Overview
- Coalition leaders met on Monday to finalise plans to extend the temporary excise cuts past the end of July and return rates in stages between August and the October Budget.
- The relief currently cuts diesel by 32 cents per litre and petrol by 27 cents per litre, and those rates were introduced in April after nationwide fuel protests.
- Officials say recent falls in global oil prices have removed the original justification for the measures and the Department of Finance estimates the cuts lowered headline inflation by about 0.6 percentage points.
- Any change needs Oireachtas legislation before the summer recess starts on July 16th, and Sinn Féin and Aontú will table Dáil motions seeking to extend the cuts.
- The government plans aim to avoid a sharp price shock for households and fuel-intensive businesses, with a phased restoration chosen to curb immediate inflation effects and to allow the Budget to set longer-term fiscal policy.