HGVIreland.com is calling on the Government to halt the fuel-tax increases scheduled for 1 November and 1 December 2026, warning that further increases in diesel costs will place intolerable pressure on Irish hauliers, businesses and consumers.

When the Government postponed the restoration of fuel taxes earlier this year, it acknowledged that international oil prices remained dangerously high and that households and businesses required continued protection.

Those conditions have not improved. In fact, the position has become even more serious.

Diesel has reportedly reached €2.10 per litre at some Irish forecourts, with global oil markets continuing to be affected by conflict, supply disruption and extreme volatility. There is no credible evidence that fuel prices will have returned to sustainable levels before either 1 November or 1 December.

Despite this, the Government intends to begin withdrawing the existing supports on 1 November, including restoring the reduced National Oil Reserves Agency levy and beginning the phased reversal of excise reductions.

A second increase is then scheduled for 1 December, followed by further stages before fuel taxation is fully restored by the end of February.

This means Irish motorists and transport operators face not one but a series of Government-imposed fuel-price increases during the most expensive months of the year.

The first November increase is expected to add approximately 10 cents per litre to diesel and eight cents to petrol, when the restoration of the NORA levy and associated taxes is included. A further excise increase in December will add to that burden before Christmas.

For an Irish haulage company, these increases cannot be dismissed as a few cents at the pump.

A 10-cent increase adds €100 to the cost of every 1,000 litres of diesel. A truck consuming 40,000 litres annually would face an additional €4,000 in direct fuel costs. Across a fleet of 20 trucks, that represents €80,000 before the December, January and February increases are taken into account.

These costs will not remain confined to the haulage industry. They will ultimately be passed through the supply chain, increasing the price of food, construction materials, manufactured goods and almost every product transported by road.

The timing is particularly difficult to understand when other European governments are moving in the opposite direction.

Germany has announced a temporary fuel-tax reduction of approximately 17 cents per litre, while other countries are introducing or extending measures to shield businesses and consumers from escalating energy prices.

Ireland, an island economy that depends heavily on road transport and imported goods, is instead preparing to increase taxation while the international fuel crisis continues.

That approach risks leaving Irish transport companies at a serious competitive disadvantage. Hauliers are already dealing with rising wages, insurance, vehicle finance, tyres, maintenance, ferry charges and regulatory compliance costs.

The Government must also recognise that most operators cannot immediately replace diesel-powered trucks with electric or alternative-fuel vehicles. Ireland still lacks the heavy-duty charging and alternative-fuel infrastructure required to support such a transition at scale.

Operators cannot be taxed as though commercially viable alternatives are widely available when they plainly are not.

We therefore call on the Government to:

• Cancel or postpone the fuel-tax increases scheduled for 1 November and 1 December.
• Maintain the reduced NORA levy while international oil prices remain exceptionally high.
• Extend the enhanced Diesel Rebate Scheme beyond 31 December.
• Guarantee qualifying hauliers a rebate of at least 12 cents per litre.
• Introduce a mechanism linking any future restoration of excise to sustained reductions in wholesale fuel prices.
• Accelerate support for HVO, biomethane and other lower-carbon fuels that existing commercial vehicles can use.
• Develop a credible national charging plan for heavy commercial vehicles.

This is not a request for permanent support regardless of market conditions. It is a request for the Government to recognise that the circumstances which justified the tax reductions have not gone away.

Restoring taxes simply because a date has been placed on the calendar would be economically damaging and strategically short-sighted.

The road haulage industry keeps Ireland’s shops stocked, factories supplied and exports moving. It cannot continue absorbing repeated increases without consequences for employment, competitiveness and consumer prices.

The Government should act before 1 November, suspend both scheduled increases and provide the industry with certainty for the remainder of 2026.

Yours sincerely,

John Loughran
Publisher
HGVIreland.com
Mobile: 087 238 0103

Support the Campaign

We are asking hauliers, fleet operators, drivers and businesses across Ireland to support our campaign calling on the Government to suspend the fuel-tax increases scheduled for 1 November and 1 December 2026.

Email your support to info@hgvireland.com, stating your name and company.

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The planned fuel-tax increases on 1 November and 1 December 2026 will affect the entire Irish supply chain—not just hauliers.

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