Families could find themselves in difficulty this winter if the Government goes ahead with planned hikes in excise duty for petrol and diesel.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae is warning it could come down to a choice between heating the house, or filling the car with fuel.
On September 1st, excise duty is due to increase by 7c for petrol and 5c for diesel.
A further increase is pencilled in for October 31st when petrol will increase by a further 8c and diesel by 6c.
A man puts petrol into his car in April 2012. Picture by: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ieDeputy Healy-Rae is calling on the Government to ensure proper choices are made in the upcoming budget to support low and middle-income earners.
"Our present Minister for Finance, our present Government and the people who are supporting them, they're not listening to mom - or they really don't care about mom's purse," he said.
"When they forget about mom, they're forgetting about a lot of people.
"They'll pay dearly for it yet - and I really mean it - they will pay dearly for it."
'Neglect people at your peril'
Deputy Healy-Rae said the Government is not listening to the people when it comes to fuel prices.
The Kerry TD wants the coalition to postpone any further hikes until a more balanced cost of living package is put in place.
"Neglect the people at your peril, and the politicians who are above in Dublin thinking they can do this - and it's for the greater good and it's fine and it'll all be forgotten about - people are not foolish," he said.
"People have memories and people will remember this when they go out to vote, and I'm asking the people to remember it when they're going out to vote," he added.
Last year, the Government slashed fuel duty as part of a series of measures aimed at easing the cost of living crisis.
The increases in excise duty this year will see it return to 2022 levels.
Reporting by: Teena Gates
