Government must choose between fuel excise revenue or industrial peace

Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan has said that the Government “can have excise duty revenue or it can have industrial peace, but it cannot have both.”

Deputy Nolan was speaking as uncertainty continues to hang over Government’s intention to proceed with the September fuel excise increase despite escalating warnings from transport, agri‑contracting, construction, and small‑business sectors:

“If Government pushes ahead with these excise hikes, it is choosing revenue over stability. That is not a threat; it is a statement of fact based on what workers, contractors, farmers and hauliers are telling me every single day.”

Deputy Nolan said it is also vital to remember that baseline annual fuel‑excise revenue, even without any further increases, remains well over €3 billion:

“So this idea that if the State doesn’t increase excise duties we will suddenly be starved of cash is just not credible.”

“I stood with fuel protestors because they were sounding the alarm long before Ministers were prepared to listen. They were warning that fuel inflation was a systemic threat to haulage, to food distribution, to construction timelines, to agri‑production, and to the viability of thousands of small operators.”

The Offaly TD said a September increase in fuel‑excise rates will “pour petrol on a fire that is already simmering and ready to explode into mass protests”:

“If Government insists on squeezing people dry, it will trigger a wave of disruption that will be felt in every county and every sector. This is entirely avoidable.”

“The Government must categorically confirm that it will withdraw the September excise increase. The sooner it does so the better,” concluded Deputy Nolan.

ENDS