Fuel retailers were urged to ensure that tax cuts were quickly passed on to motorists and householders were encouraged to conserve energy as a €250 million package of cost-of-living supports was unveiled by the Government.
A series of temporary measures aimed at easing the impact of soaring energy costs were announced on Tuesday, with the Opposition later attacking the supports which they claimed did not go far enough.
The cost of fuel at the pumps soared to over €2 per litre in the wake of the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran. The fuel industry denied price gouging immediately after the outbreak of the war.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris both set out their expectation that cuts in excise on petrol and diesel would be passed to consumers.
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The temporary reduction in excise on motor fuels will run until May 31st. The rates will be reduced by 15 cent per litre on petrol and 20 cent per litre on diesel.
Additionally, proposed changes to the National Oil Reserve Agency (Nora) levy should mean an effective cut of an extra 2 cent on diesel, petrol and home heating oil for two months from April 1st, provided legislation is passed by the Oireachtas this week.
Martin said the Government expected that tax decreases “will follow through at the pump”.
Harris, the Minster for Finance, said: “It’s very clear people were very quick to put up the prices. They need to pull them down as quickly.”
In a statement, Kevin McPartlan, chief executive of industry group Fuels for Ireland, said many forecourts would receive new stock on Wednesday and this would reflect the reduced rates. A smaller number of outlets with lower sales volumes and less frequent deliveries may take longer to adjust.
McPartlan said motorists should “expect to see price reductions emerge quickly across much of the network, but not necessarily at every forecourt immediately”.
The Government also announced an increase in the maximum repayment allowable to hauliers under the Diesel Rebate Scheme, from 7.5 cent to 12 cent per litre of diesel backdated to the start of the year and to be in place until June 30th.
The fuel allowance season will be extended by an additional four weeks, which means 470,000 households in receipt of the payment will receive additional financial support of €38 per week, totalling €152.
Harris pointed to this measure as he referred to pressures on households using home heating oil, saying it provides practical assistance to pensioners, carers, people with disabilities and low income working families.
Martin said all of the measures “are time-bound and subject to ongoing review based on market developments”.
He also encouraged people to make homes as energy efficient as possible, to use public transport, and be “mindful of our energy use”.
Later in the Dáil, the Taoiseach clashed with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald as she claimed the Government had “abandoned” 750,000 households relying on home-heating oil, claiming the package of supports were “half measures”.
She said the price of a home-heating oil fill had doubled “so a measly cut of 2 cent a litre is an insult”.
Martin responded by saying the war in the Middle East had created “the greatest oil supply shock ever in the history of the markets” and insisting “the wise thing to do is to introduce measures of the kind we’ve introduced today that are targeted and that gives some degree of universal supports”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said “there are hundreds of thousands of households already in arrears on energy bills, and no real reassurance here for far too many”.
Martin said they were trying to “protect those on the lowest incomes”.
