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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

everything seems to be going up. It is not just homelessness, house prices and rents but also the cost of petrol, childcare, home heating oil and electricity. It is absolutely everything. There is not a household in this country that are not looking at their bills, trying … some of the duties being added back on. We also know that not a single cent has come off the cost of home heating oil and that nothing has been done in relation to energy credits. The Government ignored warnings from the Opposition that

Today, 500 litres of home heating oil in Cork cost €900. That is less than half a tank. What the Government has proposed is a €10 cut. How insulting is that? The Minister is an intelligent man. Does he not think that this is insulting to people … good enough? If he does not accept it, I cannot believe him. The way the Minister is treating people with home heating oil is horrendous. There are people, especially older people, who are afraid to turn on the heating because they do not know how they are going

opportunity to speak on this very urgent issue. Across Ireland, workers and families are being pushed to breaking point. The price of home heating oil, petrol and diesel are spinning out of control and nothing is being done to stop it. We have just come from a meeting … household budgets. As the Tánaiste probably knows, prices at the pumps are now regularly surging over €2 per litre. The cost of home heating oil has almost doubled from €473 to €970, as one constituent told me. For a worker commuting a long distance because there

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

that families across the State are in absolute shock at the rising costs they are facing, especially for petrol, diesel and home heating oil. The truth that is lost on the Government is that many of these families were already struggling long before these latest price hikes arrived … simple. Higher fuel costs are not an accident. They are Government policy. Since 2020, the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil has been permanently increased six times, not by Putin or Trump, but by Micheál Martin, Simon Harris, Eamon Ryan and, latterly, the Lowry and Healy

half-measures, a package that does not meet the challenge of high fuel prices. Once this legislation is enacted petrol, diesel and home heating oil will continue to be unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of people and that is just not good enough. We know that … exist for many people. A pause in carbon tax increases is needed because rural people have no alternative to using home heating oil and travelling in petrol cars. It is incredibly unfair that these people continue to face artificially inflated energy prices that are pushing many of them

affordability. Unsurprisingly, those pieces of legislation were blocked by the Government. The Government betrayed households once again with carbon tax hikes on home heating oil. The cost of a tank of home heating oil has already risen by €220 and last week we learned the Government - Fianna Fáil … increases and to support our Bill but once again the Government failed to do so. Nearly 1 million households rely on oil to heat their homes, especially in rural Ireland. Ministers cannot continue to shrug their shoulders. Enough is enough. We are calling for immediate action to reintroduce

distract people from the realities of their lives. Now, as we meet and as we speak, they are being ripped off for home heating oil and fuel prices are soaring again, just as we told the Government they would. All the Government has ever done is the minimum … avoidance of doubt: this evening, we are bringing forward a concrete measure to address the removal of carbon taxes from home heating oil

county like Donegal, we are uniquely impacted by these increases in oil and fuel. We rely heavily on home heating oil to heat our homes. You cannot work in Donegal unless you have a car or van to get around. Public transport just is not there … clear indication from the Government that it is going to cut the excise duty and reduce costs at the pump and for home heating oil. I urge the Minister again to make a clear statement that he will get that reduced and to reassure people urgently that

homes warm. Will it ignore this one as well? Its amendment tells me that it will, and shamefully so. People who use home heating oil to heat their homes know that winter is coming and they are panicked. I want to be very clear with the Minister … were not shy in telling me about it. They need help to heat their homes. They need the carbon tax taken off home heating oil so that they have a chance to be warm in their homes this winter. That should not be an aspiration. This is Ireland

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

diesel. The price of diesel is already €2.20 at the pumps. Some 700,000 families, mostly in rural Ireland, must use home heating oil to heat their homes. The cost of 1,000 litres of home heating oil is now €600 higher than it was 12 months

dependence on diesel and petrol for transport is more pronounced in many of these communities, and there is a particular dependence on home heating oil in rural communities. The fact home heating oil was not included in that package of measures in any meaningful sense has left people

with petrol, diesel, and green diesel all remaining too expensive at the pumps; — the Government has refused to cut Excise Duty on home heating oil, despite over 700,000 homes relying on this fuel source for heating; — struggling households cannot wait until next years' Budget for Government intervention … Charge, to put €500 back in the pockets of workers; — cut Excise Duty on fuels, such as petrol, diesel, green diesel and home heating oil; — introduce energy credits of €400 per household; and — make targeted cost of living support payments of €500 for people with disabilities

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

Second, you have called on us to remove excise on home heating oil but there is no excise on home heating oil

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

Minister for Finance bizarrely claimed, in an attempt to defend abandoning 750,000 households who rely on home heating oil, that there is no excise duty on home heating oil. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle may remind the same Minister for Finance what he told the Dáil just

heating oil. She says: I have recently run out of oil due to the massive price hike, which is reported to be up to 60% in some areas. I simply can't afford to refill the tank. As a result, I'm left freezing in my own home … heating their home and meeting other essential expenses. She, like others, has been hit with the largest hike in the price of home heating oil in the EU, at almost eight times the EU average. At the same time, the Government charges almost double the EU minimum fuel

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs voted against Sinn Féin proposals that would have substantially cut the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Instead they brought in measures that fall far short. Now we are arriving with a 2 cent cut in the NORA levy … especially in rural communities, people in communities who have no choice but to use their cars and families who are depending on home heating oil just to keep their home warm. For these people, what the Government has announced is not relief; it is downright insulting

their children are living in a warm and comfortable environment. Many people in rural communities have little choice but to depend on home-heating oil. They cannot simply change their heating system overnight, nor can they avoid the ever-increasing costs when their tank runs dry. The Minister … when discussing families struggling with mortgage repayments, rent, food costs, electricity bills and childcare costs. When the price of a fill of home-heating oil rises by hundreds of euro, that money must be taken from somewhere else in the household budget, with a fill of oil

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