Mayo councillors back call for government action on household costs

BUDGET 2027 must remember the working families who qualify for nothing and pay for everything, says Mayo Councillor Harry Barrett.

The Independent representative received the support of colleagues when a proposal he raised at yesterday's meeting of Mayo County Council was accepted, subject to an amendment, asking the Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, and Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, to consider four measures ahead of Budget 2027.

The measures are:

1. A winter energy payment that includes working families.

2. A cap on domestic ESB standing charges.

3. Specific help for households dependent on home heating oil.

4. Suspending the carbon tax on petrol and diesel until prices fall to €1.60 per litre.

Councillor Barrett outlined how the cost of filling a standard 1,000-litre home heating oil tank has risen from about €950 in February to around €1,500 today around Castlebar.

“That's not sustainable and it's having a shocking impact on Mayo families,” said the councillor, who is receiving a lot of calls from families about the price of heating oil.

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Barrett said: “Families in Mayo are being squeezed from every direction. Electricity is going up, heating oil has gone through the roof, and filling the car is taking a bigger bite out of the weekly wage. In Mayo, the car is not a luxury and heating the home is not optional.”

Welcoming the support of his colleagues, he said the government may not control oil prices but it controls taxation and household supports and these four measures could make a real difference.

Budget 2027 must remember the working families who qualify for nothing and pay for everything, he said.

We are going to have many cold households unless provision is made for home heating oil and the carbon tax, he warned.

* Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting scheme