Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I move:

1) THAT section 99A of the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999) be amended, with effect as on and from 25 March 2026, by the substitution of the following for subsection (3) (as amended by section 42 of the Finance Act 2019 (No. 45 of 2019)): "(3) Where –

(a) gas oil has been purchased on or after 1 January 2020 and before 1 January 2026, or on or after 1 July 2026, then, subject to a maximum repayment rate of €75.00 per 1,000 litres, the amount to be repaid per 1,000 litres of gas oil under subsection (2) is determined—

(i) when P is less than or equal to €1,070, by the formula—

A = (P - 1,000) x 0.3,

or

(ii) when P is greater than €1,070, by the formula—

A = 21 + [(P - 1,070) x 0.6],

or

(b) gas oil has been purchased on or after 1 January 2026 and before 1 July 2026, then, subject to a maximum repayment rate of €120.00 per 1,000 litres, the amount to be repaid per 1,000 litres of gas oil under subsection (2) is determined—

(i) when P is less than or equal to €1,070, by the formula—

A = (P - 1,000) x 0.3,

(ii) when P is greater than €1,070 and less than or equal to €1,150, by the formula—

A = 21 + [(P - 1,070) x 0.675],

or

(iii) when P is greater than €1,150, by the formula—

A = 75 + [(P - 1,150) x 4.5],

where—

A is the amount to be repaid per 1,000 litres, and

P is an estimate of the average price (exclusive of value-added tax) in euro per 1,000 litres of gas oil purchased by qualifying road transport operators during the repayment period, as determined in accordance with subsection (4).".

(2) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).

:

This financial resolution amends the provisions for a partial repayment of mineral oil tax, MOT, on auto diesel purchased in the State and used in qualifying vehicles by licensed Irish and EU road transport operators. The arrangements are generally referred to as the diesel rebate scheme, DRS, which is used by hauliers and bus operators.

The draft amendments provide for changes to how DRS repayment rates are determined and for an increase to the cap on these rates to enhance DRS benefits for qualifying operators to assist in mitigating the impact of rising fuel costs. The rate of repayment is currently capped at 7.5 cent per litre. The cap is reached when the average price per litre of auto diesel is €1.16, excluding VAT. This financial resolution increases the rate to 12 cent per litre. The DRS runs on a quarterly basis and this financial resolution will apply for quarters 1 and 2 of 2026. The backdating of the measure to the beginning of this year is in recognition of the impact on hauliers and bus operators of steep increases in the price of diesel in recent weeks.

As the Tánaiste indicated, this temporary and targeted measure is in recognition of the detrimental impact of increasing fuel prices on hauliers and passenger transport operators and of the importance of these sectors to the Irish economy. The DRS provides targeted support to operators such as bus companies, who may drop Deputies' children to school; to food delivery trucks, which keep our shelves stocked; and to essential parts of business supply chains, which means business can continue with a cushioned impact. Households and businesses will be indirect beneficiaries of these additional supports to hauliers and bus companies.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I understand an amendment has been tabled to this section.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The amendment is out of order.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Okay, that is fine. Well, it is not really fine but I accept the ruling.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I have just been told a letter would have been sent to the Deputy.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I understand. The timeframes have been so tight, given the chaotic way the Government brought this forward, despite the fact it had four weeks to deal with this issue of support for workers and families in the middle of what was already a cost-of-living crisis. It is important to remember that, before the fuel crisis was brought on by the attacks in Iran and the impacts of the attacks Iran has launched in the Middle East, we had a cost-of-living crisis.

10 o’clock

Many families and businesses were already pushed to the pin of their collar. The real challenges people are facing in terms of just meeting basic necessities have been well rehearsed. I have heard the Tánaiste talk at length about his new idea for a savings scheme and how the State can help people to save and all the rest of it. That will be great for some people by allowing them to get more tax breaks for savings they have. However, a whole group of other people are asking me what planet the Tánaiste is on. Some of them are among the 320,000 people who cannot pay their electricity bill. Their cupboards are bare in the evening when their children come in hungry. We have a Minister for Finance who is talking about how we can generate more wealth and how the State can support that generation of wealth through tax cuts. The second debate that is taking place is about how we can allow the very small proportion of people who have an inheritance above €400,000 to keep more of that money for themselves. It is a type of parallel Ireland, with a divide between the haves and the have-nots.

