Paul Lawless demands end to fuel tax hikes
Paul Lawless challenged the Tánaiste today over planned, incremental fuel tax increases, arguing they will deepen inflationary pressures and hurt rural families. He called for the government to scrap the scheduled rises rather than postpone them for six weeks, saying families and businesses need certainty now.
Paul Lawless confronted the Tánaiste on the floor, stating that postponing a bad decision does not make it a good one. He argued that a six-week stay of execution offers no real certainty for households or businesses and insisted the government must scrap the planned fuel tax increases during this difficult period for families.
Lawless highlighted the practical consequences for rural communities: fuel is a staple that enables access to work, school and medical appointments. He warned that higher diesel costs are passed along by hauliers into supermarket prices, driving inflation across the country and increasing everyday costs for ordinary people.
Speaking for Aontu, he criticized the policy of locking taxpayers into repeated, incremental increases regardless of global oil prices or domestic economic reality. Lawless said this approach is a poor taxation policy that forces higher costs on families and businesses year after year.
Lawless acknowledged environmental goals but argued climate policy should not impoverish people. He urged the government to protect the environment while ensuring greener alternatives do not become unaffordable for ordinary households. His core demand: scrap the increases now, not delay them.
Immediate demand
Paul Lawless confronted the Tánaiste on the floor, stating that postponing a bad decision does not make it a good one. He argued that a six-week stay of execution offers no real certainty for households or businesses and insisted the government must scrap the planned fuel tax increases during this difficult period for families.
Impact on rural Ireland
Lawless highlighted the practical consequences for rural communities: fuel is a staple that enables access to work, school and medical appointments. He warned that higher diesel costs are passed along by hauliers into supermarket prices, driving inflation across the country and increasing everyday costs for ordinary people.
Critique of taxation policy
Speaking for Aontu, he criticized the policy of locking taxpayers into repeated, incremental increases regardless of global oil prices or domestic economic reality. Lawless said this approach is a poor taxation policy that forces higher costs on families and businesses year after year.
Climate policy and fairness
Lawless acknowledged environmental goals but argued climate policy should not impoverish people. He urged the government to protect the environment while ensuring greener alternatives do not become unaffordable for ordinary households. His core demand: scrap the increases now, not delay them.
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Transcript
Tánaiste, postponing a bad decision does not make it a good one. Families do not need a stay of execution for six weeks. They need certainty. And in rural Ireland, Tánaiste, fuel is not a luxury, it's a staple. It brings families to work, it brings children to school and it brings elderly people to appointments. And inflation does not, the price of fuel does not stop in terms of the cost at a pump. Every lorry delivering to a supermarket carries the price of diesel onto the shelves. And that's what you are doing. You're driving the cost of inflation across this country. And we warned you in Aontu against the approach of locking Irish taxpayers into incremental increase year on year, multiple times a year, driving the cost of fuel, irrespective of the cost of a barrel, irrespective of the cost of inflation, irrespective of the crisis that is happening this country. And that is why we are here today. That is why you've had to recall it all. Because a poor taxation policy on fuel. So it is time that you wake up. It is time that you realise that locking the Irish taxpayer into incremental increase year on year, despite the reality on the ground, is wrong. And it's time that you wake up and see that, Tánaiste, and end this. You talk about certainty. Six weeks is not certainty for a business. Six weeks is not certainty for a family. So I'm asking you today, not just this temporary stay of execution, but scrap the increases in relation to fuel during this extraordinary difficult time for families, while the cost of a barrel of fuel is rising exponentially. And we can protect our environment, Tánaiste, without impoverishing the people who live in it. Climate policy should not make greener alternatives affordable and not make ordinary lives unaffordable. you