Finance Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages Dail Éireann — 2026-06-17 ============================================================ Robert Troy (FF), Longford-Westmeath I am happy to reply to Deputy Doherty but it is probably a futile and pointless exercise because he has come in with his mind made up. I will reply anyway because we know his contribution today was for Facebook later on. Amendment No. 1 proposes from 1 July until 14 October 2026 a further reduction in mineral oil tax rates and petrol and auto diesel and to reduce the mineral oil tax rates applicable to kerosene used other than as a propellant, as well as further deviations from the mineral oil tax rates applying to other fuels. It further proposes to set mineral oil tax from 14 October 2026 at the rates applicable prior to the rate cuts introduced in March and April of this year. Amendments Nos. 2, 3 and 4 effectively propose to end carbon tax trajectory at current rates. Mineral oil tax comprises a non-carbon and a carbon component, commonly referred to as the carbon tax. That is the difference. When we talk of no excise on kerosene, there is a carbon element and that is called carbon tax. We commonly refer to one element as excise duty and another as carbon tax. There is carbon associated with kerosene. The increase that was to come in at the beginning of May has been deferred until later in the year to recognise the cost pressures at the time it was to come in. Kerosene rose to €1.77 per litre in April; over the past month, the average prices have been down to €1.26 per litre. It is welcome to see it back on a downward trajectory. We need to see it go further but that is its current status. The Deputy calls out his party's opposition to carbon tax. To be fair, that has been a consistent approach but there is a different approach on this side of the House. It is not today or as part of this Bill that we are realising that approach to carbon tax; this is a well-enshrined approach by this Government. The programme for Government committed to continue with carbon tax increases, aligning with the recommendations from the Climate Change Advisory Council and scientific experts, and to using the revenues raised to support climate action measures and ensure the most vulnerable are protected from unintended impacts of the tax increases. This includes funding for retrofitting - tens of thousands of homes have benefited from this, particularly people in receipt of fuel allowance, who get a deep retrofitting free of charge - and agri-environmental schemes, along with targeted social welfare payments and other initiatives to prevent fuel poverty and ensure a just transition. These measures are, contrary to what the Deputy says, designed to be progressive. To give effect to the programme for Government commitment to protect the vulnerable, a targeted package of social protection interventions was developed, which is informed by ESRI research that was commissioned to address this issue specifically. As of budget 2026, the Government has allocated over €4.2 billion in carbon tax revenue for these purposes since 2020. ESRI analysis consistently shows those on lower incomes are better off as a result of the social protection measures funded by the increased carbon tax. In budget 2026, over €1.1 billion was allocated to climate action measures and to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from the unintended impacts of the increase. This was an increase on the 2025 allocation, and included funding of €566 million for retrofitting programmes and just transition,€350 million for targeted social welfare interventions such as the fuel allowance and €173 million for green and sustainable farming measures. Pausing the carbon tax trajectory current rates would decrease the funding available for these just transition and climate measures, which are demonstrably progressive. Our need to decouple from fossil fuel dependence and achieve energy security is even more apparent now, given the levels of volatility in international fuel markets. Ireland's long-term commitment to tackling climate change remains strong. Furthermore, as the Deputy will be aware, energy taxation is covered by the energy taxation directive, which sets out excise duty rules covering all energy products in the EU used for heating and transport, as well as electricity. The directive sets out minimum levels of taxation applicable to these energy products for specific uses. For diesel used as a propellant, the minimum rate is €330 per 1,000 litres, exclusive of VAT. The total rate of mineral oil tax on auto diesel is currently approximately 37 cent per litre, having taken account of the 30 cent reduction that was introduced. When taken together with the diesel rebate scheme maximum repayment rate, which was temporarily increased to 12 cent per litre, qualifying haulage and passenger transport operators pay an effective rate of mineral oil tax of approximately 25 cent per litre. This means that Ireland is currently below the minimum rates allowable under the energy taxation directive by approximately 8 cent in respect of qualifying road haulage and passenger transport operators. In light of this fact, we have engaged with the EU Commission and requested a temporary derogation under Article 19 of the energy taxation directive due to the exceptional circumstances that the conflict in the Middle East has caused. Finally, the proposed amendments from Deputy Doherty would come at great cost to the Exchequer and jeopardise potentially other areas of investment. That is why Government have introduced a targeted set of temporary supports. The package of measures the Government has introduced totalling over €750 million is helping to reduce the cost burden at the petrol pump, supporting those most at risk of energy poverty and assisting key sectors such as agriculture and haulage that are critical to keeping our economy moving. These measures are deliberately time-bound and targeted, because our support must be both responsive and responsible. The Government is continuing to act in a way that protects the most vulnerable and sustains our economic stability. As the Taoiseach said on Leaders' Questions earlier today, just has we have in the past, we will keep an eye on the costs. We will keep them monitored and if further interventions are required, there is the capacity to do so. For the reasons I outlined, I am not proposing to accept these amendments. --- 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/dail/2026-06-17/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:09+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-17