Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— AA Ireland's latest monthly Fuel Price Survey has reported a surge in petrol and diesel prices over the recent period;

— these are the highest prices reported in 2024, with almost a 13 cent increase in petrol and a 9 cent increase in diesel since January 2024; and

— fuel prices have risen by more than 30 per cent in the past three years;

acknowledges that, as of 1st April, the Government chose to increase the price of petrol and diesel for households despite the fact that many households continue to struggle under the cost-of-living crisis;

rejects the Government's plan to further increase fuel costs for workers and families twice more this year; and

mandates the Government to scrap its plans to increase the price of petrol and diesel on 1st August and yet again on 9th October, and reverse the increase that took place on 1st April.

For many workers and families across the State, the cost of living remains far too high. People expect the Government to have their back and to make every effort to reduce the cost of living, rather than increase it but that is exactly what this Government has done. It has increased the cost of living through hiking up petrol and diesel. It will continue to do so when it comes to the cost of running a car and for families getting from A to B.

Having hiked the price of petrol and diesel last month, with plans to hike them again in August and October, the Government's plan will, no doubt, heap further pressure on households. It should not go ahead. The Government increased the price of petrol by 4 cent per litre and the price of diesel by 3 cent per litre on 1 April. It is planning to do so again on 1 August and again, for the third time, on 9 October. All in all, these tax hikes will increase the price of petrol by 10 cent per litre and diesel by 8 cent per litre. Last week, the AA found that in April petrol and diesel prices hit their highest levels so far this year. Fuel prices have risen by more than 30% in the past three years and the tax hikes that the Government has already implemented, as well as some it has planned for later in the year, will push prices even further, with real fears that fuel could hit the €2 per litre mark this year unless the Government changes course.

Given the cost-of-living pressure that so many continue to endure, the Government needs to change course. That is what Sinn Féin is calling for it to do. We made it clear that this matter should be kept under review. At this time, the circumstances are not warranted to increase the pressure on motorists. What the Government should do at this difficult time is make life more affordable for people, not more expensive.

For many people, using a car is their only reliable means of transport. Whether it is for bringing the children to school, making a hospital appointment on time or getting to work, they simply have no other option in many communities. Studies by researchers and academics from UCD and Trinity College Dublin in 2021 found that the areas with the highest level of transport disadvantage and forced car ownership, where there was no viable alternative to the car, are in mostly rural and socially deprived areas. When fuel prices rise, they cannot use the bus or the train instead of the car because these options simply are not available. Instead, they bear the brunt of the higher prices and they are least able to bear them. That is the case in my home county of Donegal and elsewhere in the State. Increasing the price of petrol and diesel, as the Government has done and plans to do again, hits them disproportionately at a time when other prices are hitting them very hard.

Last week, Sinn Féin launched our survey to understand how fuel prices were impacting on workers and families. It has only been out in the field for a couple of days and over 2,400 people have responded. Over 70% have said rising fuel prices are impacting their ability to get to work or do other necessary activities a lot. One person said they have to cut other main essentials needed at home just to fill the tank to get to work. Another person said that as they live in a rural area, a car is a must for them, and they are not very mobile. The Government, they said, seems to punish the motorist in every way it can.

The Government's price-hiking plans will also have a disproportionate impact on businesses and filling stations in Border counties. As the Government continues to increase taxes on petrol and diesel, the gap in fuel prices between the North and South will continue to widen. The British Government recently announced an extension of its reduced rate of excise, which applies in the North, for a further 12 months. According to the consumer council in the North, the average petrol price was 17 cent per litre cheaper in the North compared with the South, and the Government plans to increase the price in the South two more times this year. The average diesel price was also cheaper and the gap, as I said, is going to continue to rise under the Government's plan, as excise duty rates increase further.

Consumers in counties Donegal, Louth, Monaghan and elsewhere will naturally bring their money and custom across the Border in search of cheaper fuel. We are hearing reports from filling stations in Border counties that they are seeing a significant drop in sales. This will continue unless the Government changes course and scraps these price hikes. Last year, Sinn Féin called for the reduced rates of excise to be extended into 2024. We were explicit, as the Minister knows because we stated many times to him personally and publicly, that the rates and price volatility needed to be kept under constant review and demanded an agile reproach. The extension of the duty rate reduction by the British Government is testament to this, which no one could have foreseen.

If the Minister for Finance is going to say that keeping these rates under review was the wrong approach, he should read his own amendment because that is what he committed to. Instead of reviewing this situation in March and postponing the price hikes, as should have happened, he pushed ahead with them. He should not go ahead with the hikes in August or October. Sinn Féin is calling for the Government to show a flexible and common-sense approach to give workers, families and motorists a break in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis in which so many are still feeling the pressure. I call on every Deputy in the Dáil to support our motion to scrap the price hikes on petrol and diesel.

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