Search the record

most striking is that the Tánaiste's Government is still not listening. Right across the State, over 750,000 households rely on home heating oil to keep their homes warm. For them, this crisis is not abstract. It is immediate and it is punishing. It is the difference … pressure and the clear message from workers and families right across this State, the Government still has not reduced excise on home heating oil by a single cent. There is nothing. The Tánaiste now expects a pat on the back for not increasing the carbon tax on home

express the fact that they were suffering badly in terms of the cost of living, the cost of energy, the cost of home heating oil and so on. In Kilkenny, I saw where Philip Ireland, who organised the event, worked closely with the Garda. They provided stewards … case. As we discuss haulage, agriculture and supports for farmers, contractors, the construction sector and others, we cannot ignore the fact that home heating oil is at a level that is hard to explain to the householder. The Government needs to provide answers to that. It also needs

this Government. At the same time, the price of petrol and diesel have surged. People, particularly rural areas, who rely on home heating oil have been left to hang out to dry because the price of that home heating oil has doubled. Let us be clear about … afford renewable alternatives are punished by the regressive carbon tax which, no matter what anyone says, is not working. The cost of home heating oil has spiked by 70% in the past month alone. There is another path. Sinn Féin has laid it out clearly: reintroduce the emergency

severe energy shocks to the greatest extent possible; and — the Government has the ability to cut the cost of fuel; notes that: — home heating oil has hit the highest price on record going back 30 years; — petrol and diesel are on course to exceed their highest price … have surged and families are watching the cost of filling the tank as it spirals week after week. For those relying on home heating oil - and there are 750,000 of a million of them - the situation is even worse. This is not an abstract situation. This

Irish economy. The Deputy is also right that there is a real issue when it comes to the cost of home heating oil. On that much, we agree. However, we disagree on how to respond. We have taken steps to help people with home heating oil. We took … will know well through its role in the Executive. The measures Sinn Féin is likely to bring in today with respect to home heating oil will also be targeted measures and not universal measures. On the second thing we have done, it is important to listen

hitting households. The Government still has not taken necessary steps to make fuel affordable at the pumps and has done nothing on home heating oil despite it reaching the highest prices on record. This is the Government’s second attempt, and once again, it has come up short … measures. This month, it is just more of the same. Petrol and diesel are still on course to exceed record highs and home heating oil remains completely untouched. Across Waterford and the rest of the State, the reality is dark. Green diesel has nearly doubled in price

Government still has not taken the necessary steps to make fuel affordable at the pumps, and it did nothing on home heating oil. This is despite the fact that heating oil has hit the highest price on record. The last-minute proposed package does not go far enough … stand still. Sinn Féin brought forward legislation over a month ago to reduce the cost of petrol, diesel, green diesel and home heating oil. We called for the maximum reduction for everyone, directly at the pumps, but the Government opposed these common-sense measures. We needed an immediate

that: — energy prices in Ireland are already among the highest in Europe and prices are continuing to rise rapidly; — the cost of home heating oil rose by nearly 70 per cent last month alone, the largest month-on-month increase ever recorded; — kerosene is the main heating fuel … annum; and — the inadequate support measures the Government announced in March 2026 provided no support for households that rely on home heating oil and do not receive the Fuel Allowance; and calls on the Government to: — provide emergency relief to struggling individuals and families by immediately introducing

Government is a spectator in this crisis rather than a government responsible for fixing it. Over 750,000 households rely on home heating oil, and their bills have doubled in a matter of weeks. Last week, my colleague an Teachta Pearse Doherty spoke about a young working couple … what the Government is bringing to people's doors. It has scrapped energy credits and refused even to cut carbon tax on home heating oil when people needed relief most. While pressure mounts, the Government pulls supports. The moment households need help, it steps back. When intervention

Some 750,000 households across the State rely on home heating oil to heat their homes. Last night, at a public meeting attended by hundreds in Galway to discuss the cost-of-living crisis, I spoke to a carer who went into a home of an elderly woman … apologised for the house being so cold because the heating had run out. The Minister refuses to cut excise duty on home heating oil to support household like hers, along with 750,000 other households. We have record surpluses of over €9 billion, yet the Government refuses

that is not usually the case. There is a lot of stuff we are going back over here today. In relation to home heating oil, there was no decrease in the home heating oil and people are suffering at present. Use of the word "heating" is becoming widespread

brought forward will be of very little comfort to many of them. Incredibly, it does nothing to bring down the cost of home heating oil. Some 700,000 households are reliant on home heating oil. The cost has soared by 70% in just a month and nothing

unbelievable is that the Government still does not seem to be listening or engaging with people who are struggling. I asked about home heating oil. There are 700,000 households reliant on home heating oil, the price of which has gone up 70% in the space … reliant on fossil fuels. The Government's investment in solar predominantly benefits data centres as opposed to ordinary people. There are 1 million homes eligible for solar. Only 10% have it. They are the households that can afford to meet the impact of price shocks. We are asking

necessity. There are taxi drivers, home helps and public health nurses. There are 700,000 people who rely on home heating oil. Many rural households in Laois rely on home heating oil; the majority outside of Portlaoise. These are low- and middle-income families who are been crucified

