Energy and Fuel Costs: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-29 ============================================================ Garret Ahearn (FG), Administrative Panel I thank the Minister of State for being here for this important debate. I thank my colleagues and, in particular, Senator Duffy, for leading on this motion that the Fine Gael team has put forward. We sometimes forget that we are in a lucky position to support our citizens across the country. As a Minister of State who travels within Europe and outside of Europe, I do not need to tell Deputy Richmond about the struggles other countries are having in managing their budgets and deciding not whether they can support citizens but rather where they can make cuts, which can impact and cause real problems for their citizens. It is also important to be honest with people. There is no government, not even a government with a surplus or economy as strong as ours, that can actually shield households from the price increases that have happened in the past year. Most people who think rationally understand that the price increases on kerosene or oil in the last 12 months are not because governments have made decisions and increased taxes. They have gone up because of geopolitics, because of a war in the Middle East and, predominantly, because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. When we make decisions next week in the budget, our decisions, certainly within Fine Gael, will be about making sure we can support people who work hard, support people to be able to get ahead, finance people to be able to build more and, as a Government, be able to deliver better for our people. We have an economy, surplus and tax intake to be able to make some decisions to do that. We have already given over €1.3 billion in financial support. When the crisis started in the Middle East in Iran, we made a decision to give €750 million in packages to support people during the initial crisis. That was obviously not supported by many in opposition even though it was one of the highest, if not the highest, support package per capita in the European Union. Even though Opposition Members were calling for more and more at the time, one of the reasons we said we would not go beyond €750 million, even though that was the highest in the European Union, was because we felt in a couple of months' time it could be even worse. Where are we now? We are in a situation even worse than it was in April. The money with which we are talking about supporting our citizens in this country would have been spent by the Opposition in April. They would not have the money themselves for all the things they are calling to be funded or supported because they would have had it spent. That is not just this year; that is in every single budget. I know people talk about the budget, and last year's budget was mentioned, but in the round, the budgets that have been delivered, particularly by Paschal Donohoe, have always had a core element to make sure we never end up in a situation like we did 15 years ago. That is why we are in the lucky position to be able to make these decisions next week. A number of people spoke about fuel allowance, the 470,000 people that impacts on, and the extension to that. That was a real relief for people. In Tipperary and when I was canvassing in the Galway by-election for Seán Kyne, the issue of home heating oil did come up an awful lot. We have spoken about this as a party in terms of wanting to prioritise home heating oil and making decisions in the budget that can support those people. I am confident the Minister of State and all Ministers understand that home heating oil has become quite challenging for people, especially in rural Ireland. Even though we have extended fuel allowance, which is hugely welcome, home heating oil is a one-off payment. I suggest, as the Minister for Finance is aware, a one-off lump payment of some kind to support pensioners in particular who, being realistic about it, are never going to be in a position to change their whole heating system in their later years. It is just not credible, but they do have the financial burden and struggle more than most people. I am sure a number of my colleagues will talk about farming and supporting farmers, and I will echo and agree with what they say. I was surprised when Senator Collins stood up to say the reason she was not putting down amendments was because she was not bothered. --- 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