Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 21, 23, 44 and 65 together.

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for raising this question. As the House will be aware, excise duty is applied to fuels on a volumetric basis in the case of non-carbon charges and on the basis of carbon dioxide omissions in the case of carbon tax. As such, the revenue raised from excise duties does not increase in light of increased prices, as may be the case with the ad valoremapplication of taxation.

The Government is aware of the impact of rising fuel prices on households and businesses. These trends are driven by global factors, the single largest of which is what I call the Putin war in Ukraine, which affects everything underpinning our discussion today. Without that war, we would not be having this discussion. Yes, prices were increasing due to Covid. There were supply chain issues across the world's economy as well as pent-up savings, with people wanting to spend more. This has led to inflationary pressures. After two years of lower activity during Covid, there has been a surge in activity, which is increasing inflation.

The key issue people are concerned about is the Putin war. Most of the scenarios being produced by the ESRI and everyone else are based on what is happening in Ukraine and how it affects fuel. While we do not directly import fuel from Russia, other EU countries do. If they stop doing so, it will have a significant impact on the markets where we purchase fuel and limit other countries in where they source their fuel, adding to our inflationary pressures.

A key driver in the inflation in wholesale energy prices has been Ireland's rebound, which has been quick and strong as a small, open economy. More recently, the Putin war has been a significant factor.

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