Councillors urge Minister to act as diesel soars to over €2 per litre in Mayo
Irish consumers are facing rapidly increasing fuel costs as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to affect supply.
Across many forecourts in Mayo, diesel has soared above the €2 per litre mark, while petrol is creeping towards €1.90 per litre.
Elected representatives have now called on the Government to reduce the carbon tax to help ease the pressure on household budgets.
Cllr Chris Maxwell called on Minister Darragh O'Brien to intervene immediately and proposed that Mayo County Council write a letter to his department requesting a reduction in fuel prices.
He highlighted that roughly 60pc of the cost of filling a tank comes from tax, meaning a €100 top-up on the forecourt results in around €60 going to the Government.
Cllr Maxwell said with a simple “swipe of a pen”, the Minister can reduce that tax and “give businesses a chance”.
Referring to a transport company in Westport that employs 50 staff, he said the past week has cost them “thousands” in extra expenses.
Bus operators tied into contracts with CIE and Bus Éireann have also contacted him to express concerns, warning that they are considering “parking up their buses.”
He warned of a potential wave of job losses “across this county and across this country over the energy crisis that we have now.”
“The cost of living in the country, the cost of everything - fuel, wages, the new pension scheme, everything is hitting the [business] that is taking a chance,” he said.
“Fuel is going to bring them down, and it is going to cripple them,” he warned.
Cllr Maxwell further proposed that if the Minister does not reduce the carbon tax, commercial hauliers, bus operators, and farmers should be allowed to use ‘green diesel’ to bring their rising bills down by “about 40c a litre.”
We live in a democracy. Governments have powers, Ministers have powers. We can call on the Minister to bring in emergency legislation to reduce these taxes
Cllr Harry Barrett called for an immediate solution to the soaring costs.
He refused to accept that the Government has no power in this situation, emphasising that Ireland has a “democratically elected Government with a Minister who has every power under the constitution to effect change in this regard.”
Cllr Barrett referred to the excise tax, carbon duty, and VAT, noting that they can be reduced “in an emergency wartime situation,” adding, “that’s what we are in now, and ordinary families are suffering.”
“We live in a democracy. Governments have powers, Ministers have powers. We can call on the Minister to bring in emergency legislation to reduce these taxes,” he said.
“It is fuel poverty for an awful lot of people. We have to contact the Minister to say ‘enact emergency measures’,” he added.
Cllr John O’Malley told the meeting that in Belmullet, a litre of diesel has risen to €2.30.
“This can’t be allowed to continue, we should write to the Minister - he can remove the carbon tax, or [at least] lower it,” he said, adding that people in rural Ireland will be heavily affected.
“For people who live in a rural area, there is no way out other than to use your car,” he said. “There's no buses or trains passing our doors, we have to drive.”
Separately, Mayo Senator Mark Duffy has called on the Department of Transport to introduce supports for school bus services nationwide.
As the Senad spokesperson on transport, Senator Duffy has been engaging with several companies in Mayo who have told him they are under “severe pressure due to unprecedented hikes in fuel costs”.
"One contractor told me his diesel rose to €2.05 per litre last Friday, and he was then quoted €2.23 this morning with prices set to be reviewed on a daily basis,” he said.
He explained that many operators are “locked into service agreements based on vastly lower fuel costs” and said the recent price increases “simply cannot be absorbed by the bus companies.”
“Government will have to intervene to keep these services in place,” he said.
Senator Duffy added that taxi drivers, road hauliers, couriers and other service providers will be affected by the rising costs, and that many other service providers have seen their fuel bills go “through the roof in recent days”.
He called for an urgent solution to be found to support all affected.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.