Cut in petrol and diesel excise duty comes into effect
The price of petrol and diesel has been reduced since midnight.
Late last night, the Dáil voted in favour of a cut in excise on petrol and diesel.
The reduction is 20 cent per litre on petrol, 15 cent per litre on diesel and a cut of 2 cent per litre on green diesel.
The reduction will be in place until 31 August and will cost €320m.
It is in response to the impacts of inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Irish economy.
However, many businesses have described the cut to excise duty as insufficient.
Coach tourism and transport operators said the viability of the sectors is now under direct threat.
Last night, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the country is in the early days of dealing with the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.
Ireland, he said, is not in a position to place a cap on rising fuel prices, as it is a country that must buy the majority of its own fuel.
Asked about the prospect of price regulation – which has been called for by the Opposition and touted by the EU – Mr Donohoe said it remained to be seen how that would be implemented for countries who by-and-large import most of their fuel, which was the case for Ireland.
“We’re not in the situation where we have access to the majority of our fuel needs from our own sources. That means the relationship that we have with external supply is very important.
“For that reason, we’re not in a position to be able to give a commitment in relation to putting a cap on the price of fuel.”
“For a country that has to buy most of its own fuel, I currently don’t see any way that a price cap could be implemented, that wouldn’t either cause further economic difficulties or would cause an issue with the supplier”.
Article Source – Cut in petrol and diesel excise duty comes into effect – RTE
