Finance Bill 2026 [Certified Money Bill]: Committee and Remaining Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-07 ============================================================ Robert Troy (FF), Longford-Westmeath I will speak to section 2 of the Bill and propose the Government's recommendation in respect of same. The Government's recommendation is No. 4 on the numbered list. I will address Senator Conor Murphy's recommendation No. 2, which the Government does not propose to accept this recommendation. Section 2 of the Finance Bill 2026 provides for temporary reductions to the mineral oil tax rates as set out in Schedule 2 of the Finance Act 1999, effective from 25 March 2026, and further cuts effective from 15 April 2026. By Government recommendation, section 2 further provides for an extension of these temporary reductions for petrol and auto diesel until 31 August, after which the mineral oil tax reduced rates for these fuels will be unwound on a gradual basis, with a final restoration of these rates on 1 December 2026. Section 2 also provides for an extension of the temporary reduction for green diesel until 31 October, after which the mineral oil tax reduced rate for this fuel will be unwound on 1 November and there will be a final restoration on 1 December 2026. On 24 March, the Government announced a per litre VAT-inclusive reduction of 20 cent for auto diesel, 15 cent for petrol and 3 cent for green diesel. These cuts were initially legislated to be effective from 21 March to 31 May 2026. On 12 April, the Government announced a further reduction of 10 cent per litre for auto diesel and petrol and a further 2.4 cent reduction for green diesel, bringing the total reduction in mineral oil tax rates to 30 cent per litre for diesel, 25 cent per litre for petrol and 5.4 cent per litre for marked gas oil or green diesel. At that time, we also announced an extension of the timeframe of reduction until 31 July 2026. On 12 April, the Government announced a deferral of the planned carbon tax increase, scheduled for 1 May, until 14 October 2026. Section 2 provides for this deferral of the carbon component of the mineral oil tax increase for non-propellant kerosene, marked gas oil and other relevant fuels. On 30 June, the Government announced an extension of the temporary reduction to mineral oil tax and a graduated pathway to the restoration of these rates, as well as an extension of the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy reduction until 31 August. The temporary reductions to mineral oil tax, which were due to expire on 31 July, will now be extended in full until 31 August, with a phased restoration of the mineral oil tax rates taking place between September and December in four stages. The following mineral oil tax restorations are on a VAT-inclusive basis. On 1 September, there will be a restoration of 7 cent per litre for petrol and 8 cent per litre for auto diesel. On 1 October, there will be a restoration of 8 cent litre for petrol and auto diesel. On 1 November, there will be a restoration of 5 cent per litre for petrol, 7 cent per litre of auto diesel and 2.7 cent per litre for marked gas oil or green diesel. On 1 December, there will be a final restoration of 5 cent per litre for petrol, 7 cent per litre for diesel and 2.7 cent per litre for green diesel. Recommendation No. 2 proposed by Senator Conor Murphy proposes to maintain the full reductions in the mineral oil tax rates on petrol and auto diesel until budget time and reduce the mineral oil tax rate applicable to kerosene used other than as a propellant to zero as well as reducing the rate applicable to liquefied petroleum gas used other than as a propellant. It further proposes to indefinitely set mineral oil tax rates from 14 October 2026 at the rates that were applicable when the rate cuts were introduced in March and April this year. As a Government, we have stated at the outset that we would monitor the situation closely and reserve the right to adjust our responses as required. We have consistently said - this has been proven in this legislation - that we would avoid a cliff-edge removal of supports. Brent crude, which is the global benchmark for oil price, currently stands at around $72 per barrel. This is down from the peak of $120 per barrel in late April and is now broadly in line with prices recorded immediately before the outbreak of the conflict in late February. In line with easing in wholesale commodity prices, retail prices for fuels have fallen in recent weeks. A further easing of retail prices should be anticipated as lower wholesale prices gradually feed through to the forecourts. Global oil prices and domestic retail prices have significantly decreased over recent weeks. The situation remains uncertain, which is why the Government is committed to continuing to support families and monitoring the situation as it evolves. The Government's recommendations to the Bill are reflective of current macroeconomic and energy market situation. The restoration of the mineral oil tax rates will be done on a gradual basis, commencing on 1 September. We continue to monitor the situation closely and we reserve the right to adjust our response as required. Government measures have helped and will continue to help alleviate some, but not all, of the pressures being felt by households and businesses affected by fuel price increases as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. The cumulative total cost of mineral tax reduction measures contained in Government recommendations to section 2 of the Bill is estimated at €655 million between March and December 2026. For the reasons I have outlined, I am not proposing to accept Senator Conor Murphy's recommendation, but I do propose that the Government's recommendation be accepted. --- 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/2026-07-07/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-07