Castlebar local election candidate lambasts ‘out of touch’ government for fuel prices hikes

A local election candidate in Castlebar has hit out at the government for hiking taxes on fuel.

Donal Geraghty, who is running for Independent Ireland, said families will be forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table because of the latest hikes in heating oil and solid fuels.

The latest carbon tax hikes, which came into effect last Wednesday (May 1), increased the price of coal, peat, motor fuel and home-heating oil.

The increase in the carbon tax will add around €19 to a 900-litre fill of home-heating oil, around 75c to a bag of coal and 17c to the cost of briquettes.

The tax adds €1.04 to the cost of 60 litres of petrol and €1.20 to 60 litres of diesel, according to the Dáil’s Parliamentary Budget Office.

Mr Geraghty, who supplies smokeless coal in the Castlebar area, said the tax increases would put ‘serious financial strain’ on working people who receive no state subsidies.

The carbon tax increases were agreed in October following the adoption of the annual budget.

“The repercussions of this tax hike extend beyond mere numbers on a bill. It means sacrifices for families already stretched thin, forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. It means added pressure on vulnerable communities, particularly the elderly and the struggling squeezed middle-income households, who I will fight tooth and nail for if elected,” said Mr Geraghty, who works in Mayo University Hospital. He has called for freezing and reforming the carbon tax, recognising the need for balanced climate policies that don't place undue hardship on the most vulnerable.

Mr Geraghty also described the raising of the carbon tax as ‘yet another blow inflicted by an elitist Green Party’.

The tax is currently set at €56 per tonne of CO2 and is due to rise to €100 per tonne by 2030. “The government’s relentless pursuit of carbon taxes disproportionately burdens those least able to afford it,” he added.

“It’s a stark reminder of the growing disconnect between our leaders and the everyday realities faced by ordinary honest working people.”