State increased fossil fuel subsidies to almost €5bn in 2023
Statistician Clare O’Hara said that consumers buying petrol paid an average effective rate of €225 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted in 2023, an increase of €5 per tonne on 2022. File picture: iStock
The Irish State subsidised fossil fuels to the tune of almost €5bn in 2023, latest figures have revealed.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) data showed that fossil fuel subsidies in Ireland have climbed significantly in the wake of the war in the Ukraine as the Government introduced measures to slash energy and fuel costs for consumers.
In all, fossil fuel subsidies were €4.9bn in 2023. This was up from €4.7bn in 2022 and €2.8bn in 2021. The CSO said that it broke down fossil fuel subsidies – meaning any subsidy that directly incentivises or supports an increase in fossil fuel consumption, manufacuring, distribution etc - into direct or indirect supports.
In terms of direct supports, the bulk of recent increases took the form of household energy credits. In 2023, it said that €664m was paid in household energy credits that acted as fossil fuel subsidies.
Direct supports made up 23% of the overall while indirect subsidies made up the bulk of the subsidies. Examples of indirect subsidies include tax exemptions or reductions such as the Vat rate reduction on energy.
The data shows how measures brought in by Government to support consumers during the cost-of-living crisis resulted in extra fossil fuel subsidies in Ireland. The temporary excise rate reduction on petrol, for example, resulted in €147m in indirect fossil fuel subsidies.
The CSO also detailed the money consumers were paying on energy taxes on the likes of petrol and diesel.
Fossil fuel subsidies rose to €4.9 billion in 2023 while petrol tax per tonne of carbon dioxide was €225https://t.co/tqimz9DgWx#CSOIreland #Ireland #Environment #Energy#EnvironmentalSubsidies #EnvironmentalAccounts #Climate #EnvironmentalConcerns #EnvironmentalBehaviours pic.twitter.com/qBDPli2HOA
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) April 30, 2025
Statistician Clare O’Hara said: “The average effective carbon rate of a fuel is the amount of energy tax, such as excise and carbon tax, paid by consumers per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted through combustion of the fuel.”
Ms O’Hara said that consumers buying petrol paid an average effective rate of €225 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted in 2023, an increase of €5 per tonne on 2022. The amount being paid by drivers in diesel vehicles rose too, by €6 to €170 per tonne.
In 2022, fossil fuel subsidies significantly outweighed energy taxes and environmental subsidies related to energy and air emissions, according to the figures.
The CSO’s figures came as a new report from Trócaire and ActionAid Ireland revealed that more than €31bn worth of investment in the fossil fuel industry is flowing through the country.
The Government was urged to urgently regulate private finance and end fossil fuel investment expansion which campaigners say is harming the environment.
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