Government warns fuel retailers about price hikes
James Cox
Here, we take a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Fuel prices
Soaring fuel prices have been the key topic both inside and outside political circles.
The Government has announced a €250 million package of support for households and businesses impacted by the rising prices.
The Dáil voted on Tuesday night by 118 votes to 39 for excise rates to be reduced by 15 cent per litre on petrol; 20 cent per litre on diesel; and 3 cent per litre on marked gas oil.
However, earlier cuts were met with reports of fuel stations immediately rising their prices.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has warned them not to continue with this practice.
He said “it’s very clear people were very quick to put up the prices. They need to pull them down as quickly". He also warned “the Government will be monitoring this extremely closely”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said provided the cuts are not passed on, “that has implications and consequences as well, in terms of subsequent decisions that the Government might take”.
O'Callaghan drops plan to move planning, immigration judicial reviews to Circuit Court
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has dropped a proposal to introduce legislation aimed at moving some judicial review cases, including planning and immigration cases, from the High Court to the Circuit Court.
The move was announced before the Oireachtas justice committee meeting on Tuesday.
MEP Maria Walsh to vote against EU ‘return hubs’ over fears of 'outsourcing migration'
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said she will vote against a proposal on ‘return hubs’ in the European Parliament, warning that the EU cannot outsource its migration responsibilities.
The European Parliament is set to vote on the Returns Regulations on Thursday, which includes a proposal for the establishment of return hubs in third countries.
MEP Maria Walsh, a member of the European Parliament’s Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, said: “This week, the concept of ‘return hubs’ will be put to a vote in the European Parliament – an idea that first rose to attention through the UK’s Rwanda scheme and is now being promoted across Europe as a response to immigration.
“Under this proposal, EU member states could deport individuals to countries they have no connection to or have never set foot in, where they will be detained in centres for indefinite periods.
“By their very nature, return hubs carry significant risks of human rights violations - given they operate outside the jurisdiction of the EU."
Abroad
Abroad, all eyes are on the Iran war.
Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport.
Iran’s defiance came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran, and Washington deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.
Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster, Press TV, quoted an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected America’s ceasefire proposal. Press TV’s report came after Pakistan transmitted the proposal to Iran.
