TDs in Waterford turn up heat on Government over rising home fuel costs

Two TDs from Waterford have said the Government needs to do something immediately to help families hit with massive increases in the price of home heating oil.

Sinn Féin Deputies, David Cullinane and Conor McGuinness said the issue has exposed the Government's "failure to protect families".

They said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot continue to stand by while families are hit with such massive cost increases.

Their comments follow new data from the European Commission showing Ireland has experienced the largest increase in home-heating oil prices anywhere in the EU, with a 27.3 per cent rise in a single week - eight times the EU average.

Deputy Cullinane said the Government must stop acting as a spectator and intervene immediately.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must act now to bring prices down and protect families," he said.

"For the 700,000 households that rely on heating oil, particularly those in rural communities, these increases are simply unaffordable," he added.

He said his own party introduced legislation - the Mineral Oil Tax (Emergency Cost of Living Reduction) Bill - with a view to cutting excise duties on petrol and diesel and bringing relief to households and workers.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael also need to suspend planned carbon tax increases and cut VAT on home-heating oil in line with the lower 9 per cent rate applied to electricity and gas," said Deputy Cullinane.

Deputy McGuinness said the figures underline the urgent need for immediate action to protect households: “Households are already under enormous pressure from the cost-of-living crisis. Now they are being hit with a staggering surge in heating oil prices that is far beyond anything seen across the rest of Europe."

Referring to the enormous hike of 27 per cent within one week, compared with the EU average increase of just over 3 per cent, Deputy McGuinness said that for many households it means the cost of filling a tank soared to nearly €1,800.

“There must also be a full investigation into price gouging in the fuel market," he said.

"If companies are exploiting an international crisis to boost profits while families struggle to heat their homes, that cannot be tolerated," he added.

“The public cannot afford for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and their Independent allies to remain spectators while households are hammered.”