Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In effect what we are doing here is extending the excise reductions but also, as the Deputy acknowledges, providing for a phased restoration across three different points on 1 June, 1 September and 31 October. There is a cost associated with this section in the order of €383 million. The base assumed that these rates would have gone back up fully at the end of February. To answer the Deputy's question directly, no. We are legislating so it is our intention to proceed in line with the legislation, although of course we always keep everything under review. I am not giving any specific commitment on whether we would make a change if prices come in at a certain level. We keep everything under review including this issue, but our intention is to proceed in line with the way that we are intending to legislate here today. The Deputy acknowledges the changes we have seen at wholesale level. I watch commodity prices very closely, including the cost of a barrel of oil. I watch the exchange rate in terms of weakness of the dollar in recent times, which helps because it is priced in dollars of course. We have seen the price of Brent crude fall back significantly from well over $120 to perhaps around $75 or so at the moment. The question of how that works its way through is determined by a number of factors as the Deputy well knows, including refining costs, the exchange rate and so on.

To the Deputy's other question, there is no specific assessment done of the Russian issue to which he referred in terms of refinery products.

However, it is something we keep under review. I intend to proceed in line with the legislation in section 2.