The Price of diesel could soon be set to go up after The six civil society organisations including Asthma Society of Ireland, An Taisce, The Irish Environmental Network, Green Budget Europe, Transport and Environment, and the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network, have all called on the Government to introduce a levy on the fuel in order to re-balance car sales.
The group also claim the levy is needed to persuade motorists to switch from diesel powered vehicles as they are known to cause more pollution than petrol cars.
They also cited the world health organisations report which states that diesel powered vehicles cause more damage to people’s health causing illnesses such as cancer and respiratory conditions.
The group say diesel vehicles are the single largest cause of an air pollutant called “particulate matter” which can penetrate sensitive parts of the lungs, contributing to respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, and aggravate heart disease.
The call comes after statistics from the CSO show that diesel cars now make up as much as 70% of all new cars sales in Ireland.
It is understood the Group wants the Government to increase diesel tax by 2.2C per litre each year until 2021.