There are too many left out, including families, commuters, taxi drivers, home help staff, public health nurses and people who depend on home heating oil. The majority of rural houses in County Laois depend on home heating oil. They are facing double whammies and triple whammies. Workers

three days at a time. Nor does it capture the 750,000 households reliant on home heating oil who cannot afford to fill their tank because the price of home-heating oil has doubled over the past five or six weeks and the supports have not been there … this for years. The Government's failure to support solid fuel homes is putting people at risk. It cannot talk about a just transition when designing schemes for the well-off. It cannot criminalise people for heating their homes when the alternatives are not there. We need

reality here is that they are still continuing with half measures. They had the opportunity to cut the excise duty on home heating oil, but they did not do so. This means that the more than 700,000 households which rely on home heating oil across the State

lose hope. I come from a rural constituency. I know all too well that homes there are reliant on home heating oil. Once again, the Government has abandoned these people with its half measures. There are 750,000 of these households across the country. Over a month … excise duty on home heating oil. Instead, the Government reduced the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, levy by 2 cent per litre. That is even before we consider the hardship of people with defective concrete blocks who are watching their homes crumbling and looking at the cracks

received €1,216 over the course of the fuel allowance season. The carbon tax makes up 10% of the total cost of home heating oil based on figures from 16 April. We have extended the fuel allowance season by a further four weeks to assist people … struggling to pay for their home heating oil and those most at risk of poverty and to help them offset some of those costs

enough. How could you stand up, understanding where people are at, and decide to say you are just doing nothing on home heating oil and you are just going to leave people to paddle their own canoe in relation to that issue? Simon, I stood in the homes … here with an insult to those individuals - a complete and utter abdication of your duties in saying you are doing nothing on home heating oil. It is absolutely disgraceful. If you listened, you would understood where people are at. Talk to the farmers. I spoke to a farmer

have cut diesel by the maximum amount possible, but they did not. They could have removed excise, including the carbon tax on home heating oil, but they did not. That is where that frustration is coming from. People are struggling to heat their homes. Farmers, hauliers and coach … taken, it had to be brought kicking and screaming into this Chamber. Petrol and diesel are set to hit record prices, and home heating oil is already there. Energy credits have been pulled for over 300,000 households already in arrears on electricity bills. There has been

were for price controls. That is what they asked for. In fact, price controls they asked for on petrol, diesel, home heating oil and green diesel were almost exactly what we put in a Bill we brought into this House two years ago and that we brought … again a number of weeks ago almost word for word. They would actually bring down the cost of fuel, green diesel and home heating oil to levels that are affordable and where there would be certainty because all of the measly concessions the Government has given, which

welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. We need to look at sectors that have been left behind. On home heating oil, I know there were a good few proposals in relation to hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO. The statistics I am hearing are that HVO would … taxes on it. That needs to be looked at. There is nothing there for people right around the country who are using home heating oil. The other side, which was brought up earlier, relates to plant hire. The first thing that goes into every house is a digger

said: My own situation is becoming unbearable. Despite being in a dual-income household, I haven't been able to afford home heating oil for three weeks - three weeks without heat, not because I have been irresponsible but because I simply cannot afford it anymore. At the same … people and respond. What was the Government's response this week? It would not cut a single cent of carbon tax from home heating oil. She is in a house that she could not heat for three weeks. She works full-time and her partner does the same

Government threatened the use of the people's own army against them to show just how out of touch it was. Home heating oil is at a 30-year high. Families are dreading their oil tanks running dry because they cannot even afford a partial fill. Petrol … could give a decent cut to fuel costs, such as 25 cent off petrol and diesel, it could scrap excise on home heating oil and it could deliver real relief, but it will not. Instead, it sits on a massive surplus while our people are struggling

Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will consider the maximum removal of excise home heating oil given the fact that home heating oil hit its highest price on record; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29358/26

Finance whether the measures announced include supports to assist households with the rising cost of home heating oil, given the continuing financial pressure faced by families reliant on oil-fired home heating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24092/26

Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will consider the maximum removal of mineral oil tax on home heating oil given the substantial price increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26927/26

Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is considering further energy supports for households reliant on home heating oil to support people struggling to heat their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26933/26

Brabazon asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if additional measures will be introduced to reduce the cost of home heating oil. [31604/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the measures that will be introduced to reduce the costs of kerosene home heating oil taking into account the additional financial pressures on households due to the increased costs of such fuel; if he will make a statement

recent fuel price spikes; whether his Department intends to conduct a wholesale review of the taxes and levies which are applied to home heating oil following the recent price spikes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29023/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will remove excise duty on home heating oil as an emergency response to the ongoing conflict in the middle east. [26731/26

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the work being undertaken to reduce the cost of fuel, including home heating oil, green diesel and petrol; the interaction there has been between his department and the EU Commission on this issue; and if he will

asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the total amount by which he proposes to raise the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil through increases to the carbon tax, in each year until 2030. [26716/26

Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding any further review of supports for households that use home heating oil in view of significant price increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24273/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to significantly reduce the cost of home heating oil, the cost has almost doubled during the past few weeks and many households are under enormous financial pressures; and if he will make a statement

asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures he has introduced to support households from the surging price of home heating oil; the steps he is taking to shield households from the anticipated price rise in gas and electricity if a prolonged conflict takes place

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the immediate measures he will take to tackle the fuel and home heating oil crisis and alleviate the huge pressure on households, farmers and contractors who are struggling to meet the costs, people traveling to work are greatly

Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the policy rationale behind carbon taxes on diesel, petrol and home heating oil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23577/26

Minister for Finance if, in view of the cost-of-living crisis, he will suspend the scheduled carbon tax increase on home heating oil and gas due on 1 May 2026; the estimated cost to a typical household of this increase; and if he will make a statement

viable decarbonisation solution for the 700,000 households using heating oil, many of whom are located in rural areas and cannot access the natural gas grid; and if he will outline the alternatives for these homes if renewable liquid fuel blending is not meaningfully increased. [25422/26