Tax Reliefs
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

It is a fair question. Thankfully, as a country, we have had an ability to bring in a very significant package, one of the largest packages in the European Union, without having to borrow for it. Our nearest neighbour, the UK, brought in a much smaller package per head of population and had to go to the markets and borrow for it. I think it got charged approximately 5% for the luxury of that. The fiscal reserves we built up as a country - the surplus we are running in a growing economy - have enabled us to act but there is no consequence-free decision on expenditure either, as the Deputy and I both appreciate.
The current package has cost approximately €772 million. That is made up of €150 million for the original excise duties to the end of May; the €139 million when we decided to extend them to the end of July; €121 million from the further excise reductions we put on top of that; €22 million from the carbon tax deferral; €10 million for the diesel rebate; €40 million for the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy change; €70 million for the fuel allowance expansion; €120 million for the transport scheme; and €100 million for the agriculture scheme. That gets you to €772 million.
What we need to decide to do next needs careful consideration and a balanced approach to try to avoid that sudden cliff edge for people but also to try to be nimble and agile in our response. We will work through it all in the next few days.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25