National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I speak on this with a profound sense of disappointment about what is proposed, which I do not think will amount to very much in terms of giving people the support that is needed. The Government had an opportunity in the budget to tackle issues in relation to the cost of living. It declined that opportunity, and that now has heaped pressure on households. The issue of the provision of oil and fuel as a consequence of America and Israel's attack on Iran has added more pressure in that regard. There was an opportunity for the Government to remove entirely the excise duty on home heating oil. That is what we had proposed but the Government voted against it. Incredibly, the Government also still plans to proceed with a hike on carbon tax on home heating oil in May. For the 750,000 households across this State reliant on heating oil, this measure amounts to roughly €20 off a full tank. That is not meaningful relief when people are facing bills of €800 or €900 just to heat their homes.
There is also an imbalance at the heart of this whole approach. The Government's focus is overwhelmingly on petrol and diesel, on the forecourt, but the households trying to decide whether to fill a tank or cut back elsewhere, those relying on home heating oil, are once again an afterthought.
This proposal is a short-term time-limited tweak to the levy. It does not reflect the scale of the crisis people are facing. It does not match the sustained increases in energy costs and it does not provide the certainty families need as they head into another period of volatility in energy prices. Let us be clear. That is a policy choice of the Government, that is, a minimal intervention when a more ambitious, targeted approach was needed. There was an opportunity here to properly support households depending on heating oil, particularly in rural Ireland, and that opportunity has been missed. People are not looking for gestures. They are looking for measures that actually make a difference in their daily lives and the Bill unfortunately falls far short of that. We do need to go further. We need to be fair and to recognise that for many households, heating their home is not optional; it is essential. The Government's measures will not reduce the bills for ordinary people in any realistic way. Reluctantly, we are left in a position where we have no choice but to support this because some relief, albeit limited, has to get out to people. There is a profound sense of disappointment that much more could be done in this space and that choice has been ignored by the Government.

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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