National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-26 ============================================================ Alan Dillon (FG), Mayo I thank the Acting Chair. I welcome all the Seanadóirí. I am pleased to introduce the National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) Bill 2026 to the Seanad. The Bill gives the necessary legal basis for a reduction in the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy from 2 cent per litre to a nominal amount for a two-month period. The reduction will come into effect from 1 April 2026, until 1 June 2026. The Bill also provides scope for the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to amend this time period at a later date, if required. The NORA levy is a charge of 2 cent per litre applied to most petroleum products sold in the market for the purpose of funding the operations of the National Oil Reserves Agency and the Climate Action Fund. The reduction in the NORA levy for a two-month period is estimated to result in a reduction of levy income accruing to NORA of approximately €20 million. There is no Exchequer cost from the proposal. NORA has substantial financial reserves and as such the proposed reduction of the NORA levy will have no material impact on NORA’s ability to fund its activities in this time of global uncertainty. NORA has operational responsibility for the day-to-day management of Ireland’s strategic oil reserve. NORA currently holds 90 days of oil stocks. Stock may be released from Ireland’s stockholding in the event of a shortage of refined product on the domestic market or, as recently happened, to participate in an International Energy Agency collective action to alleviate a global oil shortage. Ireland faces particular challenges in relation to energy costs as a result of long-standing factors, including our isolated island location, low levels of interconnection, a widely dispersed population and an historical reliance on fossil fuels. The NORA levy reduction is one of a suite of temporary and targeted measures to reduce fuel prices for households and businesses, while additional supports for key sectors of the Irish economy are being introduced and may be adjusted as the situation evolves. The Government has reduced the rate of mineral oil tax for petrol, diesel and marked gas oil by 15 cent, 20 cent and 3 cent, respectively. Supports for haulage and bus passenger operators have also been introduced and the fuel allowance has been extended by four weeks, protecting the most vulnerable in society. This extension of the fuel allowance season means that eligible households will receive additional financial support to the tune of €152. The Government has established the national energy affordability task force to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses while delivering key renewable commitments and protecting security of supply and economic stability. This is a critical element of the Government’s work to improve competitiveness, complementing the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity. The work of the task force will include a full review of cost drivers within the energy sector, and consideration of how the EU action plan for affordable energy and associated guidance can be implemented in an Irish context. The interim report of the national energy affordability task force, published last November, set out measures for consideration in the budget 2026 process. The task force has now turned to the preparation of an energy affordability action plan to be completed in quarter 3 of this year. This will include examining how targeted schemes can best assist households in energy poverty and consider supports for households struggling to meet their energy costs. The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, chaired a meeting of the task force on 19 March, with a focus on the Middle East and impact to energy markets. A subsequent meeting is scheduled for this afternoon. Government is making crucial investments in renewable energy, in our electricity grid and, importantly, in energy efficiency. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East underlines once again why we must accelerate the deployment of renewables across all sectors, continue to invest in our grid, and continue to invest in retrofitting of homes and businesses across the country. The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment secured a record allocation for fully funded and granted-assisted retrofits of €640 million in budget 2026, allowing us to target 73,000 home energy upgrades this year. Energy affordability is a priority for the Government and the reduction in the NORA levy will assist consumers in this regard. I commend the Bill to the House. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-26/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-26