Home Heating Oil (Emergency Mineral Oil Tax Reduction) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22 ============================================================ Alan Dillon (FG), Mayo This is the appropriate mechanism through which the Government can examine these pressures comprehensively and decide what further assistance is warranted. The budget allows us to take a full view across a range of energy costs and across all affected households and sectors rather than dealing with one fuel or one tax measure in isolation. We should not pre-empt discussions that properly belong in the budgetary process, the product of which is only days away. The Tánaiste has been clear that Government is examining the best way to assist people whose home heating oil costs have already risen considerably. These include possible taxation measures and targeted supports such as the fuel allowance. The Department of Finance has also published options on how the carbon tax framework might be modified for particular products, including home heating oil. These are decisions for budget day. In the budget, this Government will use the resources available to help people who work hard and who want to get ahead and not simply get by. We want people to feel the benefits of hard work in their own pay packets. Our priority is to reward work and to reduce everyday costs facing families, including energy and childcare costs. We are also very much focused on supporting older people, carers and people with disabilities, recognising their contribution and the security they deserve. We will build more homes and deliver infrastructure and public services to continue meeting this country's needs with faster delivery, less bureaucracy and better value for every euro. We will do so responsibly, protecting the public finances for the long term. This is not a government that has stood back. Since the beginning of the crisis seven months ago, we have provided approximately €1.4 billion in supports and delivered one of the largest packages across the European Union on a per capita basis. We deferred the 1 May carbon tax increase on home heating fuels. We have reduced excise duty on petrol, diesel and green diesel. We have enhanced the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and passenger transport operators. We have supported road transport operators, farmers, farm contractors and fishers. We have reduced the NORA levy. We extended the fuel allowance season by four weeks from 28 to 32 weeks, with the weekly rate increased from €33 to €38. Eligible households now receive €1,216 over the extended season. Eligibility was widened to almost 50,000 additional households, including families receiving the working family payment, with approximately 470,000 households now benefiting. That is close to one in every four households across the State. The Tánaiste has also made clear that the planned phased restoration of excise duty due to begin in November must be considered in light of the current prices. If elevated prices persist, proceeding as originally planned may not be prudent. Again, the judgment should be made in the round, through the budget. Turning to the Bill itself, Sinn Féin promises an emergency period during which the mineral oil tax on kerosene used for home heating would be set to zero. The Minister for Finance would, therefore, have no discretion over that rate. This would reduce the Government's flexibility to target limited resources where they can make the greatest practical difference. The Bill also raises serious legal and policy questions. Heating fuels such as kerosene and natural gas fall within the scope of the European Union's emissions trading system for buildings and road transport, ETS2. Ireland's arrangements are designed to avoid double taxation, provided our national carbon price meets the relevant European conditions. Those calling for the outright abolishment of the carbon tax must, therefore, be conscious of these consequences. A blanket removal could mean carbon revenue being collected and controlled through the European system rather than retained and spent nationally. Nobody in this House should lightly support transferring control of those revenues away from the Oireachtas. There are also further practical flaws. One is that the increase in the price of home heating oil is principally driven by the international wholesale price of oil and not by new Government tax. The carbon tax accounts for only a limited share of the current average price while the non-carbon element of mineral oil tax on kerosene is already set at zero. The Bill cannot offset a global market shock and it does not offer the same approach to households that heat their homes using natural gas or other fuels. The proposal suggests that one tax measure provides a complete answer when the responsible course is to assess home heating, electricity, transport, income tax and targeted welfare supports together. Carbon tax should not be viewed in isolation. Its revenues are recycled into measures that continue to protect people from energy poverty and reduce our dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels. These revenues support the fuel allowance, fully funded home energy upgrades, the wider retrofitting scheme, investment in our electricity grid and measures to help farmers transition to lower carbon practices. Since 2020, more than €4.2 billion in carbon tax revenue has been allocated to the just transition and decarbonisation measures. Demand proves these programmes matter. Last year alone, 58,000 homes were retrofitted. Since 2019, more than 287,000 home energy upgrades have been delivered, including over 39,500 fully funded upgrades for households at risk of energy poverty. Solar PV applications, heat pump applications and insulation upgrades are all rising strongly. This is the contradiction at the heart of Sinn Féin's position; it consistently opposes the carbon tax but its alternative budgets have repeatedly relied on the revenue it generates. It cannot credibly promise to abolish the source of funding while continuing to count the same money to pay for social protection and retrofitting. People need practical help, not a false promise that one Bill can control international oil prices. The Government has acted to reduce costs and protect vulnerable households. We are examining further supports for home heating oil, energy costs and the wider cost of living. We will be making those decisions in budget 2027 in a comprehensive, targeted and responsible way. The long-term answer is also clear: Ireland must reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, strengthen our energy security and invest in warmer homes, renewable electricity and a stronger grid. This is how we protect households from future price shocks. For those reasons, I again press the Government amendment that Dáil Éireann declines to give the home heating oil Bill a Second Reading. --- 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/2026-09-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-22