Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has defended the government’s decision to allow a rise in petrol and diesel prices, arguing it “cannot sustain” excise duty cuts, reports The Mirror.
Driveway prices rose on Friday evening as the government phased out excise duty cuts for a second time.
Gasoline and diesel prices will increase by 7 and 5 cents respectively in the coming days. The next increase is scheduled for October 31, when gasoline will be added another 8 cents and diesel will be added 6 cents.
The AA told the Irish Mirror on Tuesday that the price of the pump could “likely” exceed €2 this winter.
At a press conference on Friday morning, Minister Donohoe was asked how the Government could afford to reverse excise duty cuts and reintroduce higher VAT rates for the hospitality industry when it is recording a record budget surplus, reports The Mirror.
The Fine Gael decorator argued that the reduced VAT rate was maintained to help the hospitality industry recover from the pandemic.
Meanwhile, excise tax cuts started in February 2022, when gasoline prices rose sharply above EUR 2.20, he explained.
“The changes that we made in relation to excise happened at a time in which inflation was going up at a rate that is far higher than it is at the moment,” Minister Donohoe said, reports The Mirror.
“The changes in relation to excise particularly happened at a time in which the price of fuel and diesel was well above €2.20. That’s why we made those changes at that point. While we recognise that the cost of living is still a challenge for so many, these are measures that have cost over €1.5bn. We can’t sustain changes of that magnitude without having to remove other things that Government might want to do and that country would want us to do,” he added, reports The Mirror.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.