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

We had the discussion earlier on and the Minister will say it was a Fine Gael Government that did this but there is no doubt, if you look back at the record, that the reason the Government did not reduce any excise duty on home heating oil is because it is carbon tax, which is this Holy Grail. I really do not want to go into a discussion on that, but the Government is moving now. For the first time it is going to reduce the carbon tax. That is good. It is good that the Government has got there, or that it is going to get there next Tuesday.
As for what the Minister says about what is and is not possible in Europe, if he is willing to share that he can send it to me. My understanding is that the new rule will not take effect until 2028 and therefore a temporary reduction on kerosene will not have an impact in relation to this. If we do this for a period during 2027 it will not have an impact. Obviously if we were to continue it into 2028 it would but for the immediate future it is a bit of a red herring, unless the Minister knows differently. The issue is that it is within his gift to take all the carbon tax off home heating oil. That is about 16 cent per litre. We charge VAT on top of the carbon tax so it would reduce the cost of a fill by €183. Would that undo the price increases that have happened? Not a chance. Prices have gone through the roof. They have gone up about €700 since the start of the year. However, it would show that the Government is doing the maximum it can on excise duty on this type of fuel, and that is what I am asking the Minister to do.

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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