Tax Yield
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I appreciate that when it comes its application, the carbon tax is not equally felt by all citizens. I take the point that the data shows that those living in rural Ireland are twice as likely to use home heating oil as a fuel source - as an example - as those living in larger towns and cities. According to the latest available CSO figures, around 26% of households in Ireland use it as their main heating fuel, so that is probably around half a million households. The Government understands that these are disproportionately older households, disproportionately rural, and in a lot of cases, lower income households as well. Many households are eligible for the fuel allowance. We extended it by four weeks earlier this year, meaning that close to 470,000 households will have benefited from additional payments, totalling €152 per household. The fuel allowance season has now commenced for this winter period. I am also conscious that there are those who use home heating oil who do not qualify for the payments, so the upcoming budget will consider all of these issues in the round.
We would also have to consider - I think the Deputy is endeavouring to do this too - that we stay on the right side of the ETS2 derogation. We do not want any unintended consequences in relation to any changes that may be brought forward.

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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