ICMSA seeks action on fuel prices
Tax Committee chairperson Eamonn Halpin said farmers, industry and consumers in Ireland are suffering from the oil price rise.
A reduction in Ireland’s disproportionately high levels of excise duty and VAT on fuel is a solution which the Government has control over, he said.
Mr Halpin said fuel prices are set at a 21-year high and Irish farmers and industry are at even further competitive disadvantage due to Ireland’s high rates of duty and VAT.
The agricultural sector is a large user of energy and cannot afford to carry these costs at a time when incomes are static or declining. This fuel price increase could not have come at a worse time as the silagemaking season starts in earnest.
There can be no doubt that silage contractors will pass their additional fuel costs back to farmers in the form of higher prices, he said.
Mr Halpin said that given the current rate of excise duty on diesel of 36.80 cents per litre exclusive of VAT and the even higher rate on petrol, it was very much within the Government’s remit to bring about a reduction in energy costs to the consumer.
A substantial reduction in the current rate of duty would bring about an immediate reduction in energy costs for all consumers.
It would also improve the competitiveness and income position of the agricultural industry, he said.
