Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister will be very much aware, people are battling with the cost of living, inflation, higher mortgage rates, higher rents and higher energy costs, while fuel prices have risen by 30% in the past three years. That is not including the further charges the Government will introduce. Tomorrow the Government will increase the price of fuel for households. It will do so again in less than four months in August, with a third increase on the cards for 9 October, and with the AA predicting the possibility of fuel prices reaching €2 a litre at the end of the summer. Small businesses will have to bear the burden of these increased excise taxes along with the recent increases in carbon taxes. The cost to households in percentage income terms will result in poorer households feeling the pinch far more than other sectors. We all know these increases will be passed on in some shape or form to the consumer, whether through extra delivery charges or the cost of production, adding to the cost of living.

In case the Minister is not aware, rural Ireland, of which I am a part, has a higher rate of car dependency than the rest of the country. There is no viable public transport in many small towns and villages in my county, Wexford. These increases will have a substantial financial impact on lower income families. No one is calling for taxes to be cut, but this is not the time to impose three fuel tax increases in April, August and October, as planned. Shops in rural communities, petrol stations and businesses along the Border counties will also face huge closure threats from the differences in fuel prices due to these imposed excise taxes.

In this motion we ask the Government to rethink and not go ahead with the two further increases in fuel taxes and to reverse the 1 April one as it will have a negative financial impact on local and rural communities in both the North and the South of Ireland.

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