Financial Resolution No.1: Mineral Oil Tax
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-24
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

I move amendment No. 1:
In Schedule 2, inserted by paragraph (1), by the substitution of the following for the rows dated 25 March 2026 and 1 May 2026:
"
".
Tá teaghlaigh i gcruachás fud fad an Stáit. I ndiaidh ceithre seachtaine den Rialtas ag suí ar a lámha agus na praghsanna ag dul in airde agus in airde gach aon lá, agus an phian agus an deacracht atá seo ag cur ar theaghlaigh ar fud an Stáit, tháinig an Rialtas chun na Dála anocht i ndiaidh brú ollmhór ó Shinn Féin. Tháinig an Rialtas chun tosaigh le moladh nach dtéann fada go leor. Níos measa ná sin, ní dhéanann an Rialtas aon rud ar chor ar bith ó thaobh tithe atá ag brath ar ola le tithe a théamh agus níor ghearr sé an cháin air sin ar chor ar bith. Tá leasú ag Sinn Féin os comhair na Dála anocht. Baineann sé an cháin d'ola do thithe a théamh agus laghdaíonn sé an méid is mó is féidir ó thaobh cháin ar dhíosal agus an méid céanna ar pheitreal.
I move the amendment because this is an emergency for households across the State, not in theory or on spreadsheets, but in kitchens, sitting rooms and homes where people are counting litres of oil and counting every euro just to get through the week. This Government simply does not get it because if it did and really got it, we would not have to wait four weeks of delay. We would not have to see four weeks of dithering while prices spiralled and families were hammered and four weeks when the Government stood back and did nothing. After all of that, the Minister has the cheek to come in here with a package of half-measures and expect the people to be grateful. It is too little too late. Petrol and diesel prices have soared. Workers depending on their cars to get to work, to bring children to school and to care for their loved ones needed the maximum reductions at the pumps tonight. The Government had it within its power to deliver it but it refused. It made a conscious decision to hold back and shortchange people.
When it comes to home heating oil, the Government's failure is even more stark. The cost of a fill has nearly doubled in a matter of weeks. People are not turning the heating down. They are turning the heating off. They are rationing what little they have left. One person who I met at the weekend told me that they have less than 100 litres in their tank. They are afraid to turn on the heat. They cannot afford the €1,700 to refill. Another told me that they are wearing more clothes inside than they would wear outside just to stay warm. That is the reality that the Minister and his colleagues in Government have created. What does the Government offer them tonight? Two cent per litre. That is not support; that is an insult.
The vast majority who rely on home heating oil do not qualify for the fuel allowance. Carers who are already stretched to breaking point are excluded. People with disabilities - many of them who are not entitled to oil allowance - are simply left behind. These are people who cannot cut back any further because there is nothing left to cut. What is the Minister's answer? A pathetic token gesture-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-24