Energy Prices
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Cathy Bennett (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

The limited resources the Government did introduce via the National Oil Reserves Agency will see the cost of home heating oil reduced by only two cents per litre. Is that a joke? This was wholly inadequate in terms of households reliant on home heating oil in and of itself, but it will also be negatively affected by the Government’s planned increase in carbon tax on 1 May. Why in the name of God does the Minister of State think it is a good idea to increase the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil in the midst of an energy crisis? Government Ministers are fond of saying it is funding needed for farmers, but I suggest the Minister of State go back to the Comptroller and Auditor General who makes it patently clear it is not farmers who are getting paid from that fund.
The carbon tax was meant to be a behavioural tax to encourage people to change behaviours, but people do not have the choice of public transport or any alternatives to using their car to drop their kids to school, go to work and about their daily life like many others. Many people in my constituency of Cavan and Monaghan do not have choices and cannot change behaviour. All this tax can do is screw over people who are already struggling. My final question to the Minister of State - I appeal to him to answer this - is will he postpone further planned increases in carbon taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil while the energy crisis persists? He said that tax is to happen on 1 May. I hope the Government is not going to do it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26