Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is welcome to put forward a policy suggestion in this regard as to what such a scheme would look like. It would entail paying for and subsidising the cost of buying fuel because the State does not apply any Revenue charges. Her party does not have any policy in this area at the moment. Should she wish to develop a policy, I will look at it and see what she proposes. The State does not apply any Revenue charges except for VAT, which is reclaimable by many fishers but not all. VAT, as the Deputy knows, applies across the Common Market. What it is and is not applied to is standard and uniform across the European Union, so we cannot adjust that. There is no Revenue charge whatsoever on marine gas oil. We also oppose any moves at international level, of which there are a number, to insist that there should be a Revenue charge on marine gas oil. In World Trade Organization negotiations at the moment there is a push for that, for example. I am resisting that because I do not want to see any Revenue charge applied because it is important to the profit lines of fishers. Should the Deputy's party wish to develop a policy on this matter, we could consider but it would be getting into the space of not only not applying Revenue charges and tax on fuel but paying people and subsiding the buying of fuel.

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