Increases in the cost of home-heating oil following the Iran war were roughly eight times greater in Ireland than in other countries across the European Union.
Data from the European Commission’s weekly oil bulletin indicates that between 23 February and 2 March the price of home-heating oil in Ireland surged by 27.3%, climbing from €0.96 per litre to €1.23 per litre, reports RTE.
This represented the largest weekly rise among all EU countries, compared with an average price increase of 3.3% for heating oil across the EU27.
The EU country with the second-largest increase after Ireland during the same period was Austria, where the price of home-heating oil rose by 9.6%, reports RTE.
The figures provided by the European Commission refer to retail prices and therefore include government levies such as VAT, excise duty, and carbon taxes.
Reacting to the bulletin, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said it is “yet more clear evidence that gouging is happening in the home-heating oil market”, reports RTE.
“The industry is taking advantage of an awful situation to pocket bumper profits. It’s morally bankrupt behaviour,” she said, reports RTE.
Ms Boylan also criticised the Government’s response to rapidly rising fuel costs, stating that it “needs to tackle the blatant gouging”.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has requested that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission carry out a review of the retail energy market because of the continued price increases in recent weeks, reports RTE.
Chief executive of Fuels for Ireland Kevin McPartland has consistently rejected claims that the industry is engaging in price gouging, arguing that suppliers in Ireland rely on wholesale market prices.
In Ireland kerosene is used for home-heating oil, while other EU countries typically use a cheaper diesel-type fuel, and according to Mr McPartland the rise in kerosene prices has been “far higher than in petrol and diesel markets” in recent weeks, reports RTE.
He also stated that taxes applied to kerosene used for home heating are contributing to the large difference in prices paid in Ireland compared with elsewhere in the single market.
Mr McPartland said “no one else in the EU pays a tax on home-heating oil”, reports RTE.
Additionally, the industry representative noted that while only a small share of the petrol and diesel used in the EU passes through the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 30% of the kerosene used in the EU moves through the shipping route.
At the beginning of this week, the cost of home-heating oil reached €880 for a 500-litre fill, representing an increase of almost €400 compared with prices before the most recent conflict in the Middle East began last weekend, reports RTE.
Meanwhile, the price of petrol has climbed to €1.90 per litre at some service stations, while diesel has risen to well above €2 per litre at certain forecourts.
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