Mayo councillor calls for major fuel excise cuts ahead of Budget 2027

As the Government is putting the final touches on the Budget 2027 package, many in rural Ireland are hoping it will include significant cuts to excise duty on diesel, petrol and home heating oil.

Mayo councillor John O’Hara is calling on the Government to think of the farming community, pensioners and young families living in rural counties ahead of next week's Budget announcement, and raised concerns about the spiralling cost of fuel and home heating oil.

“It's gone outrageous. Nobody can afford it at the current rate,” he said. “A tank of diesel has doubled since this time last year. 1000L of diesel last year cost around €800. There's an 100pc increase.”

“It's unfair. It's so expensive, and with the cost of living like, a person on their pension or a young family, there is not much left at the end of the month when you’ve everything paid,” he said.

The Fine Gael representative said a substantial cut to excise duty would help ease the cost burden on people in Mayo, especially those who earn just above the threshold for the fuel allowance and are feeling the sting of soaring prices.

He highlighted that commuting to work is also becoming financially harder for people, with fuel and car maintenance costs rising.

“I know people are getting €38 a week at the moment, but everything has doubled, and there are a lot of people getting no grants. They are on minimum wage, and those are the people I feel for, the working people,” he said.

“Working people have to be looked after. It is so costly on young people, on everyone with a family.”

On top of this, Cllr O’Hara called for cuts to green diesel, saying the farming community in Mayo are feeling the pinch with rising prices as well.

He warned that as the backbone of rural Ireland, if the agricultural sector begins to collapse due to rising costs, it will not bounce back.

“Green diesel has doubled as well. If you are making silage, the contractor has to pass that increased cost on. The cost of wrap has gone up as well, and the slurry when you are spreading it. It's all costing, it's all going up,” he said.

“What's happening really is going to close down rural Ireland, and rural Ireland is the backbone of the west of Ireland - and if the farmer goes, he is gone for good,” he warned. “We are a little island, and we depend on [farming], it's the way of life."

He said farming and the rural economy have kept the west of Ireland going for many years, and now it's time for the Government to look after them.