Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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55. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of reducing the floor applied to the fuel rebate scheme to €0.85 per litre based on current prices and forecasts made by his Department regarding the price of petrol and diesel. [38190/18]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of changes to the fuel rebate scheme in order that the maximum rebate available under the scheme is increased from 7.5 cent to 15 cent per litre and payable once the price reaches €1 excluding VAT and that the rebate would continue to be payable on a sliding scale but commencing when the diesel price is at €0.85 excluding VAT and reaching the maximum rebate of 15 cents once the price reaches €1 excluding VAT. [38191/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 56 together.

A relief on Mineral Oil Tax (MOT) paid on auto-diesel purchased within the State by qualifying operators, on or after 1 July 2013, is provided for by Section 99A of the Finance Act 1999 (as inserted by Section 51 of the Finance Act 2013).

The repayment amount is calculated by reference to a sliding scale based on the average price at which auto-diesel is available for purchase during a repayment period. The maximum relief is 7.5 cents per litre for fuel purchased at €1.54 or over and no relief applies where the purchase price is €1.23 or less. Full details on the requirements for qualifying operators in relation to repayments under the scheme are available on Revenue’s website at www.revenue.ie/en/tax/excise/diesel-rebate-scheme.

I am advised by Revenue that the total volume of diesel submitted for relief on MOT from the period 2014 to 2017 ranged from a high of 416m litres in 2014 to a low of 55m litres in 2016. In the absence of data on potential future uptake, the costings provided below are based on the average volume of qualifying diesel consumption for the years 2014/2015 (approximately 326m litres) and the current national average purchase price per litre in July 2018 of €1.364 (€1.109 VAT exclusive).

The cost of reducing the ‘floor price’ from €1.00 per litre (excluding VAT) to €0.85 per litre, assuming the maximum repayment value of 7.5c per litre would remain unchanged, is estimated by Revenue to be in the region of €5.2 million.

In relation to Question 38191/18, at the current national average purchase price for diesel of €1.364 per litre (July 2018), all qualifying consumption would be eligible under the proposal for the full relief of 15c per litre. Revenue has advised me that the estimated cost of the proposal would be approximately €51m per year.