Ireland collected a record €5.879 billion in environment-related taxes during 2025, according to new figures published by the Central Statistics Office.
Receipts increased by 7%, or about €380 million, from €5.499 billion in 2024. This was the highest annual total recorded during the CSO’s 2016–2025 reporting period. Households carried the largest share of the burden, contributing €3.468 billion, equivalent to 59% of the total. Businesses and other economic sectors paid most of the remainder.
Energy-related taxes continued to generate the most revenue. They rose by 12% to €3.924 billion, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all environmental taxes collected during the year. Excise duty on petrol, road diesel, marked gas oil and other hydrocarbon fuels generated €2.09 billion. Carbon tax receipts increased by 10%, from €1.083 billion to €1.189 billion.
Revenue from the Public Service Obligation Levy on electricity consumers also rose sharply, increasing from €63 million in 2024 to €228 million in 2025.
CSO statistician Ms Clare O’Hara said the overall increase was mainly driven by higher receipts from the electricity levy, fuel excise duties and carbon tax. Transport-related taxes brought in a further €1.925 billion, although that figure was 2% lower than in 2024. Vehicle Registration Tax generated €933 million, while motor tax paid by households and businesses raised a combined €927 million, with businesses paying €232 million. Pollution and resource taxes remained a very small part of the total. Levies including the plastic bag levy and landfill levy generated approximately €30 million, representing just 0.5% of environmental tax receipts.
Climate advisers call for targeted supports The figures were published as the Climate Change Advisory Council urged the Government to maintain the planned increase in the carbon tax to €100 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2030. In its recommendations for Budget 2027, the council called for environmentally harmful fossil-fuel subsidies to be phased out. It argued that recent emergency reductions in fuel excise duty were insufficiently targeted and were likely to provide the greatest benefit to higher-income households.
The council said future cost-of-living measures should focus on vulnerable households while helping people permanently reduce their dependence on fossil fuels through measures such as home retrofitting and improved public transport. The Government has extended temporary fuel-tax reductions until September 1st, 2026, after which the previous rates are expected to be restored gradually over four months. The extension is estimated to cost the Exchequer €270 million.
The advisory council also called for greater transparency over carbon-tax spending. It cited findings that only 61% of ring-fenced revenue was spent on its intended measures between 2020 and 2023.
Despite reaching a record cash total, environmental taxes represented 4.3% of Ireland’s overall tax revenue in 2025, compared with 7.7 per cent in 2016.
A teenage motorist has lost his life following a single-car collision near Ballynonty,Thurles, County Tipperary during the early hours of this morning, Sunday July 26th, 2026.
The fatal crash happened at approximately 3:45am on the L4101 at Lanespark, close to Ballynonty and Thurles.
Emergency personnel attended the scene, but the young driver, described by Gardaí as a male teenager, was sadly pronounced dead a short time later. He was the driver of the only vehicle involved in the incident. His remains have been taken to the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford, where a postmortem examination is expected to be conducted later. The local coroner has also been informed.
The teenager’s death brings to at least seven the number of people reported killed in road collisions in County Tipperary since the beginning of 2026.
The L4101 has been closed while Garda forensic collision investigators carry out a detailed technical examination of the scene. Motorists are being redirected through local diversions while that work continues.
Gardaí have urged anyone who saw the vehicle or witnessed the collision to contact the investigation team.
They are particularly interested in hearing from drivers or other road users who travelled through the Lanespark and Ballynonty area between 3:00am and 3:45am on Sunday. Anyone with dash-cam, mobile-phone or other camera recordings from that period is asked to preserve the footage and provide it to Gardaí.
Information can be given to Thurles Garda Station, Tel: 0504 25100, the Garda Confidential Line on Tel: 1800 666 111, or indeed at any Garda station.
Where else in Ireland would a crossroads, latter situated on a blind hill, be allowed to have traffic approaching and exiting at 100 km/h?
Well this remains the case at Turtulla Cross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The proposed replacement of Turtulla Cross with a roundabout has been welcomed by local councillors as a major step forward. Nobody disputes that this junction has a serious safety problem. It has been associated with one pedestrian fatality, numerous collisions and long-standing concern among residents, motorists and public representatives.
Turtulla Cross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, showing blind hill, which, despite previous TII intervention, remains flooded for 10 months of the year. Pic: G. Willoughby.
The present 100 km/h limit is a maximum permitted speed, not an instruction to drive at that speed. Nevertheless, allowing traffic to approach a known hazardous junction under a 100 km/h limit sends entirely the wrong message. Drivers travelling at or near that speed have less time to recognise danger, react to another vehicle and stop safely.
However, welcoming action should not mean giving Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Tipperary County Council a blank cheque. Before large sums of public money are committed to constructing a roundabout, the authorities must explain why a significantly cheaper and quicker safety measure has not been properly trialled; namely reducing the speed limit on the approach and exit to Turtulla Cross from 100 km/h to 50 or 60 km/h.
A roundabout would inevitably force approaching vehicles to slow considerably. That raises an obvious question: why not introduce lower approach speeds now and assess the results before committing to an expensive construction project?
The Government’s own Speed Limit Review recommended lower limits, including a proposed reduction of the default limit on national secondary roads from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. Official guidance also recognises 60 km/h transition zones on national and other significant roads entering areas where traffic conditions become more complex.
