With Budget 2027 just days away, Irish hauliers will be watching one issue above all others: fuel.

After months of soaring diesel prices and growing pressure on transport operators, the Government faces calls to use Tuesday’s Budget to prevent further increases at the pumps while providing more targeted assistance to professional hauliers.

Three issues in particular will be under the spotlight: diesel excise, the Diesel Rebate Scheme and support for HVO and other renewable fuels.

1. Diesel excise: November increase looks increasingly unlikely

This is the area where hauliers have received the clearest indication of Government action.

Temporary reductions in petrol and diesel excise introduced earlier this year were due to begin being unwound from 1 November.

However, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has said the Government will provide “certainty for the winter period” on fuel excise. RTÉ has reported that the Government is poised to extend the reductions until late February or early March.

For hauliers, postponing the November increase would undoubtedly be welcome.

But there is an important distinction: extending the excise reduction stops diesel becoming even more expensive — it does not reduce the high fuel bills operators are already paying.

That is why the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has been pushing for additional targeted support.

2. Diesel Rebate Scheme: the big question for hauliers

Perhaps the most important outstanding issue for professional operators is the Diesel Rebate Scheme (DRS).

The maximum repayment was temporarily increased to 12 cent per litre from 1 January to 30 September 2026.

That temporary enhancement has now expired.

Revenue confirms that from 1 October 2026, the maximum repayment has reverted to 7.5 cent per litre for qualifying operators, subject to the scheme’s sliding-scale calculation.

That means the maximum available support has fallen by 4.5 cent per litre at precisely the time when hauliers are struggling with exceptionally high diesel costs.

Restoring or extending the enhanced rebate will therefore be one of the most important measures to watch on Budget Day.

The IRHA has also sought an additional three months of support through the Road Transporters Support Scheme as part of the package it wants Government to deliver.

3. HVO could become a major Budget battleground

There is another potentially significant development for the haulage sector: HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil).

The IRHA wants Budget 2027 to make renewable fuels significantly more attractive to transport operators.

Its proposals include a 12 cent per litre Biofuel Rebate Scheme for the sustainable component of blended diesel and a much larger 24 cent per litre rebate for operators using 100 per cent HVO as a diesel substitute.

The argument is straightforward.

Thousands of diesel HGVs will remain on Irish roads for years to come. HVO potentially offers operators a route to reducing lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions without waiting for widespread deployment of battery-electric long-haul trucks and the charging infrastructure required to support them.

But cost remains one of the obstacles.

The Government will point out that HVO already receives favourable tax treatment. Minister for Finance Simon Harris recently told the Dáil that qualifying biofuels such as HVO are relieved of the carbon component of Mineral Oil Tax, currently worth approximately 19 cent per litre. Revenue confirms that qualifying 100 per cent biofuel used as a diesel substitute has no carbon component of MOT.

However, because of that tax treatment, HVO does not qualify for the existing Diesel Rebate Scheme.

Budget 2027 will therefore reveal whether Government is prepared to go further and introduce an additional incentive specifically aimed at accelerating HVO uptake in road freight.

4. Will hauliers get another direct support payment?

The industry will also be watching for any further direct assistance.

IRHA President Ger Hyland has warned that many haulage businesses become unviable when diesel exceeds €1.90 per litre, with forecourt prices recently exceeding €2.10 in many locations. Following his meeting with Simon Harris, Hyland said no specific Budget commitment had been made and warned that further fuel protests could not be ruled out.

This makes any extension of the Road Transporters Support Scheme particularly significant.

Unlike a general excise reduction, targeted assistance can be directed specifically towards licensed commercial transport operators whose businesses consume very large quantities of fuel.

5. What should hauliers watch for on Tuesday?

There are effectively five questions for the haulage industry on Budget Day:

Will the Government postpone the November restoration of diesel excise?

Will the enhanced 12 cent Diesel Rebate Scheme be restored or extended?

Will there be another round of direct Road Transporters Support Scheme payments?

Will Government introduce a new rebate or incentive for HVO and sustainable biofuels?

And, crucially, how long will any new support package last?

That final question matters.

Hauliers need more than another short-term intervention followed by another cliff-edge date a few months later.

Transport companies must price contracts, negotiate fuel surcharges, manage cash flow and make investment decisions. That becomes extremely difficult when operators do not know what the effective taxation of a litre of diesel will be several months down the road.

Budget 2027 needs to provide certainty

There is now a strong indication that the Government will prevent the scheduled November excise increase from hitting motorists and hauliers during the winter.

That would be an important first step.

But for the haulage industry, the real test of Budget 2027 will be what happens beyond that.

The enhanced Diesel Rebate Scheme has already expired, fuel prices remain exceptionally high and operators are being asked simultaneously to invest in the transition towards lower-carbon transport.

If the Government wants hauliers to move towards fuels such as HVO, the industry argues that the economics of doing so must make commercial sense.

So when Simon Harris delivers Budget 2027 on Tuesday, Irish hauliers will be looking beyond the headlines.

Stopping another diesel increase will be welcomed. Restoring targeted support and providing a credible route towards affordable lower-carbon fuel would represent a much more substantial package.

For an industry in which fuel is one of the biggest operating costs, the difference could be significant.