Home Heating Oil (Emergency Mineral Oil Tax Reduction) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22
============================================================

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (SF), Wicklow-Wexford

The home heating oil Bill seeks to remove the carbon tax from home heating oil to help households struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have not removed a single cent off home heating oil and they and Independent TDs have voted Sinn Féin down eight times this year as we sought to bring down the price of fuel.
Every week people are faced with rising grocery bills, higher insurance costs, increased household expenses and energy prices far above what families can afford. For those relying on home heating oil, filling the tank has become a huge financial burden. This is particularly true in rural communities in my constituency. I regularly meet people across south Wicklow - from Arklow across to Aughrim and from Redcross down to Carnew. It is the same in north Wexford, from Ballyfad down to Ballindaggan and Killinierin down to Kilmuckridge and everywhere in between. Thousands of households are dependent on home heating oil as the primary source of heating and they do not have the option of switching to a gas network. When oil prices rise, they simply have to pay more or go without. Many families are already making impossible choices – basically a choice between heating or eating. They must decide between topping up the oil tank, paying for school costs, childcare expenses and weekly grocery bills. Older people living alone, working families on modest incomes and those depending on social welfare are all exposed to the increases. Many pensioners are afraid to turn on the heating as winter approaches.
The purpose of the Bill is very simple. It is to remove the carbon tax element from home heating oil and give families a breathing space. It is a practical targeted measure to protect people from excessive costs and it recognises the reality of rural Ireland. The Government has shot us down eight times this year. Maybe this time it will do the right thing and back our Bill instead of opposing us for the sake of opposing us.

---

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