Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody for contributing to the debate and supporting the motion. It is disappointing that the Government has tabled an amendment. I have raised these points with the Minister who was shouting over to Deputy Carthy saying, "Ye supported this", and all that. I can read him the transcripts. He is giving the impression now that he set this date of 3 October because he wanted to review the issue. I specifically asked him at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach if he would review it. I said if we removed excise duty from petrol and diesel at current prices when we are dealing with the Finance Bill, the price would be €1.91 but, by continuing on this trajectory, it would be about €1.96. I said it could actually go higher and asked the Minister whether, if it crept up close to €2, he would be willing to review it. He said "No". I can read out his own words if he wants. He said he was legislating for this and that this was what he wanted to do. He then introduced the caveat that the Government keeps everything under review. However, he said he was keeping this.

The point is we made it very clear that this is the trajectory it could have taken and that prices could have risen in the international markets, which is what has happened, over the summer. We know the reasons for that and now we are seeing the price of petrol and diesel creep up to €2, which is what I suggested it could reach, and the Minister has decided not to send a signal tonight on the two increases he plans. Not content with the increase in September, which the Dáil could not deal with as it was not sitting, there are further increases of 2 cent and 2.5 cent on 11 October, with a further increase again on 31 October.

Many Deputies from Border communities talked about the impact on individual businesses. I sat down with many retailers recently. They come from some of the most deprived communities in our State, places on the Border like Lifford and Ballyshannon. The reality is if there is a 10 cent increase in excise duty and that is not reciprocated in the North through the British Government, it makes these businesses unviable. Maybe the Government is not interested on the impact it will have on Border communities, but there must be an analysis of what excise duty does to businesses that are supporting jobs in areas with levels of deprivation we do not see anywhere else in the State.

At the core of this motion is a cost-of-living measure. The Minister was clapping himself on the back on what the Government has done in successive budgets. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when inflation is still running at 6% and prices are still going up, the Minister is planning to increase the price of petrol and diesel. He did it in September and is planning to do it on 11 October and again on 31 October, which is madness as we creep up to a price of €2 per litre at the pumps.

This motion is sensible. It asks the Government not to proceed with that increase and to do what I suggested when we dealt with the Finance Bill at an early stage. I said that if prices were creeping up to €2, this would need to be kept under review. When the Minister said "No", I said this is exactly what has to happen. We are at that point now. These increases should not go ahead and definitely not at this time. I again make the point that this is another example of how out of touch the Government is with ordinary people who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. I ask the Minister to reflect on the fact that one in eight families cannot pay its energy bills. How does he think they will feel when he increases the price of petrol twice in the next month?

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