This motion is about excise duty. The Government is being forced, after four weeks, into acting on the issue, which it did not want to do. It is moving from a position where it was going to monitor the situation, with no knee-jerk reaction, blah, blah, blah, to a point where, after we tabled legislation to cut excise and support workers and families, as well as transport operators and hauliers, it is being forced to bring forward some type of proposal. The resolution the Government has brought forward is a half-measure.

I completely and utterly acknowledge that we need to support hauliers. There are two ways of doing so. One is by increasing the diesel rebate scheme payment from 7.5 cent to 12 cent. That would mean hauliers having to pay the full whack at the pump and then wait until the end of the quarter to make a return and get the money back from Revenue or offset it. The other way of doing it is to reduce the excise duty, which means that when the hauliers rock up to the petrol station or buy diesel themselves in their yard, they get the reduction there and then. The second is the more appropriate way, with the reduction in excise automatically given at the pumps. Crucially, it not only gives the reduction to the haulage company and transport operator but also to every person who has to put petrol, or in this case, diesel, into his or her car. That is the measure that should be brought forward. It is a way to support hauliers, transport operators and the general public. However, it is very clear the Government does not want to provide that additional support to the wider public. It is a serious error.

I was sent an image an hour and a half ago when people were looking at the vote going on in the House and seeing that every single TD who supports Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents in government voted to oppose a reduction in the maximum amount of excise on diesel and to oppose removing excise on home heating oil. The image I was sent, taken today, was of a forecourt showing a diesel price of €2.35. The message under the image said "What planet are these guys living on?". That is the sentiment I am hearing right across the board, namely, that the Government simply does not get it.

My amendment has been ruled out of order and I accept that ruling of the Chair. It was intended to ensure that the support hauliers and transport operators need is provided to them not in a delayed way, through a rebate, but immediately by cutting excise at the pumps. By doing that, we would provide the support for every carer, every person with a disability, every worker driving to work tomorrow morning and every commuter who has to travel by car tomorrow. That is the way it should be done and it is what our amendment proposed to do. As I said, I welcome any support for the haulage sector but there was a way of doing this whereby the support would not be limited to just one sector. It should have been provided for all but, unfortunately, the Government simply does not understand the cost-of-living pressures people are facing. If it got the issue, it would not have introduced the budget it did last year, with a total allocation of €9.5 billion that still left workers and families worse off than they were before it.

The Taoiseach claimed the ESRI keeps on saying that the lowest two deciles were the greatest beneficiaries of the budget. In fact, the ESRI report says they lost the most as a result of budget 2026 because of the withdrawal of cost-of-living supports. I ask the Minister to have a word with the Taoiseach and ask him to stop gaslighting the public by saying the opposite of what everybody knows is true, which is that they are worse off now as a result of what the Government did in the budget.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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The Labour Party supports this emergency legislation. We support the rebate because the haulage industry needs relief and it needs it fast. We must act with urgency and a sense of responsibility to the workers and businesses that keep this country functioning. This emergency legislation is not technical and nor is it distant from the daily lives of people. It deals with a crisis that has struck at the very heart of Ireland's supply chain. The sudden and severe spike in fuel prices following the attacks on Iran is drastically affecting large swathes of our constituents.

The haulage industry is not just another sector in Ireland; it is the circulatory system of our economy. As for every loaf of bread on the shelf, every medical supply delivered to hospitals and every export leaving our ports - none of it happens without the trucks that are on our roads day and night. In my county of Wexford, this is not just theory. It is central to the economic reality of a county that is home to some of the largest haulage companies in the country. Be it Rosslare Europort, our agricultural producers or our manufacturing base, Wexford depends greatly on the haulage industry, just as does every other county on this island. Thousands of jobs directly and indirectly rely on a functioning, affordable and stable transport sector. When fuel prices explode overnight, it is not just hauliers who suffer but also every family, every business and every community that depends on the sector.

