A planned reversal of excise duty fuel cuts in September and October will not go ahead, the Government have confirmed.
This comes as Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon said that they are taking a step-by-step approach to fuel subsidies.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio, Mr Heydon said: "The decision taken today by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister Canney, which will be confirmed by the Dáil next week is to pause those reinstatements for the first of September and first of October due to the ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East and the knock-on impact that has on fuel prices here".
He went on to say that the Government is fully aware of "the impact that the reinstatement of those levies would have had on consumers", while denying that this decision was taken to avoid potential protests.
The minister added that the measures are costing the exchequer €100 million and that no decision had been made to stop the next increase in the Carbon Tax.
A Government spokesperson had said that the first two stages of this phased re-introduction of full excise duty costs between September 1 and the start of December would be delayed.
For this, the Dáil is to be recalled for one day, next Friday, in order to agree to a financial resolution confirming the matter.
A spokesperson also said they "reserved the right" to adjust its response amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as required, "with nothing ruled out".
Despite undertaking "one of the largest fiscal interventions" of any member state of the EU in response to the crisis, they added that these interventions "have kept inflation under control and provided relief at the pumps".
They stated that in the intervening period "it is clear there has been a change in the global situation and as a consequence the cost of petrol and diesel for consumers", with the initial reintroduction.
Now, it had been confirmed that the planned increases "will not now go ahead", which was confirmed by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and Minister Sean Canney.
The next steps of this are to be discussed as an incorporeal Government meeting next week.
"Ultimately the greatest economic intervention we can see is de-escalation in the Middle East - and that is still the case", a statement read. "We will continue to be agile and rule nothing out".
Elsewhere, Seán Canney, Minister of State at the Department of Transport said that the decision from the Government coincides with its policy to keep fuel prices under review.
"We continue to review the situation, because the situation geopolitically is very unsure. And whilst we have supports in place, we had deadlines by which they would be reversed, but we said also that we would continue to review the situation as it developed", he said.
The minister told RTÉ News that supports would be kept in place if necessary.
"So that is why it's very hard to say what will happen in September or October, because the geopolitical situation is so uncertain and so unstable. We don't know", he said.
He also denied claims that this decision was made so the supports could be maintained in the even of future protests.
Shedding some light on the next phase of the Carbon Tax, he stated that "we are not changing anything at the moment".
"We will continue to monitor the costs. We will continue to monitor what way the prices are going and decisions will be made based on what trajectory we see the cost of fuel going over the next couple of months". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
