Minister Donohoe announces temporary reduction in excise duty on fuels

The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, has today (Wednesday) announced a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged on petrol, diesel and marked gas oil.

An incorporeal Cabinet meeting was held this morning and the Government gave approval to the proposal.

Excise duty will reduce by 20 cent per litre of petrol and 15 cent per litre of diesel. There will also be a reduction of 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil. These reductions will take effect from midnight tonight and will remain in place until the 31st of August 2022.

Speaking following the announcement, Minister Donohoe said:

“We have all witnessed the significant increase in energy costs in recent weeks, with prices at the pumps rising to record levels. This comes on top of the increases in gas and electricity prices that many are facing.

The Government recognised the challenges of rising prices last October in Budget 2022 when we brought in a package of tax and social welfare measures worth over €1 billion to respond back to these challenges.

Last month, the Government went further, and agreed a further package of €505million, including the €200 energy credit and a lump sum payment of €125 for those in receipt of the fuel allowance. Today, the Government is bringing in a further tax measure, to immediately reduce the cost of fuels for families and businesses.

These temporary reductions in excise are expected to reduce the cost of a fill of a 60 litre tank by €12 for petrol and €9 for diesel.

Excise duty is an important Revenue stream for the Government, and collected over €5.8billion last year, with over €2bn of that coming from fuel taxes. The measure announced today will reduce this by €320million.

It is important that we are clear – the Government is acting now with this excise measure, to respond to the price rises we have seen to date, but also in anticipation of the further price rises we expect to see over the short and medium term.

The causes of these price pressures are not within our control. The Government has limited resources, and has responded to help to ease the impact of these price increases, but we cannot cushion citizens and businesses from the entire impact.”

A financial resolution will be presented to the Dáil this evening and the excise duty reductions will be effective from midnight tonight.

ENDS