Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

Can a debate with the Minister for Finance be organised in reaction to escalating fuel costs? Unfortunately, this happens every so often and the current crisis looks set to worsen before it improves. It is envisaged that a litre of petrol will shortly cost €1.25. We must cap the amount of VAT taken on fuel.

At present, it is ridiculous that as fuel prices increase, the Government also receives increased VAT. If the Government parties are genuinely interested in having a proper tax policy, they should cap the amount of VAT taken on fuels to allow for such cases when fuel prices increase. While we cannot control the fuel costs coming into the country, we can control the amount of VAT charged on the fuel. I challenge the Government parties to implement this policy with immediate effect in order to help hard-pressed motorists who are being crippled because of increased costs.