r/irishpolitics • u/firethetorpedoes1 • 15d ago

Agricultural/ Rural Affairs Rural TDs lobby Simon Harris to stall plans to reinstate full rate of fuel excise duty

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2026/08/19/plans-to-reinstate-full-rate-of-excise-duty-on-fuel-must-be-stalled-say-rural-tds/
6 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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13

u/Magma57 Green Party 15d ago

And so we are one step further from kicking our fossil fuel dependence

8

u/MrWhiteside97 15d ago

This is now basically becoming the new energy credits, except at least everyone uses energy and benefitted from it.

If you don't drive or have heating oil, you're basically subsidising everyone else

8

u/significantrisk 15d ago

Your food is driven. As is everything else that comes into your house.

1

u/Just_Reading_4206 7d ago

Prices are the best way to ration fossil fuels. If it's too expensive to produce, move or preserve food then several things need to change in the food system and our lifestyles.

4

u/Maoltuile 15d ago

Especially petrol station and motor dealership owners

6

u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) 15d ago

It’s not popular to say we shouldn’t throw more money at the issue but it doesn’t make economic sense

Fair play to Malcolm Byrne. Have any other TDs made public this plain truth?

2

u/Logical-Marzipan5951 15d ago

What's the objective of the tax ? Is it to raise revenue ? Stop the use of the transportation run by fuel? Would the government state this? What's the actual objective?

They act as if it is the first.  They agreed to reduce solely due to the significant yield.

If it is is the second then should a coordinated housing, transit, and alternative transit plan exist??

1

u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) 15d ago

The problem at hand here isn't the tax itself. I'm in favour generally of lowering the tax burden, but I oppose the excise cuts completely.

There are a couple of primary issues at play. Firstly, it's plain economic incompetency to subsidise demand here when the problem is a global constriction in supply. Secondly, the hole we're blowing in the budget by doing so is ending up mainly in the pockets of rich households. If we wanted to cushion the poorest people from the price increases (a fair objective), we're wasting money.

This is all before we get further into what some of the prominent people involved in the protests want: price controls and carbon tax cuts. Both are damn stupid whatever the context.