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

The Deputy started his contribution by correctly saying these are not normal times, and I agree with him on that. In normal times a Government would not come out in March and say it would reduce excise by 20 cent and 15 cent. It was an exceptional intervention because of the costs that people face. It happened to coincide with a time when wholesale prices were rising and people felt they did not see any benefit but if the Government had not made the intervention, the prices on forecourts would be 20 cent and 15 cent higher than they currently are.

I have explained that the options open to the Government on fuel are very limited. We could reduce VAT but at a massive cost because it cannot be done for diesel and petrol alone. It would have to be done on half the activity across the entire Irish economy at a cost of approximately €500 million per year for every 1% reduction. It is a massive cost for a measure that is not very targeted. In the budget context, the Government is examining all the options we have to see how we could help. The Deputy has raised a range of different sectors, including contractors, farmers, people delivering public works and, of course, private motorists. We acknowledge those pressures and we will very much take that into account.

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