My office was contacted last week by the Individual Farmers of Ireland group, Irish truckers and hauliers, SMEs, taxi drivers and front-line workers over the fuel increase since 2020, which the Government has failed to tackle. The Government has taxed every person in Ireland €10.88 on every €100. These groups told me they are going to protest. The farmers' group is coming on Sunday and the truckers and hauliers are coming on Monday. They are not protesting for themselves only. They will be joined by SMEs and everybody in Ireland.

I have always said that it was the rest of the country against Dublin but I have to stand corrected. I have been contacted by so many people from rural Dublin. The Government has failed them and let them down. People in north Dublin contacted me over the failure of the Government to tackle the increase in the fuel tax which every Minister, Minister of State and backbencher in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party are backing. The Tánaiste asked today how he could make a difference to every household in Ireland. The Government is taking 19 cent in tax from the increase on fuel since 2020. It took 81 cent in tax in 2020. It is now taking €1.05 from petrol.

I spoke to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, yesterday. He told me he was going to speak with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I had a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and he told me he was talking to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. I spoke to the Taoiseach. The only person from the Government who did not reply to me was the Tánaiste.

The Government has control of this. I was told last night by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, that they cannot change the VAT but they have control over the customs and excise, they have control over the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, and they have control over the other 19%. They said they do not have control over the 23%.

Every person in Ireland is suffering because of the Government's failure. What did it do when the EU told it to reduce taxes? It increased taxes. People were able to go into shops, get €100 worth of groceries and come home with two big bags of shopping. Now they have one bag of shopping for the same €100 because of the fuel increases the Government has in its control but that it could bring down tonight.

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge on behalf of the Government that we understand the enormous impact the rising cost of fuel and energy is having on people, whether it is people in business, particularly in the transport sector, those in agriculture, householders or individual citizens. I outlined in my response to Deputy Doherty the kind of things we are doing at the moment to help families with the cost of living.

Many of these, particularly tax reductions, welfare increases and pension increases, will kick in in January. I also outlined that we are considering helping with the cost of electricity, in particular.

I believe I did acknowledge the Deputy's email yesterday but, if I have not, I certainly will today. I think I heard the Deputy state the EU told us to reduce taxes. That is not true; that is something he made up. The EU has produced a toolbox of things governments can do, if they choose to, from their own resources to reduce the cost of energy. When using one's own resources to reduce the cost of energy, it has a consequence in that there are fewer resources for something else. That has to be borne in mind.

With regard to the carbon tax, I wish to state once again for the record that it is a particular type of tax. It does not go into the coffers and is not used for general government spending. It is ring-fenced to increase the fuel allowance for the most vulnerable in society, who need extra help to pay the bills. Had the carbon tax not gone up, it might not have been possible to increase the fuel allowance. That needs to be borne in mind by anybody involved in this debate. The revenue is also used for the likes of retrofitting homes, especially in rural areas, particularly the midlands, to turn homes that are very cold and expensive to heat into much warmer homes. The money is also ring-fenced for other aspects of climate action, such as the re-wetting of bogs and making sure Bord na Móna staff in rural Ireland, particularly the midlands, will continue to have a job. It is also used to invest in initiatives such as LED lighting to reduce energy bills for local authorities, thus improving their bottom line. Therefore, the carbon tax is a very particular one, and one that is ring-fenced for many good things that everybody believes should be funded.

The Tánaiste's answer to the fuel costs is that he is okay with a 19 cent increase. I did not say the Government did not need the tax. The Government had 81 cent in 2020; it now has a euro. This relates to an increase in the price of fuel over which it has control. The Tánaiste talks about giving money to people who are vulnerable but it does not even make a difference to them because the prices have gone through the roof. They have gone out of control.

Food costs have gone up in this country because of inflation. The Government has been driving inflation. Reducing the additional tax imposed since 2022 would drive down inflation for everyone. It is not rocket science. You do not need to have a third level education to work this out. I did not have one and I am able to work it out. The Government should reduce the cost of fuel. The cost affects every industry, including the clothing and food industries, and farming. Reducing the tax will automatically drive down inflation and the cost of living. That is common sense, which the Government seems to lack.

I thank the Deputy. There have been very significant increases in the costs of fuel and energy in the past year. By and large, these have not been driven by increases in taxation. The latter are part of the reason but only a small part. The increases are largely being driven by the very big increases in gas and oil prices internationally, which are not under our control.

When it comes to the carbon tax, for example-----

Diesel and petrol.

The carbon tax does not apply to natural gas, and it will not apply to solid fuel and home heating oil until May. The tax has driven up the costs of petrol and diesel but it is not the major reason for the increases. The major reason is factors that are not under our control, namely, big increases in the prices of gas and oil internationally.

Nineteen cent.