Government must be 'cautious' with fuel cost crisis supports, says Taoiseach

David Raleigh

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the Government cannot shield every industry from rising fuel and energy costs, and that it was doing its best to mitigate the cost burden.

Despite the introduction of a 20 cent and 15 cent cut in excise duty on diesel and petrol, the cost of filling up one’s car, bus, or tractor remained high, with significant price variations identified around the country, linked to the US and Israel bombing of Iran's oil facilities.

Speaking in Limerick on Friday, the Taoiseach said: “The world is in conflict, and this war in the Middle East is having a huge impact on oil supply, but also on the cost of energy more generally, that's what we're witnessing now.

"No government in the world can compensate every sector or every individual for what is happening on the international markets as a result of the war.

“But what we can do is to try and ease the pressure on families, to target whatever relief we can give, and that's what we are doing. And the package we announced this week is probably the largest package across Europe to be announced at this stage, and we're only three weeks into this war.”

Martin warned the government does “not have certainty in terms of what could potentially unfold in the weeks ahead” and therefore it had to be “careful and cautious” about how much of a buffer it was prepared to offer people.

“We also have a budget next year. We've got to invest in more services, education, health, children, right across the board. So, I think the government got the balance right this week.”

“We supported the fuel allowance to many working families who would benefit from that, but also hauliers, because hauliers will impact on the price of food on the shelves — the haulage industry is critical to trade, critical to our economy, and so we're trying to target resources while also trying to give people more generally helping hand, and that's why the excise duties have been reduced.”