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SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald said that if her party is elected to power in the upcoming general election, they will undo the latest fuel excise increases instated by the government in August and October, as well abolishing increases that have not yet come in but have been set out in the latest budget.
On 1 August of this year, the price of diesel rose by 4 cents per litre, while petrol rose by 3 cents per litre. It was the second fuel price hike in three months.
In Budget 2025, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers announced that the rate per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by petrol and diesel vehicles would increase from €56 to €63.50 from 9 October – an increase of just over 13%.
The increase is to be applied to all other fuels from 1 May 2025.
Speaking today, McDonald said Sinn Féin would both abolish future increases provisioned in the budget and reverse the two fuel price increases if brought to power, which she said collectively added per litre 6c to diesel and 5.5c to petrol.
She said that the price hikes were brought in at a time of a serious cost of living crisis, and said that the increases were affecting workers and families.
“In the middle of this crisis for workers and families, government have increased tax on fuel to such a level that we now have the highest taxes in Europe on petrol and diesel and Fiona fall and Fine Gael are determined to increase those even further,” she said.
“Since 2020, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have added 12 euros to a tank of fuel, and they have committed to increase it again by a further seven euros a tank over the next five years. That is 12 cents on every litre of fuel.”
McDonald added that the reversal of the two price increases would be a permanent measure for the lifetime of the next government, and that Sinn Féin would also offset the increase to the toll fee due to come in on 1 January, at a cost of €8 million.
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Terrifying but sadly all too predictable as temperatures rise. You’d hope this would wake a few of the deniers up as it’s more local than some of the countries people chauvinistically dismiss. But alas these people would still be posting their copy and paste, Trump n dumpster science support, while the fire or flood is on their doorstep.
@SerotoninWars: you do realize they’ve had wildfires all over the globe for centuries?
@Niall English: You do realise that they have been far worse in recent years on account of climate change?
@Niall English: You do realise that ever more parched woodlands catch fire ever more easily, which spreads ever more quickly?
@JOHN O CONNELL: You mean when there were only a few millions of people?
And vast areas of the planet were covered in forests?
Imagine that!
@JOHN O CONNELL: Those fires were caused by a collision with fragments of a comet. What is your point?
It must have all grown back, from being burnt the last few years
@P. V. Aglue: You think houses and factories grow back?
What did the Greeks ever do for us?
@Padraig O’Brien: The birthplace of western thinking.
@Padraig O’Brien: Plato, Aristotle Euclid’s geometry aid the foundations for European rationality and scientific inquiry, and influenced the development of European science and mathematics. The epics of Homer and the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles deeply influenced European literature; their Greek humanism, that emphasized individual dignity, profoundly affected the development of European and American literary traditions. The music of Ancient Greece, particularly the theoretical frameworks of harmonics developed by the likes of Pythagoras, laid the foundations of Western music theory. And the political ideas of Ancient Greece, particularly the concept of democracy as practised in Athens, have had a lasting impact on European politics and systems of government.
@David Jordan: I frequently reread an old school text book on ancient Greek history by Bury.
(Am reading it again at the moment.)
Fascinating.
@David Jordan: “The music of Ancient Greece, particularly the theoretical frameworks of harmonics developed by the likes of Pythagoras, laid the foundations of Western music theory”.
And then (c)rap came along and that all went out the window.
Here in Bulgaria the fires started in June and keep going. There is several at any given time, and once a fire is put down, another one starts in a different place. There are constant appeals for volunteers to help the fire service, who are exhausted. Turkey sent fire trucks to help, and the Chesch republic sent two planes. What seems to be missing is coordinated EU level approach to this – Southern Europe is burning, and will continue burning every summer. Did someone ask Ursula what the plan is?
@ Thesaltyurchin and David Jordan
Are ye too young to have seen Monty Python?
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