‘Government still not listening and must cut excise on home heating oil’

Donegal TD and Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty, has said the government must listen to the public and reduce excise on home heating oil.

Addressing the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, Deputy Doherty said: “Your government is still not listening. Right across this state, over 750,000 households rely on home heating oil to keep their homes warm. For them, this crisis isn’t abstract. It is immediate.

“Despite everything that has happened over the past number of weeks – despite the protests, despite the pressure, despite the clear message from workers and families right across the state – you still haven’t reduced excise on home heating oil by a single cent. Nothing.”

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Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, Deputy Doherty accused the government of adding insult to injury, as many of those who protested last week returned home to find parking fines landing through their letterboxes, and added: “This is a response that punishes people who were already pushed to the brink, people who didn’t have money last week, and now you’re asking them to fork up hundreds of euro in parking fines.”

He said the government must stop making life even harder for people, and said: “I ask you directly, how do you justify standing here and refusing to decrease excise on home heating oil by a single cent?

“And now you expect a pat on the back for not increasing carbon tax in a fortnight on home heating oil. Instead, you will impose that increase in the very depths of winter. For families already stretched to the brink, that is no relief at all. That after weeks of anger and hardship, you still don’t get it. You don’t understand the lives people are living.

“You don’t understand the fear of a bill landing that cannot be paid, the quiet dread of a cold home, or the constant calculation just to get through the week. There is a complete absence of urgency, of empathy – a lack of basic understanding from your government.”