Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I do not have a difficulty with the proposed measure relating to tobacco, although I am sceptical that this will result in an 8% reduction in the consumption of cigarettes. The evidence is that as the price has increased, there has not been a corresponding reduction and while I hope there is a corresponding increase in the tax take, I have doubts about that as well, as the black market for cigarettes in Ireland is expanding and developing. We have a battle on our hands to combat that illegal industry as people's incomes come under more pressure. I encourage the Government to ensure the policing measures adopted regarding cigarette smuggling are examined and beefed up.

My reason for being present relates to the excise duty increase on diesel. I accept the Government needs to find money from somewhere and it makes sense to target this area. My problem is that the Government is targeting diesel but not petrol. I understood clearly the rationale in this year's budget was that a price advantage would be proffered on diesel over petrol on the basis of emissions. Presumably, this was due to the influence of the Green Party. The decision has been reversed. It is a fact that, in equivalent sized engines, diesel produces significantly lower emissions than petrol. The Government made the sensible decision to ensure a price advantage for diesel over petrol to encourage people to buy diesel engines to drive down emissions, to improve the efficiency of engines and so on because diesel was more expensive than petrol in the autumn of last year for supply and demand reasons primarily. Why has the Government reversed this policy? If there is an issue regarding competitiveness and fuel prices north and south of the Border, surely that applies to diesel as well as petrol. The Government's policy in this year's budget was correct to give diesel an advantage over petrol from an excise perspective. Why has it reversed this policy?

See this speech in context