Matt Carthy: Fuel Taxes Have Created a Cost Emergency
Matt Carthy told the Dáil this evening that rising petrol, diesel and home heating costs have pushed many families beyond crisis into emergency, and he blamed government tax policy for the increases. Sinn Féin has put forward a motion to reduce taxes on petrol, diesel and home heat and oil to give households immediate relief.
Matt Carthy laid out how recent hikes in petrol, diesel and home heat have collided with the removal of cost-of-living supports in the last budget. He named Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the independents that support them, and argued that repeated tax increases since 2020 have raised the price burden on households.
Sinn Féin’s motion, presented in the debate, calls for an immediate reduction in taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Carthy framed this as a straightforward, practical measure that would provide direct relief to families struggling with the new price spikes.
Carthy challenged government TDs directly, accusing them of being out of touch when they describe a cost-of-living crisis as premature. He highlighted projections of further planned tax increases and warned that without action households will continue to see fuel and heating pushed higher by policy choices.
The speech situates the motion within wider budget choices, including the removal of energy credits, increased student fees and local property tax on rent. Carthy urged TDs to recognise the emergency facing many families and to back the Sinn Féin proposal to cut fuel and heating taxes.
Key points from the speech
Matt Carthy laid out how recent hikes in petrol, diesel and home heat have collided with the removal of cost-of-living supports in the last budget. He named Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the independents that support them, and argued that repeated tax increases since 2020 have raised the price burden on households.
Policy proposal before the House
Sinn Féin’s motion, presented in the debate, calls for an immediate reduction in taxes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil. Carthy framed this as a straightforward, practical measure that would provide direct relief to families struggling with the new price spikes.
Political consequences and accountability
Carthy challenged government TDs directly, accusing them of being out of touch when they describe a cost-of-living crisis as premature. He highlighted projections of further planned tax increases and warned that without action households will continue to see fuel and heating pushed higher by policy choices.
Context and next steps
The speech situates the motion within wider budget choices, including the removal of energy credits, increased student fees and local property tax on rent. Carthy urged TDs to recognise the emergency facing many families and to back the Sinn Féin proposal to cut fuel and heating taxes.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Naoise Ó Muirí
Naoise Ó Muirí: Government must prioritise energy decarbonisation
Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald demands immediate fuel tax cuts as prices soar
Louise O'Reilly
Louise O'Reilly pays tribute and demands real women's rights
Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley: Fuel and heating costs risk empty supermarket shelves
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: Taoiseach Silent on Trump's War
Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley: Women, Institutional Abuse and Childcare
Transcript
I think it's fair to say that families across the state are in absolute shock at the rising cost that they are facing, especially for petrol, diesel and home heat and oil. The truth that is lost on government though is that many of those families were already struggling long before these latest price hikes arrived. They were struggling because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael removed vital cost of living supports in the last budget and actually left working people and families worse off this year than they were last year, even before the recent hike spikes. But your decisions to remove energy credits, to increase student fees and local property tax on rent and to do nothing about soaring costs of insurance, groceries and other essentials has meant that households today simply do not have the capacity to absorb the large increases in fuel prices that we've seen in recent weeks. Yet the parties of government and the independents that prop them up seem completely oblivious to the pressures that people are under. Two weeks ago, Laskan Corla, Fianna Fáil TD told me in a TV studio that it was premature to talk about a cost of living crisis. Cloud cuckoo land stuff. Well I ask government TDs this evening, do you still think it's premature? Or have you finally realised that for many families their cost of living situation has moved beyond a crisis and become an emergency? And of course, one of the reasons that governments refuse to act is simple. Higher fuel costs aren't an accident, they're government policy. Since 2020, costs of petrol, diesel and home heat and oil have been permanently increased six times. Not by Putin, not by Trump, but by Micheál Martin, by Simon Harris, by Eamon Trial, and laterally by the Lowry and Healy-Ray independents. To such an extent that 65 cent of every euro now being paid at the pumps is going into the exchequer. And by the way, these same parties plan to increase these taxes four more times between now and 2030. So while workers are struggling to fill their cars and heat their homes, the government is deliberately driving these costs higher. But there is an alternative to the immediate crisis. It's before this House this evening. Sinn Féin has put forward a straightforward and practical solution. Reduce the taxes on petrol, on diesel, on home heat and oil. Give families immediate relief. The answer is here. All that's required now is for government TV's to wise up, to recognise the reality facing families across the state and support this motion.