Fuel Supports to the Agricultural Sector: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Gareth Scahill (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I find it hard to believe that four weeks on from the initial measures people are still wondering why such a small amount was taken off the green diesel. Some 15 cent was taken off petrol and 20 cent was taken off diesel, but it was from the excise duty and there is only 11 cent of excise duty on green diesel. That is the reason why there was such a small amount. However, that has been addressed, and we always knew it was going to be addressed and monitored as the situation developed. I also refer to Senator Noonan, who spoke about protecting our butchers and abattoirs. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. In some situations, I believe we are regulating these abattoirs out of existence, and it is something we should be wholeheartedly embracing and trying to retain.
As my colleague has already pointed out, €750 million was either the largest or second largest measure enacted across Europe. We have to be appreciative of that. On the farm subsidy support scheme, I welcome the measure. It was a measure that was further down the page when it was announced, and a lot of people did not see it initially as up to 20 cent off green diesel for those providers. However, I met some constituents at the weekend. I met a young fellow who is a new agricultural contractor. He worked for the past couple of years with other providers. He set up his own business last September and between September and December he does not have enough receipts to justify himself going into this new agricultural season where he expects to be quite busy. He hopes there can be some exceptions for individuals like that because they are still experiencing the same high costs and are still extensively leveraged for the machinery they have bought. Hopefully something can be done about that. As well as that, Senator Duffy and I have been contacted by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, ICOS, which has engaged with the Minister and was involved in the negotiations. The schemes that have been introduced are based on extensive engagement he has had with all of these organisations. ICOS represents a range of rural co-operative businesses involved in milk processing, feed milling, livestock markets and agri-trading. These are businesses like Aurivo in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, which is an extensive employer in my area. These collective businesses make a substantial contribution to the rural and national economy and to exports. Their members operate significant road transport fleets involved in milk collection and animal feed deliveries. While they welcome the package of supports in response to the escalating energy costs, they reiterate the need to see strong supports for farmers and the businesses they rely on such as co-ops. ICOS members are carrying dramatically increased energy costs at the moment. Their concern with the road transport support scheme is that it will cause inequality in the haulage of agri-goods and produce because the eligibility requires them to be a licensed haulier rather than their own transport. Hopefully, something like that can be looked at because they do not operate private milk collection or food transport schemes themselves.
As well as that my colleague has mentioned carbon tax, which is a tax I agree with in principle. It is bringing €1 billion into the Irish economy at the moment. That money is ringfenced for our SEAI grants. Even the ACRES scheme is supported by it I believe. However, the tax was introduced with a clear purpose, which was to discourage the use of fossil fuels and drive a transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. In principle, I am sure that is a goal we all support in this Chamber. Reducing emissions and protecting our environment is essential for future generations, but the policy must reflect the practical realities. Farmers and agricultural contractors do not currently have viable alternatives to fossil fuels when it comes to powering machinery. Tractors, harvesters and other essential equipment depend on green diesel. There is no widely available affordable alternative to meet their demands. I welcome the postponement of the increase, but I would like to see a discussion had about postponing that further until there is a viable and suitable alternative to green diesel.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21