Irish Government to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel amid high energy prices

The Irish Government is to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to help people with volatile fuel prices.

The proposals were agreed at a leaders’ meeting on Monday evening and will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday for approval.

The Government will cut excise duty on diesel by 20 cent and petrol by 15 cent from midnight on Wednesday until end of May.

A diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators is also expected, which will be backdated.

The Fuel Allowance, a payment of 38 euro a week to help with heating costs from late September until April, is also to be extended as part of a package of targeted measures to be announced on Tuesday.

The Irish Government has been pressed to intervene on soaring fuel costs sparked by the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel.

Irish households have reported home heating oil prices doubling to 800 euro per 500 litres and high petrol and diesel costs.

Earlier, Taoiseach Micheal Martin welcomed the announcement by Donald Trump that military strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran had been “postponed”, following talks with Tehran.

The US president had threatened to obliterate Iran’s power plants if the country did not reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz by just before midnight on Monday night.

However, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said he would delay the strikes by five days following “very good and productive conversations” with Tehran over the previous two days.

On Monday morning Mr Martin was in Walkinstown, Dublin as he and Minister for Housing James Browne announced plans for the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the O’Flynn Group to deliver 542 new homes in the area.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Martin said: “I welcome the announcement by the American president that they have postponed any attacks on Iranian oil and gas infrastructure.

“It’s critical that spreads across the region. It’s critical that the war ends.”

Following Mr Trump’s announcement, crude oil prices dropped, with Brent crude oil falling by up to 10%, later settling at around 8% lower at just under 104 dollars a barrel.

Asked if this would affect the Government’s plans, Mr Martin said rising fuel prices have “already had an impact on people”, but said he would not get “into specifics” about whether Monday’s drop in oil prices would affect the supports.

“The figures are volatile, we know that,” he said.

“They’ve been up and down.”

The Taoiseach also said there needed to be “a more sustained engagement with the haulage industry”.

He was addressing reports that hauliers had said short-term measures would not help their sector, which he described as “a key part” of Irish trade.

Mr Martin said the plans being announced on Tuesday would need to be “measured and informed”.

He added: “I feel we do need a set of proposals to deal with the haulage industry in the long term, to make sure that it’s a viable, sustainable industry.”