Energy and Fuel Costs: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Mark Duffy (FG), Labour Panel

I move:
That Seanad Éireann:
agrees that:
- energy and fuel are essential to everyday life, with households, families, workers, farmers and businesses depending on affordable and reliable access to electricity,
heating and transport;
- the cost of energy continues to have a significant impact on household budgets, the cost of living, business competitiveness and the cost of providing goods and services
across the State;
- high fuel and energy costs can have a disproportionate impact on older people, people with disabilities, low-income households, rural communities, commuters, and those
living in homes with poor energy efficiency;
- affordable, secure and reliable energy is fundamental to Ireland’s economic competitiveness and to maintaining living standards;
- Ireland must continue to pursue a long-term transition towards secure, renewable and lower-cost domestic energy while ensuring that the cost of that transition does not fall disproportionately on households and businesses;
acknowledges:
- the impact that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict in Iran has had on the price and supply of crude oil and that de-escalation will have the single biggest impact on reducing prices;
- the Government has already taken significant action to address energy and fuel costs, including reductions in Mineral Oil Tax on petrol, diesel and marked gas oil during 2026, reductions in the National Oil Reserves Agency levy, enhanced support for the haulage and passenger transport sectors, and targeted supports for farmers, contractors and fishers;
- the Government extended the Fuel Allowance season in response to increased fuel costs and, under Budget 2026, increased the Fuel Allowance from €33 to €38 per week and extended eligibility to families receiving the Working Family Payment;
- the Government has extended the reduced nine per cent VAT rate on electricity and gas until the end of 2030, providing a continuing reduction in the tax burden on household energy bills;
- that Budget 2026 provided a record €558 million for residential and community energy upgrades, supporting measures which can permanently reduce household energy demand and heating costs;
- the Government has delivered one of the largest support packages in the EU per head of capita totalling over €1.3 billion, targeted at households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, and businesses;
- the Government established the National Energy Affordability Taskforce to identify the drivers of high energy costs and develop short, medium and long-term measures to improve energy affordability for households and businesses;
- the Government has invested €1.5 billion in the ESB for electricity infrastructure;
- that the carbon tax revenues are supporting the fuel allowance, home retrofitting and the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme for farmers;
calls on the Government to:
-continue support for households most exposed to fuel and electricity costs, with particular regard to pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, low-income working families, those in rural areas, and households experiencing energy poverty;
- examine the impact of increased energy bills on elderly people living alone;
- support those homeowners who rely on kerosene to heat their home, the majority of whom are in rural areas;
- continue to support sectors particularly exposed to fuel costs, including agriculture, fisheries, haulage, public transport, construction and other energy-intensive sectors, while protecting employment and regional economic activity;
- accelerate the delivery of the National Retrofit Plan, with a particular focus on fully funded and accessible upgrades for households experiencing energy poverty and improved access to supports for older and less energy-efficient homes;
- continue to expand investment in renewable electricity generation, grid infrastructure, storage and interconnection, with the objective of increasing Ireland’s domestic energy security and reducing exposure to international fossil-fuel prices but prioritise new solar farm planning guidelines and update wind energy guidelines;
- progress reforms identified by the National Energy Affordability Taskforce to address the structural drivers of high energy costs for households and businesses; and
- continue their engagement at an EU level to explore windfall tax on energy firms that have made excessive profits.

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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/seanad/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29