Motor Fuels
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Catherine Ardagh (FF), Dublin South-Central

I thank the Deputy for his further comments. As mentioned, the tax treatment of 100% HVO used in place of diesel is already incentivised through the tax system. On a VAT-inclusive basis, 23% less excise duty is charged on 100% HVO fuel when compared with auto diesel. The renewable transport fuel policy also sets out a pathway for the achievement of the climate action plan biofuel targets and EU renewable energy directive targets for an increased share of renewable energy in transport. This is achieved through the renewable transport fuel obligation, RTFO, which obliges mineral oil suppliers to ensure that a percentage of the motor fuel they place on the market in Ireland is produced from renewable sources.
Sustainable renewable transport fuels, such as HVO, provide immediate climate mitigation benefits, as the Deputy outlined, utilising the existing vehicle fleet. They will, therefore, continue to play an important transitional role in the decarbonisation of transport in the coming years as the shifts to electrification and further increases in public transport and active travel are fully realised.
I note that a study on the hierarchy of the use of HVO across transport and other sectors has recently been finalised by the Minister for Transport. The report addresses the most efficient use of HVO relative to available renewable energy and zero-emission alternatives across all transport modes, as well as HVO use in non-transport sectors. The report produced a hierarchy of use of HVO, which aligns with several existing policies and measures, including the sustainable aviation fuel task force report, the road haulage strategy, the renewable transport fuel policy, the ports policy and the design of the renewable heating obligation. This will also inform ongoing policy for renewable energy in transport.
Ultimately, HVO is a commodity traded on the open market, the price of which is susceptible to global market supply-and-demand factors like crude oil, and there is only so much the tax system can do to incentivise its use. The Government, though, has acted to ease the burden of recent increases in fuel prices, as we saw last April.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30