A properly designed trial could include a 60 km/h transition zone, a further 50 km/h limit immediately approaching the junction, prominent warning signs, refreshed road markings, flashing speed indicators, improved lighting and targeted Garda enforcement. The trial should be supported by speed surveys and collision-risk assessments, with the results published openly. A few hundred metres closer to Thurles town such signs exist, so just grab a screwdriver or pliers and move them.
According to Tipperary County Council’s May 2026 management report, preliminary design has commenced for a safety scheme involving a roundabout. The project is expected to enter the Part 8 planning process in 2026, with construction anticipated in 2027, or 2028 or maybe 2030.
That timetable provides an opportunity to test lower-cost interventions before construction begins. Public money must be treated with respect. A roundabout may ultimately prove necessary, particularly if the junction’s layout, visibility or traffic movements cannot be made acceptably safe through speed management alone. But that conclusion should be demonstrated through real evidence, not just simply assumed by councillors wishing to take advantage of a video opportunity.
TII and Tipperary County Council should publish the up-to-date collision history, traffic speeds, projected construction cost, alternatives considered and the reasons those alternatives were rejected.
Spending millions without first testing an enforceable speed reduction would be a failure of common sense and responsible public administration. Safety must come first, but value for money, transparency and evidence must come with it.
County Tipperary Chamber is calling on every business in Thurles and the surrounding area to complete the Thurles Bypass Business Impact Survey before Friday, 7 August 2026.
For decades, the people and businesses of Thurles have heard proposals, commitments and political assurances regarding essential road infrastructure. However, the town is still waiting for the completed Inner Relief Road and the long-promised Outer Ring Road or Thurles Bypass.
As recently highlighted by Thurles.info, announcements and expressions of political support are not the same as approved funding, a binding construction programme or a completed road.
Thurles businesses need delivery, certainty and measurable progress. Traffic congestion is not merely an inconvenience. It imposes real and continuing costs on local employers. It delays deliveries, wastes staff time, disrupts logistics, restricts customer access and makes it more difficult for businesses to plan, invest and expand. Every delayed journey affects productivity. Every customer discouraged by congestion represents a potential loss to the local economy. Every infrastructure project that remains uncertain can influence future investment and employment decisions.
This aforementioned survey provides businesses with an opportunity to transform those daily experiences into clear, credible and representative evidence. County Tipperary Chamber recently welcomed Thurles native Mr John O’Shaughnessy CDir MBA LL.B (Hons) Dip IOD, Managing Director of Clancy, as its new President. Mr O’Shaughnessy has taken on the presidency at a critical time for business confidence and regional competitiveness. His focus on delivery, effective advocacy and ensuring that the voice of Tipperary business is heard consistently at local and national level is particularly relevant to the infrastructure challenges facing Thurles.
Under his leadership, the Chamber is determined to ensure that the concerns of local businesses are supported by strong evidence and presented directly to Government and other decision-makers.
That effort now requires the support of the Thurles business community. Whether you operate a retail shop, hospitality venue, professional practice, manufacturing company, transport business or family enterprise, your experience matters.
The survey is open to Chamber members and non-members and to businesses of every size and sector.
Government departments require more than general expressions of concern. They require evidence showing how congestion affects operating costs, staffing, deliveries, customer access, competitiveness, investment and future growth.
The greater the response, the stronger the Chamber’s case will be.
This is not about creating another report that sits on a shelf. It is about establishing a compelling business case for action and demonstrating that Thurles cannot continue to compete effectively without modern, dependable transport infrastructure.
A sincere thanks to every business that has already participated. Your time and first-hand knowledge are all helping to build the evidence needed to secure meaningful progress. To those who have not yet responded, please do not assume that another business will speak for you. Every completed survey adds weight, credibility and urgency to this campaign.
Thurles deserves roads, investment and delivery, not more uncertainty or political promises.
Gardaí have launched an appeal for witnesses after a man in his 50s was killed in a single-vehicle collision in County Tipperary.
The fatal crash happened on the R505 near Dundrum shortly before 5.50pm on yesterday afternoon, July 16th 2026. The driver, who was the only person reported to be involved, was pronounced dead at the scene. His remains were later taken to University Hospital Waterford, where a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out. The local coroner has been informed.
The R505 remained closed following the collision to allow Garda forensic collision investigators to conduct a technical examination of the scene. Diversions were put in place for motorists travelling through the area.
Investigating officers are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who used the road near Dundrum between 5:30pm and 6:00pm on Thursday. Drivers and other road users who recorded footage in the area are being urged to check their devices. Gardaí said dash-cam video, mobile phone recordings or any other camera footage could assist the investigation and should be provided to officers. Anyone who witnessed the crash, noticed the vehicle before the collision, or has information that may help establish what happened, is asked to come forward.
Five people have lost their lives in road traffic collisions within County Tipperary so far in 2026; as of yesterday, July 17th 2026. The confirmed fatalities occurred on:- 8th February: Man in his 70s, single-vehicle collision near Holycross. 8th March: Woman in her 20s, pedestrian collision near Templemore. 12th May: Woman in her 20s, two-car collision near Nenagh. 11th June: Motorcyclist in his 30s, collision near Carrick-on-Suir. 16th July: Man in his 50s, yesterday single-vehicle collision on the R505 near Dundrum.
Information can be given to Tipperary Garda Station by calling Tel: 062 80670. Members of the public may also contact the Garda Confidential Line on Tel: 1800 666 111 or indeed speak with officers at any Garda station.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision remains ongoing. Gardaí have thanked the public for assistance.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Recent Comments