Home Heating Oil (Emergency Mineral Oil Tax Reduction) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

Is iad costais fuinnimh an t-ábhar imní is mó atá roimh theaghlaigh agus gnólachtaí faoi láthair. Energy costs are the biggest worry facing families and businesses at the moment. Seven months into this energy crisis, the Government has not removed a single cent of carbon tax from home heating oil. For rural households, particularly in my and the Minister of State's constituency of Mayo, this is devastating and unsustainable. Does the Minister of State know how many women have done themselves injury by trying to carry 5-gallon drums of oil to last them a few days until they are paid? We have no access to the gas network. We have no alternative to filling the oil tank and people are now facing bills of more €1,600 for 1,000 litres of oil. That is €700 more expensive than it was this time last year. It is simply unaffordable for the people we represent.
It is not just households. Small businesses are being crippled by energy costs. Many are barely able to keep their doors open. One bad winter could finish them off altogether. All of this comes in the context of today's report that wholesale electricity prices are 77% higher than they were this time last year. The pressure is coming from every direction. A record number of households are in energy arrears.
This is the eighth time my Sinn Féin colleague has brought forward legislation to cut the cost of home heating oil and on every occasion the Government has voted "No". The Government has voted against the people of Mayo and the wider country. Our legislation would remove all excise duty on home heating oil. People cannot heat their homes with Government promises about what might happen in the budget and they certainly cannot afford another round of half measures. The Government has had its opportunity. It has an opportunity to act tonight.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22