Supporting this legislation does not mean giving the Government a free pass. It does not mean ignoring the gaps, inconsistencies and unanswered questions associated with it. There is one question in particular that demands an answer. Why has the Government chosen to backdate this rebate to 1 January? What is the difference between the haulage industry and the thousands of householders across the country who have been struggling, week in and week out and for months upon months? We have all heard the stories of individuals and families having to make the choice between food and fuel. Do those people not deserve the same treatment, the same rebate and the same relief? Is their lobby group not as effective or influential? If this measure is a response to the extraordinary shock triggered by the attacks on Iran, then the timeline must make sense. Is this simply a date chosen for administrative convenience? The Minister owes this House a clear and unambiguous explanation. People deserve transparency and honesty.

There is another issue, which goes beyond Government policy and strikes at the heart of the behaviour of certain actors in the fuel supply chain. It is time to call it out plainly. When the attacks on Iran occurred, prices at the pumps rose instantly - not gradually, not cautiously but instantly. We were told the global markets had reacted, suppliers had no choice and the increases had to be passed on immediately. Yet now, when prices are falling and the immediate shock has eased, fuel industry representatives are telling us, as reported in the Irish Independent this morning, that it will be some time before reductions are reflected at the pumps. Prices went up like the rockets that were falling but are coming down like a feather. I say without hesitation that this behaviour is unacceptable, opportunistic and profiteering. It is gouging on the double.

People cannot have it both ways. It cannot be that prices are raised overnight when global markets spike and then feet are dragged when those same markets stabilise or, indeed, when the Government intervenes, as is happening tonight. The industry cannot demand sympathy when costs rise and then refuse to show fairness when costs fall.

It certainly cannot expect the public to swallow the idea that price increases are immediate but price decreases require time. This House should not tolerate it, the public will not tolerate it and the Labour Party condemns it in the strongest possible terms. The Government is stepping in with reductions intended to support consumers at a time of deep crisis but if we allow this behaviour to continue and suppliers delay passing on reductions, it means that support is not going to the consumers, workers and small businesses struggling to survive, but is going straight into the pockets of companies exploiting volatility for profit. That is not a functioning market. That is not fair competition. That is not acceptable in a country that claims to value fairness and transparency.

While we support this legislation, we also demand oversight. We demand monitoring of fuel pricing behaviour. We demand accountability from suppliers who seem to believe that crises are opportunities for profit rather than moments for responsibility to assist everyone. Families are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for fairness. Workers who have to commute to work are asking for recognition of the essential role they play in our economy. They are asking for support during this moment of global instability that they did not create and cannot control.

We absolutely understand the importance of the haulage industry to this economy. We see the trucks on our roads. We see the goods moving through Rosslare Port and other ports. We see the livelihoods that depend on a stable affordable transport sector. We know that if we fail to act to support this industry, the consequences will be felt far beyond the haulage yards. They will be felt in every corner of every county across the entire country.

While we have to pass this legislation, we also have to demand answers. We have to demand fairness. We have to demand that fuel suppliers act responsibly and transparently. There is absolutely no way that we can facilitate this. The Irish people will not be taken advantage of at a time when families and individuals across the board are put to the pin of their collar to live anything approaching a semblance of normal existence.

