Hauliers to get fuel excise relief and diesel rebate boost under Government plans

Fuel excise relief and enhanced diesel rebates form part of wider Government measures responding to rising energy costs

Ger Hyland, president of the IRHA, said the Government committed to 'substantial supports for the haulage industry'.

Hauliers will receive relief on fuel excise duties and an enhanced diesel rebate scheme under plans to be announced by the Government next week.

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) met with transport minister Darragh O’Brien on Thursday morning, with promises made at the meeting that “substantial supports” for the industry would be announced after next Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Following the meeting, Ger Hyland, president of the IRHA, said Mr O’Brien committed to “substantial supports for the haulage industry”.

He said that while the IRHA will meet with officials from the Department of Transport over the weekend to “work out the finer details of those supports”, it will include relief on excise duties on fuel and an enhanced diesel rebate scheme for hauliers.

These will be enacted in the Dáil on Tuesday next but will be reviewed every two weeks for the duration of the crisis in the Middle East.

The supports for hauliers will be part of a wider support package that will be announced on Tuesday.

Mr O’Brien could not say whether these changes will also benefit ordinary motorists, but that there will be a “package in the round” and supports will “not just be for one sector”. However, he contended that it was an “option”.

During Leaders’ Questions, Tánaiste Simon Harris once again confirmed that an “appropriate intervention for the areas in which there is a most acute pressure and challenge” at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

In response to the Social Democrats’ Cian O’Callaghan, he ruled out energy credits.

“I've heard your idea in relation to the energy credit, I know it's put forward in good faith,” the Tánaiste said.

“The only point I'd make is I'm not sure that's the speediest or most effective way, being truthful, with the time of the year that we're coming into, bringing in temporary energy credits.

“I'm not saying this to be flippant. [It is coming into] the summer period. They wouldn't be in place for the winter period.

“There are other ways. I think more quickly we can alleviate [and] help.” 

Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Mr O’Brien also dismissed energy credits being introduced.

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty told the Dáil that prices were continuing to skyrocket, with the price of diesel increasing by 8c per litre on Thursday alone.

He called for taxes on petrol, diesel, and home heating oil to be cut immediately, noting that this could have been done in the Dáil on Thursday night through a vote if required.

“While costs surge again, what is your message to ordinary people out there? What is the message from your government?” Mr Doherty asked, “Wait until Tuesday. Wait for another meeting. Wait while prices climb, wait while families fall further behind.” 

He added: “This is not about necessity. It is about political choice, and the Government are all over the place on this issue, slow to act, reluctant to intervene and telling people to wait while the bills spiral.” 

In response, the Tánaiste said that the Government “intends to bring forward an appropriate intervention at our next cabinet meeting, which will be on Tuesday”.

He added: “There is significant international volatility. I was reading what the Italian government is considering doing today, and it's talking about [cutting excise] just for 20 days.

“Governments right around the world […] are not able to predict where this conflict in the Middle Eastern Gulf is going to bring the global economy.

“Any measures that the Government takes and takes next week need to fulfil two primary objectives.

“They need to be enabled to ensure that the assistance can be applied quickly, and secondly, that we ensure that we keep the space to adapt the response should that be required in the weeks and the months.

“We do need to be honest, there is very little certainty in terms of where this conflict will go.”