Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In Schedule 2, inserted by paragraph (1), by the substitution of the following for the row dated 10 March 2022:

10 March 2022

€359.00

€474.11

€330.00

€413.51

€413.51

€0.00

€118.01

€120.55

€118.27

€54.68

€9.36

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this financial resolution on the cost of fuel, a price spike that is causing significant distress and worry in households throughout the country. It is what people are talking about in the shops and in their homes. It is what people want action from the Government on. I recognise the economic conditions we face, the source of the price spikes we are experiencing and what the Government can and cannot do. In the past two years we have lived through a global pandemic and a bout of post-pandemic inflation caused by a combination of supply chain bottlenecks and a rise in energy prices. Now we see a war in eastern Europe, following the brutal and inhumane invasion by Russia of Ukraine. The consequences of this war, in lives lost and land ruined and disputed, cannot be put into words. Our primary duty is to provide whatever humanitarian assistance we can to Ukraine and all the assistance we can to those fleeing Ukraine and coming to this shore seeking refuge and solace. Sinn Féin fully supports the sanctions regime that has been put in place to frustrate and to undermine Putin's illegal war. The consequences of this war in economic terms are also immense. A massive energy and commodity producer is at war and has been effectively shut out from the global economy through sanctions. This, together with the inevitable disruption that has occurred, has resulted in huge spikes in energy and commodity markets. Increases in the price of wheat, fertiliser and even palm oil will have massive implications for citizens, economies and states throughout the world. Previously unseen spikes in the oil, gas and electricity market are already being felt along every link in the chain, from the wholesale market right down to the consumer. We recognise the source of these price rises and recognise that no government can fully insulate or protect households against what may be about to come. We have never claimed as much. What we do know, what this House knows and what this party knows, is that governments, including this Government, have a responsibility to do everything they can to mitigate the effects of these price rises on ordinary people and to use every single measure at their disposal to push the boat out to the very edge. That is the priority of Sinn Féin. That is our focus this evening. That is what these amendments before us are about. They are about doing what is possible, legal and permissible at this point in time.

This financial resolution deals exclusively with excise as it is levied against fuel. Before I address this, I wish to say it is clear that the Government must deliver a comprehensive package of measures to assist and to support households. As I said, not two months ago we faced post-pandemic inflation that was already reducing the spending power of workers and families. The Government responded with an electricity credit that provided the same level of financial support to a millionaire, for example, as it did to a worker on the minimum wage. We needed targeted measures at that point and we need them more than ever now. Yes, we need to see reductions beyond what the Government is talking about in respect of excise on petrol, diesel and home heating oil, but we also need to see targeted cost-of-living cash payments delivered to families and individuals on low and middle incomes. We need to see real action from the Government for many of the 300,000 renters who are feeling the pinch even more now because of other factors, not only rent. There therefore has to be a rent cut and a freeze on rent increases for the next three years. We need to see support for families, particularly those with young children. That is why we can and must cut the cost of childcare. Those who depend on social welfare payments as their only income need to see support at this time. That is why we need to see social welfare increases. Fuel is on the tip of everybody's tongue at this time, whether it is heating your home or being able to get from A to B by putting diesel or petrol in your car. We also need to expand the fuel eligibility criteria in order that more and more people are able to benefit from the fuel allowance.

Going back to the resolution before us, I welcome the fact that we are having this debate. Yesterday, when my party leader, Deputy McDonald, raised this issue, the Taoiseach did not indicate, at least at that time, that this was the proposal that was coming. I heard the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, say that whatever he does, we will just complain and say it does not go far enough. The difference is that we actually made the proposal first. We showed our cards before the Minister even suggested he was going to cut excise duty on fuel, including diesel and petrol. He has decided not to do anything about home heating oil, and I will come back to that in a minute. The Minister did say that a 25 cent reduction at the pumps in respect of diesel is not consistent with the energy tax directive. That is not true. It is consistent with the energy tax directive. What it would potentially fall foul of is the rebate. The Minister knows fine well that we need not only to ensure that hauliers and transport operators are able to benefit from that 7.5 cent rebate but that all of society is able to do so. There would be a way to do that to make sure that everybody sees that 25 cent reduction if there were a willingness. The Minister also said that this is the edge of where he can go. That is not true. Hauliers could benefit, through the reduction we have put forward, by 2.5 cent more than what the Government is proposing, inclusive of the rebate, so there are ways to do this. Most important, millions of people who depend on travelling in a car to get from A to B will also be able to benefit from this reduction, so it does not just benefit transport operators and hauliers.

That is why yesterday we had our homework done. We know the limits and what can be done in respect of cutting diesel prices within the rules at this time. It is 25 cent.