I am glad to hear that coach and bus operators are included in this. However, we also have taxi drivers and people who must meet spiralling transport costs in their businesses. Protection must be afforded to the many sectors that rely on the use of vehicles of all shapes and makes to keep their heads above water. We will be supporting this legislation, but there certainly are questions that need to be answered.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Gach lá agus gach seachtain, feicimid Rialtas atá caillte ar bhealach, Rialtas nach bhfuil cúram gnáthdhaoine air. Ní gá go mbeadh sé ar an mbealach seo. Is féidir é a bheith difriúil. Rinne an Rialtas na roghanna míchearta. Tá na tosaíochtaí míchearta aige. Tá níos mó agus níos mó daoine á mbrú i dtreo na bochtaineachta aige. Tá níos mó agus níos mó daoine go hiomlán bréan den Rialtas seo. Tá athrú ag teastáil ó dhaoine. Ó thaobh na gcostas maireachtála, níl sé seo maith go leor. Ní mór dúinn cruthú níos fearr. Cruthóimid níos fearr. Níl aon am fágtha. Ní foláir dúinn gníomhú anois. Caithfimid gníomhú go práinneach. Ní foláir don Aire éisteacht agus gníomhú. Ní foláir don Rialtas éisteacht agus gníomhú. Ní rogha é go mbeadh a thuilleadh moille ná a thuilleadh easpa gníomhaíochta ann. Tá sé chomh simplí sin. Tá tráth an ghnímh tagtha. Céard atá ar siúl? An bhfuil aon rud á dhéanamh ag an Aire chun é seo a shocrú? An bhfuil aon smaoineamh aige? Does the Minister have any idea of the hardship that people are going through in terms of the overall approach the Government is taking?

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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The response from the Government to the cost-of-living crisis that has come on top of a cost-of-living crisis is absolutely inadequate. The Government response is miserly in comparison to the scale of suffering in the country. We are seeing rising numbers of people living in poverty under this Government. The Minister claimed that the Government is addressing these issues. The Taoiseach goes on about addressing and caring about child poverty. One in four children in this country is growing up in poverty right now.

The response we are seeing is absolutely inadequate. The Government's response actually means cuts for ordinary workers, ordinary families, the elderly and disabled people. Disabled people's supports were cut in the budget. It is Scrooge for ordinary people and it is Santa Claus for the investor funds, the developers and the fast-food giants. The Government is giving over €1 billion this year in public money to investor funds and fast-food giants, yet it turns around to ordinary people and says, "We have to wait. We're not quite sure if we can give you the money yet." The Government has billions sitting in a surplus while, as I said, one in four children is living in poverty.

It gets even worse. The rate of lone parents living in deprivation stands at 49%, and that has increased since 2023. The number of renters getting no rental supports who are living in poverty has increased from 36% in 2023 to 43%. That was last year, before the current increases, which shows the Government is completely ignoring a cost-of-living crisis and a level of poverty that is completely unacceptable. As I said, it is Scrooge for ordinary people and Santa Claus for the wealthy investors and the big fast-food giants.

It is shameful that the Government is not providing a sufficient response for people. Nor is it tackling the issue of price gouging and profiteering, which we know is going on again at the pumps and with the oil providers. The energy costs are crippling for people. People are choosing between heating and eating and it is not good enough. The Social Democrats have called for a targeted energy credit which could really help people. Why is the Government not doing that? It is unacceptable and we will continue to call it out.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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This resolution is very revealing about the Government's approach. Earlier, we had a resolution that introduced inadequate measures, small cuts in excise on petrol and diesel but no price caps, no guarantee, no security for people into the future and nothing to ensure there is not profiteering. Those measures are time limited until the end of May and could be wiped away by the end of the week. Prices could go back down to €2 per litre and then go back up again by the end of the week. It is something but it is also very inadequate, effectively nothing. On home heating oil, it will mean a €20 saving on 1,000 litres when the price has very close to doubled over the past number of weeks. That is insulting to people. The underlying thread we hear from the Ministers is, "Ah sure, we're getting out of the bad weather. People will be grand." They certainly will not be; they are struggling.

