Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The reduction in excise duty on fuel is due to lapse in two days' time. This will put an extra 5 cent on diesel and an extra 6 cent on petrol, which is a significant jump. It will hit families extremely hard. Hiking excise duty when so many families are in poverty and so many families are in arrears on energy bills is the opposite of what must be done at the moment. Figures released to me following parliamentary questions have shown that in terms of VAT and various other taxes, the Government is taking in huge revenues off the backs of suffering families in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Last year saw more VAT taken in on electricity, gas, home heating oil, petrol, diesel and solid fuel than in any year since 2018. A total of €294 million more was taken than in 2021. This is not to mention the increase in carbon tax. Given this, is the Government really going to kick families when they are down and when they are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis by increasing excise duty in two days' time?

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