Independent TD for West Cork Michael Collins has called on Government to immediately signal its intention to extend the excise duty reductions currently being applied to fuels such as petrol and diesel (including green diesel) as well as to home heating oil.
Deputy Collins had raised the matter with Tánaiste Micheál Martin in the Dáil. The Tánaiste would only say that there would be ‘no cliff edge’ with respect to the cuts but failed to definitively commit to any further extension of the reduced rates which are due to be removed at the end of February.
However, in the last number of days, the Minister for the Environment, Eamon Ryan, has hinted that there will be no extension to the reduced rate as Government seeks to wind down a number of cost of living supports:
“In the world that Minister Ryan, the Tánaiste and the rest of Government operate in, there may be no need to extend the reduced rate. But in the real world, fishermen, farmers, motorists and those trying to heat their homes still the need supports that were introduced on the back of enormous public pressure back in March of last year,” said Deputy Collins.
“Just because the cost-of-living crisis has slipped down the political agenda for Government, that does not mean the pressures confronting people have suddenly gone away.”
“There is no rationale for the removal of the excise duty cuts given the ongoing pressures that still exist in this area. Government must
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