We have very minimal measures for the general population but then we hear that Resolution No. 2 is a targeted measure. It is a measure which, unlike the ones we voted on earlier that come in tonight and last just until the end of May, is backdated to 1 January and it goes all the way to the end of June. That is fantastic, we think. This must be for the disabled people who were hit by the Government with €1,400 of cruel cuts in the budget. They have been on the streets demanding again and again an emergency disability payment, not the full cost-of-disability payment which they were promised, not even getting back the €1,400 that the Government took off them. It should just give disabled people €400, which is a tiny amount that will go some way to cushion them from the blow, a targeted amount for them.

However, when we read the detail of Financial Resolution No. 2, I am afraid we discover this is not a targeted measure for disabled people but a targeted measure for hauliers.

They will get an extra rebate on diesel to go back to the start of January and to go all the way to the end of June, but ordinary householders will not. Of course hauliers need support. Of course their prices going up will feed through into the rest of the economy in what people pay for the goods they buy in shops and so on. However, what is the measure to do that? It is obvious. It is the same measure as for everybody else. It is dealing with the issue of the price of diesel. However, instead of actually doing that in an effective way for everybody such that they get the benefit and, therefore, consumers and the population at large get the benefit at the end of the day, the Government has done a special scheme just for businesses. It is very revealing of the Government's approach to this new cost-of-living crisis.

I do not think the Government gets it that for ordinary people this cost-of-living crisis comes on top of an existing cost-of-living crisis. People are really suffering. People were already really suffering two months ago. We remember the shocking statistic about four in ten parents skipping or cutting back on meals in order to ensure that their kids have enough to eat. We know there are over 300,000 people in arrears on their energy bills right now. We know that the Government's budget made all of that worse. Despite the misinformation that is put out there by the Taoiseach, we know and the ESRI, the Parliamentary Budget Office and so on will say that the Government's budget made it worse and made it hardest for the poorest groups in our society. That was the impact of its budget: increasing child poverty and increasing rates of poverty, including for older people. The Minister and the Minister of State have woken up to react to that. They are welcome. Let me tell them what the Parliamentary Budget Office said. It said the budget increased poverty rates from 11.7% in 2024 to 13.2% in 2025.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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What did the ESRI say?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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If the Minister of State wants, I will get to him before we finish. The ESRI said that for the bottom 10% the budget would see a cut of about 2.5% in income-----

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The ESRI said it was a progressive budget.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The ESRI did not say that. I will get the Minister of State the exact figures by the time I finish. The Government's budget - people can check it online - hit disabled people and the lowest income groups the hardest.

Let me say what the Government should have done and what we are in favour of doing. We should cap prices. We should give people certainty: €1.75, as was contained in our Bill, for petrol and diesel. Only a price cap can give certainty and security to car-dependent households. The way you do that is you cap the price and then adjust the tax as necessary to ensure that petrol and diesel can continue to be supplied. Then we need to expand the remit of the CRU to investigate petrol and diesel prices and send inspection teams to verify prices at the pumps. We need fuel companies to open their books to the CRU, and those found to be profiteering should be forced to contribute to the price caps by an amount equal to their excess profits. We need universal credits. The Government should just immediately get €500 back into the pockets of ordinary householders. It is the most immediate way to give people relief. That can be funded by a levy on the data centres. The data centres are now using more electricity than all households in this State combined and they are paying half the price for it. Let us fund it in that way. Yes, let us give an extra month of fuel allowance, let us give an extra payment, a double payment, on all social protection payments as targeted measures. Then let us invest in getting people away from fossil fuels.

I heard the Taoiseach earlier say that LNG and so on were not contradictory to moving away from fossil fuels. Of course they are. That was the latest demand of Trump at the White House: we want to sell more LNG. The warning signals came and the message should have been heard in terms of Ukraine but it was not. The western world did not do anything to get away from fossil fuels. In this country we have continued on this track of reliance on fossil fuels. The result is that every extra unit of power added by wind has been swallowed up by the data centres, and Micheál Martin wants to go even further with them. No more data centres. Let us make public transport free. Let us invest in retrofitting to get off our reliance on fossil fuels, which is what makes us so exposed.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I want to just inject the voices of ordinary citizens into this debate, if I may. These are the voices of a nurse and a garda that were posted on social media today. The first one said:

