Tax Code
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

I told the Minister a couple of weeks ago that the Government's plan to reintroduce excise on petrol and diesel was nuts. Putting up carbon tax in two weeks' time in October and then further on 1 November is absolute bonkers. That is why we voted against it. Let us be clear: the Government will get no pats on the back from people for saying "I am not making your lives worse." What people expect from a Government is of course that not to make things harder, but when diesel and petrol prices are high, and the diesel price is €2.20 per litre, they want the Government to use some of the resources that workers collectively across this State have created. They want the Government to use the additional VAT that was brought into the Government's coffers, including €300 million more than expected at the end of August because prices are so high, to reduce excise further.
The Minister did not answer the question. He said that the Government is looking at everything in the context of energy. My question was not about energy broadly. My question is about petrol and diesel. Workers and families want to know whether the Government understands the pressure they are under. Is the Government considering further excise reductions on petrol and diesel?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29