Government ‘sleepwalking’ into public service breakdown over rising fuel costs, Tipperary TD warns
The Government is “sleepwalking” into a public service breakdown, caused by the cost of fuel, a Tipperary TD has warned.
South Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath said that rising fuel costs, as well as the impending increase in excise duty in September are having a “debilitating impact” on every facet of public and commercial life.
He said that while agricultural contractors, farmers, hauliers and transport operators are under immense pressure, the fears go far beyond the agri and contract sectors, and are now posing risks to workforce mobility, patient transport, home care delivery and critical infrastructure operations.
“When you have agricultural contractors saying they cannot absorb any more fuel inflation, when you have hauliers warning that transport costs are becoming unmanageable, and when you have the HSE convening high-level workshops examining how fuel disruption could affect patient transport, home care visits, procurement chains, and essential infrastructure, then it is clear that we are dealing with a national systems level problem.
“Fuel costs are now not just an inconvenience; they are emerging as a threat to the functioning of the country,” Deputy McGrath said.
Back in April, hundreds of farmers, hauliers and transport operators blockaded the roads across Tipperary and Ireland in a protest over the increasing costs of fuel.
As a result, the Government introduced a €250million package that saw petrol prices reduced by 15c and diesel prices reduced by 20c.
Deputy McGrath said that people needed immediate excise relief, not “symbolic gestures”.
“We need to see real reductions that give contractors, transport operators, and ordinary workers a fighting chance.
“The government cannot continue pretending that fuel inflation can be managed through the existing haphazard approach,” he said.
The independent TD said that fuel costs were impacting on home care workers being able to get to patients, which may lead to worse outcomes for that patient in the long run.
“If home care workers cannot afford to travel, vulnerable people do not receive care. If patient transport becomes unaffordable or unreliable, appointments are missed, and outcomes worsen. This is the reality we are heading into unless government acts.
“Fuel is the oxygen of rural Ireland, but it is also the oxygen of the health service, the care sector, construction, procurement, and infrastructure.
“When fuel becomes unaffordable, the entire system begins to seize up. That is why at the very least excise increases must not be restored in September,” Deputy McGrath added.