I am a nurse working in a Dublin hospital but I live in the midlands. I travel 100 km to work and 100 km home every day. We live in the midlands because we can't afford to live in Dublin but we really can't afford to live here either. We're barely surviving. Our main source of heat is oil. We ran out two weeks ago, we can't afford the bill and we can't heat our house. Very few people have that kind of money. We have two kids and it's early nights for all of us now. The only luxury we have is an electric blanket on our bed to keep us warm. The cost of living has gone out of control. I don't get a fuel allowance to help us get to work and back like politicians do. I pay €10 parking fees on top of soaring prices and I know other staff who are paying €15 parking fees every single day. I work it out that I can only go on two more months at this rate. I've already had to cut back on our shopping bill. We literally buy only essentials as it is. I don't smoke, drink or have any social life.

A garda responded:

I'm a mother of five. I'm a member of the Garda Síochána, as is my husband. We are struggling beyond comprehension. We pinch and scrape but we still seem to not have enough. We live week to week and one unexpected bill will put us under. I don't drink, smoke, go out, have takeaways, have luxuries. We have older cars. I can't remember the last time I bought something for myself. The toll it's taking on us is serious. How is it that people with good-paying jobs are still struggling? It's not right, it's not just. I'm heartbroken that our children are missing out so much because we don't have the finances. This government should be absolutely ashamed of itself.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I have been in contact with the road hauliers last Thursday, yesterday and this morning. They were taken to the end of their tether before this announcement and they are responsible people. They have made it very clear to me that they considered going out on strike but they did not want to go on strike on the basis of the effect it would have on the people they deliver the goods for. At the same time, however, there is only so much they can take before the Government could be faced with that crisis. While this financial resolution alleviates it and I will support it, I will certainly have serious concerns going forward if there is not more immediate action done there.

The Government forgot about the people who have the green diesel, namely, the farmer and the fisherman. It is a drop of only 3 cent on their fuel. Had the Government any thought on how they will survive? Had it any thought on how they will deliver their produce at the rate at which they are expected to deliver? That has not been afforded any thought. The Government is all talk all day about the great Government giving more than the rest of the world. It is taking. It is robbing the people left, right and centre with taxes of 60% to 65%, such as the carbon tax, the NORA levy and excise. It has given it every kind of name in order that it can sex it up and make it look as if it were some other kind of tax. It is tax. It is coming out of the ordinary, hard-working person's pay every day of the week, so when they go to the filling station and put €100 into it, they are giving €60 to €65 to the Government. That is absolutely insane. It is not happening anywhere else in the world, and the Members opposite know that too.

The Government says it is giving a lot this time but it is not giving it back to the people. It has not considered to move us away from the need for fossil fuels. The idea of a floating LNG terminal has been put before the Government. Battery lorries, which work in New Zealand, Japan and all over the world, cannot be thought about here. We are always the laggards and that is all we will ever be. Grants for solar panels are at €1,800 but you spend €20,000 on the panels. This is where we are going. Barryroe should have been explored. There are the small things like toll bridge charges. The Government could have stopped them going forward. The toll bridge charges are another kick. You know when you switch on the car in the morning you are paying tax on the car when you purchase it, the tyres are taxed, the fuel is taxed and the oil is taxed. God almighty, we are an insane country to rob our own people, and now when they wanted a little back, the Government still did not give it to them. It is scandalous.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I welcome the rebate for the haulage industry. The only thing about it is that is probably for licensed hauliers. What about the person who is a haulier of cattle? A haulage licence is not needed for that. What about people who own hardware and have to bring their own gear somewhere? They do not need a haulage licence. Do they get the rebate? If it is like the things before then they do not. What about the guy bringing straw from up the country? The Government is well aware that they will not get it either. These are the things that need to be looked at.

