Government Must Postpone the Planned Restoration of Fuel Excise Duties – IFA
IFA Farm Business Chair Bill O’Keeffe has called on Minister for Finance Simon Harris to postpone plans to reintroduce excise duty on fuel from 1st September.
Fuel costs, including the cost of green diesel, while declining somewhat in recent months have again increased throughout July and early August. The ongoing unrest in the Middle East and disruption to oil distribution is continuing cause extreme volatility to global oil prices.
“Any move by Government to increase the cost of fuel at the current high price levels, will put further pressure on farm families and farm business who have struggled through the past number of months with rising costs,” the IFA Farm Business Chair warned.
In June of this year the Government announced the planned reintroduction of excise duty on fuels from September 1st, with a gradual restoration of all levies by December 1st.
IFA has said that the planned increase comes at a time when costs on farms, including fuel costs, remain persistently high, while farmgate returns across key sectors have weakened significantly.
“Our dairy, beef, tillage, potato and vegetable farmers are all under severe pressure from reduced margins in 2026 and combined with poor grass growth and tillage crop performance this summer, it would be reckless for the Government to drive ahead with these plans to place additional cost on fuel.”
“Farmers are price takers and cannot pass on rising input costs. Reintroducing higher excise rates on fuel at this time could be the tipping point for many farmers to enter negative margin territory, undermining the viability of many family farms,” Bill O’Keeffe said.
It is also imperative that the unallocated funds set aside for the Fuel Income Support Scheme must be retained in agricultural sector and be directed towards farmers to alleviate the ongoing energy costs, fertiliser in particular.
