Mineral Oil Tax: Financial Resolution
Dail Éireann — 2026-08-28
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

I also wish Senan Molony well and thank him for the important work he has done over the decades. Half a million families are in energy arrears. Nearly a third of the population cannot afford a staple of life, namely, energy. That is astounding in one of the richest countries in the world. The Government is one of the main drivers of fuel inflation. Over 50% of the price of a litre of petrol or diesel is made up of tax. The Government is tax-gouging the people of Ireland. For seven years, we in Aontú have said that locking people into an annual fuel tax increase irrespective of the price of fuel is morally wrong. Today, Simon Harris has, for the first time, used exactly the same language in his speech. Is this a potential U-turn on carbon tax? The logic of that sentence is to end the annual increase in carbon tax in this country. All of this is happening for the simple reason that the Government is afraid the people will protest on the streets during the EU Presidency. The Government is afraid of the people it is supposed to represent.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-08-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-08-28