On petrol, the Government has far more scope to reduce prices but has decided not to. It has decided not to reduce petrol prices by the 34.1 cent that is permissible under the European tax directive. The Minister has never suggested, in fairness to him, that the Government does not have the ability to go further. It has made a conscious decision not to give the additional support to those individuals and families who are hard-pressed. Sinn Féin is saying that we need to push the boat out and do everything we can. Let us bear in mind the price of diesel we see on many forecourts. In Letterkenny in my home county of Donegal, it was €2.20 per litre last night. God knows what it will be tomorrow morning. In Wicklow, prices of €2.32 have been seen. That is a €1 increase since this time last year. The State, on the back of that increase, takes approximately 20 cent in additional VAT on every litre. The Minister is only giving back 15 cent. That is not the response we need at a time of huge pressure and a massive burden on families and individuals.

This is the straw that will break many people and homes. It is a particular issue in rural Ireland, where we do not have the same infrastructure that many urban areas have. People need a car to make that longer commute to a job or to get to the supermarket, shop, doctor or hospital. All of that means having to put diesel or petrol into the car. There were rumours, and we knew this for a while. The Minister was going to wait until it hit €2. They were telling me in my county yesterday morning, as I was saying to Deputy McGrath, that petrol was going to increase by 20 cent overnight. It has happened in many other areas as well because they bought the fuel a number of days in advance. This is when the reduction kicks in. We need to reduce it as far as possible.

An option has been put before the House by Sinn Féin. Let us get petrol down to the cheapest level we can at this point. That is only the start because we need to do other things. Let us reduce it by 34.1 cent rather than the 20 cent the Government is talking about. Let us get diesel down by 25.3 cent rather than the 15 cent the Government is talking about. That is legally permissible. We can do that and we should be supporting it tonight. Is that enough? Absolutely not. It still leaves families in Blessington paying nearly €2 for a litre of diesel and families in Donegal paying €1.90 for a litre of diesel. That is not sustainable. We recognise, and the Minister alluded to it, that it is likely that the trends in petrol and diesel will continue to increase. None of us knows for sure where this market is going, but that is likely. That is why it can only be the first step of our response.

I feel and have said numerous times that the Government is out of touch. If Government Deputies understood the frustration of people and the impact this is having on them, they would have come up with a proposal that reduced petrol prices to the greatest extent possible. However, they decided not to. They would also have reduced the cost of diesel to the greatest extent possible and engaged with European partners on the VAT directive when we were talking to the Minister in committee in September about that. However, my understanding is that such the request was never made concerning VAT on energy and fuel products. The Government always reacts late in the day when the crisis is hitting.

I recognise that the war with Russia is driving up these prices but we need to recognise that, separately, this time last year the price of diesel was €1.30. By November, it had gone up by 30 cent. Inflation and costs were increasing. We need to look at that and at the exemptions that can be got out of the energy tax directive because we need a second package of supports to drive prices down and keep the price of petrol and diesel as reasonable as possible.

I listened to the Taoiseach speak about home heating oil. It is not the first thing the Taoiseach got wrong. We can ensure that we reduce the cost of diesel and petrol more than is suggested. The Taoiseach stated this morning that there is no excise duty on home heating oil. The Minister has not made such a statement because we know excise duty is mineral oil tax. Indeed, the motion before us relates to mineral oil tax. In relation to kerosene, the most commonly used home heating oil, the tax on 1,000 l is €84.84. The Minister wants us to vote on something we have already voted on, namely, for home heating oil to increase by more than €20 on 1 May. That is the response before the House despite the fact that, on 1 January, costs were already inflated: 1,000 l of home heating oil sold at €700. Today, the price in Dublin is €1,880. People have not budgeted for that €1,000 increase.

I do not understand how the Government or the Cabinet can have seen the price of home heating oil go through the roof and rise by about €1,000 in the past 12 weeks and decide to do nothing and not to take away excise tax. That tax will by 1 May be in the region of €118; currently, inclusive of VAT it is approximately €95. It is a small portion of the overall increase but is a relief that can be provided tonight to people who want to keep their homes warm. The Government decided not to do that. It decided to put forward a motion to see that price increase by over €20 on 1 May in the form of the carbon component of mineral oil tax. That is shocking, and an example of a Government that is collectively out of touch. It is not just the Cabinet Ministers but, I assume, the backbenchers who will come here tonight and decide to do nothing about the skyrocketing price of home heating oil. They will do worse than that: they will vote through an increase in home heating oil in the coming weeks. That is the wrong direction.

Following on from the greatest hits where the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told us in rural Ireland that we should share a car between the village, he now tells us to slow down when driving. The people of Ireland are sick, sore and tired of a Government that does not get it, that is out of touch and that always does too little, too late. We need a Government that responds to real needs here and now. If we do not do that, will we sit back and allow people to pay €2.20 or €2.30 at the petrol pump for the next number of weeks? What impact will that have on families and communities? That cannot be allowed to happen.

We need to push the boat out in terms of what can be done tonight. That can be done in the form of Sinn Féin's amendments to reduce petrol and diesel by the maximum amount, get excise off home heating oil and engage with our European partners to deal with the issue of VAT to allow for other tools and exemptions allowed under the energy tax directive in terms of social issues. That is what is needed and what would be done by an active Minister for Finance and Government that get it and that recognise that the crisis visited upon us by foreign actors and being felt by individuals here and now. The Minister should support Sinn Féin's amendments, as should everybody in the House.

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