Mattie McGrath warns of fuel price pain if excise rolls back
Mattie McGrath spoke on 21 February 2023, urging more time to debate the unwinding of reduced excise duties and VAT and calling for continued supports for motorists and households. He warned that phasing out cuts on diesel, petrol, agri-diesel and home heating oil would push up costs across the economy and hit consumers.
Fuel and excise duties
The deputy criticised plans to phase out temporary excise reductions on diesel, petrol, green diesel and home heating oil, saying the measures were being removed while fuel retailers are making record profits. He noted the reductions had been scheduled to be phased out by October and that lower VAT and excise rates were due to rise in eight days, but said the government had decided to delay unwinding until June and will ask members to vote on that proposal.
Immediate vote consequences
McGrath warned that if the vote to delay unwinding is defeated, the lower rates on VAT for hospitality, energy and gas and the lower excise on fuels would revert overnight on 28 February. He said more time was needed to debate the implications and argued supports should be maintained for hard-pressed motorists and households.
Eviction ban under review
The deputy said the government will decide on the eviction ban within two to three weeks, noting the November introduction had not produced the hoped-for fall in emergency accommodation. He listed causes of continuing homelessness - family breakdown, loss of private rental tenancies and other reasons - and flagged unintended consequences such as people returning from abroad being unable to move back into their own homes.
Attack on Garda and recruitment plans
McGrath unreservedly condemned the attack on a member of the Garda Síochána in West Dublin and wished the injured officer a speedy recovery. He highlighted government investment in policing, including funding for an additional 1,000 recruits this year, that recruits now enter Templemore every 11 weeks, and that almost 500 people completed or began training last year. He said a further recruitment campaign will be launched in the coming months to maintain the pipeline of candidates.
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The votes that have been announced today, in many cases, we need more time for the debate, obviously, and we are also very concerned about excise duties that had been reduced on diesel, petrol, late-home heat and gasoline, so they have been phased out gradually by October, as I understand from what I saw in the proposal, this is unheard of at a time that you are getting record profits out of the gallon of petrol, diesel, and indeed agri-diesel, and all across the board, home heating oil, so you really have, you are forcing people out of trying to intervene in the agenda by forcing the exorbitant prices on people, and that is going to affect the price of every piece of bread, butter, you name it, jam and ham you like, whatever you want, if the diesel goes up again in price, which the Minister Ryan wants, and he has won out in this case, obviously, so we need more time to debate this issue tomorrow than what we have, and we need those supports to be maintained as well for the hard-press motorists, people, and everybody across the whole sector. Anyone else? Just for clarity, the lower rate on VAT, on hospitality, energy and gas, and the lower rates of excise on petrol, diesel and green diesel are due to go back up, and go back up fully, in eight days' time. We have taken a decision as a government not to do that, not to even begin unwinding it until June, and that is what members will be asked to vote on. They do need to be unwound at some point. They were not factored into the budget, but we do have enough finance to extend them for some more months, and we intend to do that. But that proposal is being put, and I think there is adequate time to discuss it. If that vote is defeated, they will all go back up overnight on the 28th of February, and I hope the members opposite will vote for us. Now there can be no doubt about what the vote is about. In relation to the eviction ban, the government will make a decision on this in the next two to three weeks. We will have to give a careful consideration. When we introduced it in November, we had hoped it would have the same effect that it had during the pandemic, that we would see the number of people in emergency accommodation go down. That hasn't happened. We have to face up to the fact that it hasn't had the desired effect, and we are still seeing people entering homelessness for lots of different reasons. Family breakdown, losing their place in the private rental sector, and other reasons too. It has also had some unintended consequences. We have probably all come across people coming home from abroad, coming back from Australia and Dubai and other places, who cannot move back into their own house or apartment. That is an issue too, so we will have to weigh up the pros and cons of a further extension. Finally, just on the Gardaí, I want to join with all members of this House in condemning unreservedly the attack that occurred on a member of our Garda Síochána in West Dublin. No excuse for it. It is disgraceful to see any member of the Garda Síochána, the people who protect us and keep our streets safe, coming under attack in that way. We wish them a speedy recovery. We are investing in more Gardaí. We provided funding for an additional 1,000 recruits this year. Recruits enter Temple Moor every 11 weeks now, and the total number who completed or began training last year was almost 500. I take confidence in knowing that a further recruitment campaign is going to be launched in the coming months, and that will ensure a pipeline of suitable candidates. Thank you.
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