Mr. Aidan Flynn:

I am not sure if the Deputy read or has a copy of my opening statement but we called for solidarity within the supply chain. That is crucial. We do not want to hear this negative feedback about engagement. We are in a time of crisis. The fuel crisis is being driven by Covid-19 pandemic issues and consequent increased energy costs, as well as the unfortunate issues we now face concerning Ukraine and Russia. We seek to develop solidarity within the supply chain, covering what Mr. Kavanagh mentioned in terms of developing fuel surcharge arrangements and being able to have open and honest discussions within the supply chain and passenger service operations around fuel surcharges. We made a recommendation that the CSO could become more proactive as ade facto trusted reference for industry in relation to transparent fuel pricing, which would support these fuel charges.

We are getting calls all the time from bus and haulage operators not understanding in the first instance that they can get an excise rebate. We want to encourage more awareness of what is available to them. Only one third of those who qualify for the 7.5 cent rebate get it. Revenue, the Department of Finance and the Government need to ask why two thirds of those essential workers do not get this rebate programme. We need to establish the reasons for that and to put proactive measures in place to support small to medium-sized businesses so they can get it.

The 15 cent excise duty should be introduced for a lot longer to provide more stability and support in the industry for business planning and strategic planning. You add that on to the 7.5 cent. We are not the worst or the best in Europe in terms of supports but much more can be done and needs to be done quickly to support industry.