In looking at today's measures, while I welcome some things on the white diesel, I stated today that this Government has no interest in bringing the price of housing down because every digger working on a housing site today is costing €120 more per day in green diesel. The Government talks about doing sewerage projects and water projects. Every single machine working on those sites is costing €120 more because green diesel has gone up by 70 cent and the Government is giving a measly 5 cent back to them. Do not go telling me that the Government is interested in solving a housing crisis when we see the likes of that.

The Minister and the Minister of State are from rural Ireland. The Big Ms will be soon out in about four or five weeks' time. A silage harvester takes 1,000 litres of fuel. It costs between €600 and €700 or more to fill that. A Big M will need to be filled again at 3.30 p.m. How can anyone stick that? Is there a rebate for them? No. Where is the farmer going to get more money out of? Where are they going to get all this money to pay this contractor? What has been done is ill-thought out. I welcome the bits that are good, but my God, on the green diesel, does the Minister and the Minister of State realise that the price of white diesel went up by about 50 cent? It has gone from about €1.75 to €2.20 or €2.25. Does the Government realise that the Friday before that guy decided to go bombing Iran that the green diesel cost 98 cent, including VAT. It costs €1.61 this minute, plus VAT. When I went to school that was about 70 cent more at least. Even if the VAT is drawn back, it is 70 cent more per litre. It is actually 20 cent more than the white diesel has gone up by. The VAT on white diesel is at 23%, while the VAT on this is at 13.5% and the Government thinks it is great for what it has done today. It is a help for the haulage industry and I appreciate that. What about the guy in the quarry? Are we going to build houses without quarries? What about them? The crusher and the loading shovel use green diesel. I do not know what world the economists in the Department of Finance are in but this will cripple the housing industry alone and it will put damnable pressure on the whole agricultural sector. The Minister and the Minister of State know that because they are from rural Ireland.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to get the opportunity to talk again this evening on this. I am sorry if I will be repeating some of the things that Deputy Fitzmaurice raised. It is because we are involved with the same kind of people and we are feeling for some of the people that have not been properly seen after here today. I welcome the good points that have been brought forward in relation to the white diesel and for the reduction and rebate for those who will qualify for it. Many hauliers who are very important people and who do great work will not qualify because they did not ever have to have a haulage licence. One of the components to qualify is to be a haulage licence holder. Many of those people will not qualify because they transport livestock. Drivers of lorries moving timber from forests to sawmills will not qualify. Bakeries that transport their own bread and scones or whatever to the shops will not qualify. So many of these will be left behind and it is not fair on them.

On the green diesel, I am sorry to be criticising the Government's reductions but did it totally forget such a thing or does it know what the colour of it is or what it is used for? Tractors are a necessary component of farm production and for many months now, farmers could not go inside their gaps because of bad, incessant rain and weather. There is a whole lot of jobs left behind and still to be done. Many farmers are contemplating not growing the grain at all or ploughing for it because with this they were banking on getting something reasonable. In fairness, 3 cent is not good enough to compensate for the rise of 70 cent over the last two or three weeks. It has gone up from 98 cent to €1.68 in our neck of the woods anyway. I am sorry that these people have been left behind. They do great things like tractor runs for charities such as the Kerry cancer support group bus that takes many people to Cork. We were out last Sunday and I thank all the young boys and girls that landed in Barraduff with their tractors to support the bus that takes patients to Cork, Dublin and Limerick.

Industrial machinery will be affected. There is an awful lot of talk about house building but a lot of people have gone into contracts for builders and they are now wondering will they be able to perform because of the cost of diesel, which is outrageous. Cranes, teleporters, diggers and dumpers are needed. They all run on green diesel and 3 cent will not make enough of a difference to give them the confidence to stay going.

