The Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has hit out at the latest proposals to hike toll charges to a whopping €14 on the Dublin Port Tunnel. Figures released to him show that the annual amount brough in through tolls on the tunnel has more than doubled since 2020.
Speaking today, Deputy Tóibín said: “It is absolute insanity that the government, through Transport Infrastructure Ireland, is rising the toll charge on the port tunnel yet again. No commuter in Dublin should €14 in a single toll charge at any time of the day, especially in the context of high fuel costs, ever increasing carbon taxes and a lack of reliable alternative modes of transport”
Deputy Tóibín continued: “There are four toll bridges in my home county of Meath. A commuter from Meath or Cavan who works in South Dublin is likely to be hit with €3,600 euro a year just in toll charges. Meanwhile the government does not seem eager to provide an alternative to these commuters by way of rail line from Navan to Dublin, something which I’ve been campaigning for for years. The government should stop the fuel tax increases, and it should remove tolls from roads which have already been bought and paid for. Figures released to Aontú indicate that over the past five years €2 Billion has been taken in through toll charges across the country”.
“Last year the total amount taken in by the government through fuel taxes surpassed €4 Billion for the first time ever. It represents a half a billion euro of an increase on the figure for 2023. The figures show that carbon tax is now the second largest component of tax on fuel, second only to VAT. We can also see from the statistics that Carbon Tax receipts have doubled in five years. Shockingly Aontú was the only party in the Dáil to vote against the Climate Action Bill which paved the way for carbon tax under the last government. People around the country are really struggling with the cost of fuel, whether it’s for home-heating purposes or petrol / diesel”.
ENDS
087 270 7985
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For Oral Answer on : 03/04/2025
Question Number(s): 16 Question Reference(s): 15632/25
Department: Finance
Asked by: Peadar Tóibín T.D.
______________________________________________
QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Finance the amount collected in tax on fuel in each of the past ten years and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY
Ireland’s taxation of fuel and electricity is governed by European Union law as set out in Directive 2003/96/EC, commonly known as the Energy Tax Directive (ETD).
ETD provisions on mineral oils are transposed into national law in Finance Act 1999 (as amended). Finance Act 1999 provides for the application of excise duty, in the form of Mineral Oil Tax (MOT) to liquid fuels that are used as motor or heating fuels.
I am advised by Revenue that the relevant excise duty rates on fuel and a breakdown of excise receipts for 2023 and prior years is available on the Revenue website.
In relation to VAT, I am advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. Therefore, it is not possible to provide precise figures for the VAT yield from fuel products services using taxpayer information. However, using a range of third-party data sources, Revenue has provided a tentative estimate of the VAT generated by these products.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the requested information is quite detailed and thus the table will be published in my online response. It will include the total excise receipts for Mineral Oil Tax (MOT), Solid Fuel Carbon Tax (SFCT), Natural Gas Carbon Tax (NGCT), and an estimate of VAT receipts in respect of fuel for the past ten years and 2025 to date.
Excise Receipts for MOT, SFCT, NGCT, and Estimate of VAT receipts in respect of fuel
|
Year |
MOT Non-Carbon Component €m |
MOT Carbon Component €m |
Total MOT |
SFCT €m |
NGCT €m |
Estimated VAT |
Total €m |
|
2025* |
484.8 |
245.6 |
730.4 |
8.1 |
41.2 |
172.4 |
952.1 |
|
2024* |
1,968.4 |
920.3 |
2,888.6 |
21.5 |
125.6 |
1,072.9 |
4,108.7 |
|
2023 |
1,566.9 |
808.3 |
2,375.2 |
19.2 |
107.2 |
1,012.8 |
3,514.4 |
|
2022 |
1,550.7 |
670.2 |
2,220.9 |
25.9 |
94.5 |
1,091.0 |
3,432.3 |
|
2021 |
1,926.1 |
541.1 |
2,467.2 |
27.9 |
83.3 |
800.1 |
3,378.5 |
|
2020 |
1,815.0 |
404.8 |
2,219.8 |
23.8 |
64.9 |
649.1 |
2,957.6 |
|
2019 |
2,164.3 |
360.0 |
2,524.3 |
20.1 |
50.4 |
788.2 |
3,383.0 |
|
2018 |
2,163.3 |
355.8 |
2,519.1 |
25.3 |
50.0 |
827.1 |
3,421.5 |
|
2017 |
2,061.1 |
346.4 |
2,407.5 |
19.1 |
54.1 |
791.8 |
3,272.5 |
|
2016 |
2,168.5 |
350.0 |
2,518.5 |
24.4 |
55.8 |
765.0 |
3,363.7 |
|
2015 |
2,114.4 |
338.9 |
2,453.3 |
23.5 |
56.6 |
852.3 |
3,385.7 |
*Provisional: 2025 MOT, SFCT and NGCT receipts to March; 2025 VAT estimate to February
Excise duty rates on fuel are published on the Revenue website at https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/excise/excise-duty-rates/energy-excise-duty-rates.pdf.
A breakdown of excise receipts for 2023 and prior years is available on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/excise/receipts-volume-and-price/excise-receipts-commodity.aspx
