Aontú representative for Clare, June Dillon, has called on the Government to immediately remove carbon charges on fuel and home heating oil as international oil prices surge due to the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
The issue was raised at the party’s Ard Fheis in Portlaoise this weekend with Aontú calling for a pause in carbon tax charges while the country is undergoing this surge in oil prices.
Dillon warned that rising fuel costs are already impacting businesses, households and supply chains across County Clare, with rural communities particularly exposed.
“This crisis in the Middle East is driving up global oil prices, but the reality is that a huge portion of the price people pay at the pump or for home heating oil is Government tax,” Dillon said.
“While the Government cannot control international oil markets, it absolutely can control the taxes it adds on top of those prices. Removing carbon charges is a solution that could be implemented immediately.”
Ms Dillon said she is already hearing worrying reports from local businesses about the knock-on effects of rising fuel costs.
“This week I was speaking with a local shopkeeper in rural Clare who told me that some suppliers delivering essentials like milk, bread and sausages are now saying it is no longer worth their while travelling to smaller rural shops because of the cost of fuel.
“They are choosing instead to deliver only to larger towns where they can move greater volumes, or reduce their delivery days to cut costs. That puts small community shops, and the communities that rely on them, under serious pressure. If the suppliers have to deliver more frequently, they will have to increase the price of goods to cover their overheads.”
She said the situation highlights a simple economic truth often overlooked in policy debates.
“Every single item we see on the shelves in our supermarkets and local shops arrived there on the back of a lorry. The bread, the milk, the vegetables, the clothes and the medicines, everything was transported by road. If diesel prices rise, the cost of transporting those goods rises, and that means the cost of everything in the shop rises.”
“In short: when diesel goes up, everything goes up.”
She said that rising fuel costs are not only affecting businesses and consumers but are also causing dramatic increases in home heating oil, which will hit older people and vulnerable households particularly hard.
“We are already seeing extortionate increases in the price of home heating oil. For many elderly people and vulnerable households in rural Clare, heating oil is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity.”
“These households cannot simply switch to another heating system overnight. They are completely exposed to these price increases.”
Ms Dillon said the Government’s current position, planning to increase carbon charges again this May, is completely out of touch with the reality facing households.
“Aontú opposed the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 because it locks Ireland into automatic increases in carbon charges regardless of the economic circumstances people are facing.”
“At a time when global oil prices are rising because of international conflict, it makes no sense for the Government to deliberately add even more cost on top.”
“Over the past decade the Government has taken more than €35 billion in tax from fuel. Carbon tax alone has risen dramatically, from €360 million in 2019 to €920 million in 2024, and it is set to rise again.”
“The Government often speaks as if international oil prices are the only factor, but the truth is that Government taxes now make up a huge share of what people pay.”
Dillon said removing carbon charges would immediately ease pressure on households, commuters and businesses across Clare.
“This issue affects everything, the cost of heating homes, the cost of transporting goods, and ultimately the cost of living for every family.”
“The Government cannot end the war in the Middle East, but it can stop adding unnecessary taxes on top of already rising fuel prices. These carbon charges should be removed immediately and remain suspended until oil prices return to more normal levels.”
“Failing to act will mean higher heating bills for elderly people, higher costs for businesses, and higher prices on supermarket shelves for every household in Ireland,” Ms Dillon concluded.