Dáil recall over fuel interventions under review - Burke

An excise cut of 32c on a litre of diesel and 27c for petrol is due to be phased out from September.

The cuts were introduced in April amid major protests that strangled fuel distribution around the country.

Today, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke did not rule out an early return of the Dáil, which is scheduled to resume on 16 September.

He said the initial timing for the phasing out of the excise cut - which came as part of €750m in industry supports and cost-of-living measures - was devised when the outlook over the Middle East conflict "looked more positive".

However, he said the situation had "deteriorated significantly from then" and "nothing can be ruled out at this juncture" when asked if the phase-out could be pushed back.

Mr Burke said: "If you look at the price of marked gas oil/green diesel, it was retailing about net 94 cents a litre - it's up at €1.24 now, and that's about a 30% of an increase on net effect - which is pretty significant for the agri-economy, and indeed in the wider economy - when you look at the work that we've brought forward, over a billion euro now in reductions.

"So we're currently actively reviewing it."

Asked if the high cost of the excise cut could impact on the pool of money available for tax cuts in Budget 2027, Mr Burke said the Government is "really focused on" reducing grocery prices and food prices through measures cutting costs on getting "products on shelves".

"We have a lot of work to do, and obviously we've over an €8 billion package in the budget, €1.5 billion for income tax measures - about a 6% increase in spending - and that's going to be key to keep measures sustainable, and its important that we do focus heavily on income tax as well," he said.

Pressed on whether the Government was prepared to recall the Dáil to push back the unwinding of the excise cut, he said: "Government leaders are keeping all those decisions under review, and obviously a lot has changed over the last number of weeks."

He said: "It is so uncertain internationally, and we've seen things escalate very, very dramatically in the last week, particularly in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, the timeline passing now for a deal, which leaves us in very uncertain, unchartered territory again, and also when you see the price escalating the pumps."