Ministers have agreed to reduce the charge by a third from midnight resulting in a drop of between 15 and 20 cent a litre.
But opposition parties have said the move isn't enough with Sinn Féin calling for excise to be scrapped altogether.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin says that isn't possible:
"You cannot just remove all excise duty as you suggested, it just simply cannot be done. Okay? It just simply cannot be done. Okay, we're not all as intelligent as you are clearly from what you're just saying. But the point is you cannot do it. And I'm going to be honest in saying that. I'm not going to pretend to the public, that it can solve this in the terms of what's happening internationally."
