LAST UPDATE | 4 hrs ago

GOVERNMENT MINISTERS WILL today sign off on the extension of cuts to fuel taxes before the Dáil is recalled on Friday to vote on the measure. 

The government has said the temporary reductions to fuel excise, which were extended in June, will now be extended beyond September. 

It is understood the extension will remain in place until November and will be tapered out by the end of February. However, senior ministers have consistently said the situation is fluid and will be kept under review as the war in the Middle East develops. 

The cuts were introduced in response to protests against high fuel prices in April that included the blockading of an oil refinery in Cork.

Following the protests, the government increased temporary fuel excise cuts to 32c on a litre of diesel and 27c for petrol. The cuts came as part of a wider fuel support package of €750 million.

Speaking to RTÉ this morning, Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said her party would be supporting the extension of the cuts when the Dáil returns on Friday. 

“What we’ve seen over the last number of months is how this extreme uncertainty and volatility as a result of the war in the Middle East, how that’s actually impacted on people’s lives here and the cost of fuel and energy here.

But she said transport fuel costs are not the only issue people are dealing with. Electricity prices have seen “incredible increases” as well, she said. 

“The Social Democrats have repeatedly called for the government to introduce a targeted electricity credit to help people cope with those very, very high prices of electricity.

“We have 328,000 people in arrears on their electricity bills at the moment, the highest electricity prices in Europe, and we believe that the government should be targeting supports for them.”

She added that her party wants to see is “a proactive approach from government to actually wean people from fossil fuels, to ensure that as a country we were far more resilient to these kinds of international shocks and that, you know, if something happens in the Middle East, that that doesn’t mean that people in Ireland are struggling when it comes to heating their homes”.