Ken O'Flynn TD: Box-ticking climate policy that leaves Irish families paying the price

The decision by Darragh O’Brien to impose a 32 percent Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation from January 2026 is an act of economic recklessness.

This policy hits fuel first. Fuel sits under everything. When fuel prices rise, every price rises. That is how Ireland functions. Transport moves food, medicine, building materials, school buses, ambulances, public services, and every delivery to every town and village. Raise fuel costs and the entire economy tightens.

This measure drives inflation by design.

Hauliers will pay more. Farmers will pay more. Tradespeople will pay more. Retailers will pay more. Public transport operators will pay more. Those costs do not stay on balance sheets. They land on families at the till, at the pump, and on monthly bills.

Government knows this. Government proceeds anyway.

The Minister concedes advanced biofuel supply remains unstable. He concedes sustainability problems with imported fuels. He concedes global markets remain volatile. Despite those admissions, he locks the State into higher mandatory fuel costs with no domestic supply base to support them.

Ireland lacks the production capacity to meet these targets. That forces dependence on imports. Imports drive price exposure. Imports weaken energy security. Imports shift environmental damage elsewhere while Irish households pay the bill.

This is not climate leadership. This is box ticking for Brussels at the expense of Irish workers and Irish enterprise.

No published cost impact analysis exists. No clear pump price estimate exists. No inflation assessment exists. No honest explanation exists for how rural Ireland absorbs this blow. That silence speaks volumes.

Every past increase in fuel obligations fed straight into higher prices across the economy. Government learned nothing. It repeats the same mistake on a larger scale.

Climate action succeeds only with public consent. Consent collapses when policy punishes people for needing to travel, work, heat homes, and run businesses. A green transition built on rising costs fails. It fails socially. It fails politically. It fails environmentally.

This decision should be halted. Full cost projections should be published. Domestic fuel capacity should come first. Affordability should matter.

Ireland does not need performative climate policy. Ireland needs emissions reduction without economic harm. This announcement delivers harm and calls it progress.