diesel, home heating oil and energy are squeezing farmers, fishers and rural communities from every direction. The price of agri-diesel has gone up by about 50 cent per litre in the past month. With the new measures, farmers are getting only 3 cent off the cost of a litre of diesel. Everything on a farm is run on agri-diesel and farmers are watching their margins disappear every time they have to fill the tank. Also, agri-contractors will have to charge more.
There has been no movement on cutting carbon tax and it is clear to everyone that the Government is giving with one hand while taking back with the other. Carbon tax serves no purpose here because there are no non-carbon fuel alternatives for agricultural vehicles. I would love to hear the Government state what alternative is available to farmers. The Government can frame its initiative as a good news story but farmers are still paying 17 cent per litre in carbon tax. Fishers at harbours are weighing up whether they can afford to go out to fish. That there are no targeted measures for fishers or farmers is a shocking indictment of this Government’s priorities.
Kerosene, another product used for home heating, mostly in rural Ireland, is subject to the tax cut of 3 cent per litre but that 3 cent is inclusive of VAT. It is actually not 3 cent because VAT, which is also a tax, is included in it.
I welcome the measure for hauliers and coach drivers, amounting to 22 cent per litre. However, let me put that in context. A filling station out the road from Bailieborough was selling diesel for diesel engine road vehicles, DERVs, at €2.09 per litre on Sunday evening, but by Monday morning it had increased to €2.29.
That was an increase of 20 cent in one day. That is the context of what people are dealing with. While the measures are welcome, they still do not go far enough.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25