THE State pulled in more in Vat on energy bills last year than the previous year, despite cutting the rate to help struggling households.

The Exchequer take from Vat on electricity last year was €381m, a 40pc increase on the previous year.

It comes as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government doesn’t have the resources to continue all the reliefs and reductions introduced in the face of the crippling cost-of-living crisis.

The Vat rate on energy was reduced from 13.5pc to 9pc, but it is due to go back up again in March.

The figures appear to show that the Government can afford to maintain the lower Vat rate on energy for households.

As well as the Vat cut on electricity and gas bills, the Government paid a €200 credit on electricity bills last March and is currently paying out another €600 in three separate credits.

There was also a €400 lump sum paid to those in the Fuel Allowance scheme, with an additional 80,000 households admitted to the scheme.

Excise duty has been cut on motor fuels, and childcare cost supports have been increased.

Despite the reduction in the Vat rate on electricity and gas, the Exchequer got more money from these last year.

The tax rate came down but consumers are paying it on much higher bills, leading to higher overall returns for the State.

The Vat take on electricity went up by 40pc to €381m when compared with 2021.

And the Vat on gas jumped by 60pc to €79m, figures obtained by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín in the Dáil show.

Mr Tóbín told ‘Newstalk’ that no Vat should be payable on household energy bills at the moment.

“Many people are going from, you know, overdraft to overdraft – and that’s if they’re lucky enough to have an overdraft,” he said.

“Many people as well are being pushed to moneylenders. And yet we have the Government with their hand on a lever that would have a direct effect on reducing the cost of living for people and they are refusing to do it.

“We are asking the Government, in this time of crisis, to reduce the Vat rate to zero,” he told ‘Newstalk’.

The Vat take on petrol was up 27pc to €382m last year, with the same tax up 18pc on petrol to €299m.

In total, the State collected €1.4bn in tax from electricity and fuel in 2022, a rise of over €300m, or 28pc.

Daragh Cassidy of price comparison site Bonkers.ie said households will have received €800 in total from March last year to March this year in electricity credits.

Removing this would cause real hardship for millions of households.

He said a radical removal of all the credits would cause a “cliff edge” situation for consumers.

The Taoiseach told the Dáil this week: “We will work out which measure we can continue and which ones we can’t.” He defied Opposition calls for him to be more specific.

“Those are very legitimate and fair questions to ask, but I can’t answer them because the Government hasn’t met,” he said.

The assessment of all reliefs would be done in the next few weeks so that people could have clarity before the end of February, he said.