‘Home heating oil excise must be cut to take pressure off people’

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has said there can be no more excuses for Government inaction on the price of home heating oil.

The Donegal TD said not a single cent of excise has been cut from home heating oil despite it being the fuel most severely impacted by recent price increases, with prices rising by €100 again this week.

Teachta Doherty said: “People do not have the luxury of waiting for the Tánaiste to slowly drip-feed policy changes to journalists. They need him to commit to real action now to bring down the cost of home heating oil for the 700,000 households that rely on it.

“Today home heating oil is about 50% more expensive than it was before the US attacked Iran at the end of February. Just this week the price of a refill has jumped up by €100.

“This is money that many workers and families simply do not have. In my own constituency, people have been putting off refilling their tanks for months in the hope that prices would come down or that the Government would finally offer some support.

“Home heating oil has been the fuel most severely affected by recent price shocks.

“Yet every time the Government has been forced to address rising fuel costs, it has refused to cut a single cent of excise on home heating oil.

“Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independent Group have voted against every Sinn Féin proposal to remove excise on home heating oil as an emergency measure to help households struggling with soaring costs.

“It is long past time for excuses and inaction from Simon Harris and this Government.

“The Government must immediately commit to completely scrapping all future carbon tax increases and to fully removing excise on home heating oil for the remainder of the year.

“Such measures would provide much-needed relief for households and help ease the pressure on families as we head into the autumn and winter months.”