Government set to roll out immediate fuel support measures as prices ‘go through the roof’
The Government is preparing emergency measures to address surging fuel costs, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said, ahead of a key Cabinet meeting next week – and it doesn’t include new legislative moves.
Speaking during a visit to the Circle of Life Commemorative Garden in Salthill, Co Galway, Tánaiste Simon Harris outlined the Government’s focus ahead of a cabinet meeting next week, where ministers will discuss how to address rising fuel prices.
“The pressure is acute, the pressure is real, and this is a time of great anxiety for people,” he said.
The cabinet meeting will centre on three key priorities aimed at delivering short-term assistance: supporting motorists, helping those most at risk, and maintaining economic stability, the Tánaiste said.
Mr Harris said the Government would examine “how we can assist people at the pump where the price of petrol and diesel has literally gone through the roof, and how we can assist those most in need, those most acutely at risk of fuel poverty”.
“Thirdly, how we can assist core parts of our economy, including the haulage sector, which is so vital in terms of supply chains,” he added.
He said any measures agreed to at the meeting will be expected to take effect immediately.
“In terms of the energy and fuel crisis, we will attach a priority and a premium to bringing in measures that can take immediate effect,” he said.
The Government has faced criticism over what some describe as a lack of support, particularly in relation to home heating oil, as weather conditions remain unpredictable into the spring.
Mr Harris said short-term interventions would allow the State to remain economically stable while preparing for longer-term impacts.
“Anything we do has to be, in the first instance, for a short period of time, because we need the agility as a country to adapt, evolve and respond, should different measures be required in the time ahead,” he said.
He also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the crisis and the global response, saying no one can predict how it will develop in the months ahead, particularly with demand for home heating expected to rise again later in the year.
“I have yet to meet anybody in the world who can predict with any degree of certainty where this conflict is going to go, how long it’s going to go on for, or the depth of its impact,” he said. “And therefore, the full economic consequences.”
“The most important and helpful economic, and humanitarian, intervention we can see is a de-escalation.”
Calls to cut fuel taxes have intensified, as Sinn Fein recently announced emergency legislation to bring in tax cuts on fuel and oil over a six-month course to provide reprieve for households.
Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, said this would take nearly €185 off the final price to fill up a 1,000-litre home heating oil tank.
Scope for such a tax cut was revealed to be plausible in the Government’s budget as the Irish Independent reported €40 million a week has been collected in fuel-related taxes by the Government.
However, Mr Harris said the issue should not be addressed through new legislation, arguing that financial measures could be delivered more quickly and effectively.
“There are lots of good ideas. I don’t care where they come from on the political spectrum, but we have to prioritise the ones that can help people quickly, because people need that assistance now,” he said.
“Government will help, Government wants to help, and Government is in a position to help,” he added. “We are all endeavouring to make sure the economic medicine we administer is from the correct prescription.”