Fishermen who are already on their knees, use a lot of green diesel to run their boats. They are affected as well. They will not get it any cheaper from the suppliers. I am very disappointed that people who have to use green diesel have not been properly treated here today. A cut of 3 cent is not enough. I am asking the Government to come back with another proposal. Everyone is entitled to make a mistake or to forget something. We cannot leave these people behind like this because it is not fair. When I went into politics, alongside my father, he always said that you have to be fair with everyone. That is what we will have to do here. We will have to be fair with these people. They are not being recognised here at all today. That is being dead honest about it. Because the Government has not got it done today, it must come back in a very short time. It had almost four weeks to put this package together properly. I know it is not the Minister's or the Minister of State's individual job to organise this package but they are the ones in charge. They must get after the officials in the Departments to ensure that the farming community, the people that drive tractors and produce our food are looked after. Food is paramount to stay alive. On top of that, they are one of the major exporters of goods out of this country and they have to be recognised and treated as such. We need to make sure that they want to stay at it. With all the aggro that is thrown at farmers for the climate and blaming them for this and for that, it is wrong to leave them behind.

It was mentioned that the story could get worse and the Government will have to come back to deal with all the other things again. So be it but do not come back here another day without thinking of the farmers, who are so important to the country. They have given so much of their lives. They inherited their places from parents or grandparents and they want to hand them down in the same way as they got it from their fathers and mothers, for their sons and daughters. They will not want to stay at it and when the young people who we are trying to get into the farming sector with generational renewal hear and see this, they will not put up with it at all.

The Ministers must beg, borrow or steal. This Government borrowed almost €1.8 billion to give to Ukraine to keep the war going. That is our record in the last couple of months but we cannot give a greater part of the 70 cent back to the tractor men and the people who use green diesel. That 3 cent is all they can get. That is a ridiculous percentage. I am sorry for being hard here tonight but, when I think of the people out there, I am not that sorry at all because they have to be represented just the same as everyone else. I am afraid they have been left behind for too long. That is the fact of it. That was demonstrated here today. I welcome the good parts, such as what we are getting for the haulage industry, although not for other sectors. I am sad that the farmers have been totally and absolutely neglected by this Government tonight.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for their contributions this evening. The financial resolution amends provisions for a partial repayment of mineral oil tax on auto diesel purchased in the State and used in qualifying vehicles by licensed Irish and EU road transport operators. As the Minister, Deputy Heydon, indicated earlier, this temporary and targeted measure is in recognition of the specific and detrimental impact of increasing fuel prices on hauliers and passenger transport operators and the importance of these sectors to the Irish economy.

The DRS provides a targeted level of support to the operators who keep this country running every day. As an island economy, we rely hugely on hauliers to take our produce and products to us. Passenger transport operators provide invaluable services to schools, to businesses and, as we look deeper into spring and summer, to our tourism sector. The front line of this war might be far from our borders, but these are the businesses that are feeling the daily impact of the situation in the gulf on our roads. Government has sought to support them, including with a backdated measure, so that they can operate with certainty over the months ahead. We are seeing how quickly things change. Even in the last couple of hours, there has been a further update on the Strait of Hormuz. This requires agility and it is agile supports that the Government has brought forward today.

I reiterate the Minister, Deputy Heydon’s affirmation that the Opposition amendment cannot be accepted. I understand that it has been ruled out of order. The amendment proposes that a report be produced on the efficacy of the increase of 4.5 cent in the diesel rebate scheme rate within one week of the passing of this resolution. As the scheme operates on a quarterly basis and claims can be made up to four months after the end of the quarter, the full data required to produce such a report would be unavailable until the end of the final claim period.

Recent increases being felt by consumers and businesses are ultimately driven by market factors. Overnight changes cannot offset all of those increases but, as I have said, the Government is acting with agility to protect and support, insofar as is practical, those at the coalface, our hauliers and our transport operators, including the bus operators who bring people to work and who bring our children to school. The enhancements to the diesel rebate scheme are positive and are targeted at those operators I have described. There is a clear expectation that it will also have a knock-on impact on the customers who use their services.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Will the Deputies claiming a division please rise?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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As fewer than ten Members have risen, I declare the question carried. In accordance with Standing Order 87, the names of the Deputies dissenting will be recorded in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Dáil.