Louth TD says Government ‘has got it wrong’ on fuel tax increases
The Dundalk deputy was speaking after the Dáil was recalled from recess on Friday
The government ‘has got it wrong’ on fuel taxes and need to stop increases in petrol and diesel, Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.
The Dundalk deputy was speaking after the Dáil was recalled from recess on Friday to stop the increase to fuel taxes, due on September 1. The government said it will begin increasing the taxes on petrol and diesel from November onwards.
Deputy Ó Murchú said the Dáil recall was a result of the government ‘getting it wrong’. He said his party voted against the government proposal to start the increases to November and proposed that there would be no additional government taxes on fuel while petrol and diesel prices remain exceptionally high.
He said: “The government wanted to increase fuel prices from September 1, but Sinn Féin said no and asked for the Dáil to be reconvened. But instead of committing to support families and workers by giving people certainty and committing to not increasing prices while oil continues to soar, they just kicked the can down the road to November.
“The government still hasn’t got the message. We are living in exceptional circumstances. The international factors driving fuel prices sky high still pertain and this places enormous pressure on families and workers.
“The government cannot control international events or oil prices. But it totally controls the taxes on petrol and diesel.
“People need to know definitively that while fuel prices soar, government will not pile further increases onto those already struggling. What the government proposed in the Dáil on Friday is not a solution, and it doesn’t remove the threat of even higher prices.
“Our proposal would give certainty to workers and families and to farmers, hauliers, tradespeople and small businesses.
“We support stopping the September and October increases. But we are against the plan that simply moves those increases to November, December, January and February that would mean petrol eventually rising by 29 cent per litre and diesel by 34 cent.”
Speaking before the Dail vote on Friday, Taoiseach Michéal Martin said:
“The Government has today acted to help protect families and businesses from further short-term increases in petrol and diesel costs, due to the continuing international pressure on oil prices.
“Our response is carefully considered and balances competitiveness and cost of living concerns with the need for sustainable budgetary policies.
“These temporary interventions will start unwinding in November, ensuring that we manage the transition in a responsible and sustainable way at a time of great global economic uncertainty.”