{"id":372145,"date":"2026-03-30T00:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372145\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T00:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:03:07","slug":"decision-on-future-of-fuel-excise-cuts-not-affected-by-upcoming-byelections-says-minister-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/372145\/","title":{"rendered":"Decision on future of fuel excise cuts not affected by upcoming byelections, says Minister \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The decision on the future of the temporary excise cuts to petrol and diesel<\/a> will not be affected by the two looming byelections expected to be held shortly before the reductions are due to expire, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

The byelections in Galway West<\/a> and Dublin Central<\/a> are widely expected to happen on May 22nd.<\/p>\n

That is just over a week before the excise cuts brought in as part of a package of supports aimed at easing soaring fuel costs caused by the war in Iran<\/a> are due to end.<\/p>\n

Calleary made his remarks as he spoke to reporters after Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> chose its Galway West byelection candidate, Cllr Cillian Keane, at a selection convention on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

He was asked if the current plan for the excise cuts to expire on May 31st will affect Government parties\u2019 chances in the two byelections.<\/p>\n

In response, Calleary, who is Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s director of elections in Galway West, indicated that the decision on whether or not the cuts will be continued will not be affected by the votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision, no offence to Cillian, won\u2019t be aligned to what\u2019s happening in the byelection\u201d but rather \u201cit will be aligned with what\u2019s happening nationally and internationally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Calleary added: \u201cWe\u2019ve always said we\u2019ll put the best interests of the country first\u201d and that the Government\u2019s response to the energy crisis \u201chas to be sustainable\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0ESRI criticises excise duty cut on fuel as a \u2018subsidy to higher income households\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

There is a vacant D\u00e1il<\/a> seat in the Galway West constituency following the election of former independent TD Catherine Connolly<\/a> as President last October.<\/p>\n

Another byelection in Dublin Central was brought about after Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe resigned his seat to take a job at the World Bank, will take place in May.<\/p>\n

Oranmore-based Keane (25) was first elected to Galway County Council in 2024 and was the youngest candidate in the Athenry-Oranmore local electoral area in the election that year.<\/p>\n

He is a graduate of UCD with a degree in food and agribusiness management.<\/p>\n

On his byelection run Keane he is \u201ctrying to offer a fresh perspective\u201d and \u201ca new level of energy and commitment in the constituency\u201d.<\/p>\n

Taoiseach and party leader Miche\u00e1l Martin said Keane is \u201can experienced councillor and understands what Galway needs at a national level. He is young and dynamic with a great commitment to public service, he will make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in TD Mairead Farrell topped the poll in Galway West in the 2024 general election.<\/p>\n

The other sitting TDs are Noel Grealish, an independent who is a junior minister in the Department of Agriculture and John Connolly of Fianna F\u00e1il. In that election, another Fianna F\u00e1il candidate in the constituency, broadcaster Gr\u00e1inne Seoige, was unsuccessful in her effort to secure a seat.<\/p>\n

In terms of other byelection candidates Fine Gael has selected former TD and junior minister, Senator Se\u00e1n Kyne as its candidate while Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s contender is trade unionist and former Galway city councillor Mark Lohan. Former Fianna F\u00e1il member Noel Thomas is running in Galway West for Independent Ireland.<\/p>\n

Thomas Welby, an Independent councillor and close ally of Grealish, will also be contesting the byelection. The convener of Connolly\u2019s presidential campaign in Galway, university lecturer Sheila Garrity, will stand as an Independent.<\/p>\n

The Labour Party has selected Cllr Helen Ogbu as its candidate while Social Democrats grass roots activist M\u00edde Nic Fhionnlaoich will run for her party. Last week, the Mayor of Galway, independent councillor Mike Cubbard, announced his intention to contest the election saying his campaign would centre on a \u201cGalway first\u201d message.<\/p>\n

The Green Party has chosen former councillor Niall Murphy as its candidate, Aont\u00fa\u2019s candidate is Orla Nugent, a primary schoolteacher and Denman Rooke is running for People Before Profit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The decision on the future of the temporary excise cuts to petrol and diesel will not be affected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,7038,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-372145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-irish-politics","11":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}