The Minister for Transport has said the government is “satisfied” that reductions in fuel taxes are being passed on to motorists.
Excise duty on diesel has been reduced by 20 cent per litre, while petrol has seen a 15 cent cut until the end of May, introduced in response to rising oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict, reports RTE.
Darragh O’Brien said the government is “monitoring” the situation to ensure pump prices reflect these reductions, adding that he is “satisfied those reductions are being passed on”.
“I’ve already instructed CRU [Commission for the Regulation of Utilities] and the CCPC [Competition and Consumer Protection Commission] to monitor this very closely,” reports RTE.
He added that he has also been engaging directly with the fuel industry through its representative body, Fuels for Ireland.
Mr O’Brien said that if individuals believe the excise reductions are not being reflected in prices, “they should obviously make contact through the CCPC, or indeed, through CRU”, reports RTE.
He also stated that the government will keep the situation under review and introduce further supports if necessary.
“We will keep this under daily review. I chair the National Energy Affordability Taskforce. We met again this week. We received advice directly from the IEA [International Energy Agency] as well in relation to the outlook, reports RTE.
“This situation is not just changing on a daily basis, it’s literally changing on an hourly basis”, Mr O’Brien added.
“We will continue to monitor, working directly with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and my colleagues across government, to make sure that if and when we need to deploy additional support, that will be done”, reports RTE.
The Transport Minister also said there are “no immediate concerns” regarding supplies of fuel, home heating oil, or jet fuel.
“Right now, it’s not an issue”, reports RTE.
Darragh O’Brien said he has been in contact with National Oil Reserves Agency and other bodies, which have “confirmed to me that supply and reserves are in place”.
“Our supply through the month of April is steady, but it is something that we are going to have to continue to watch”, reports RTE.
“We all earnestly want an immediate de-escalation, but even if it were to stop tomorrow, from a humanitarian perspective we obviously want that to happen, but there is still going to be further issues with regard to pricing because a lot of the supply that Europe has received through the Strait of Hormuz has actually been before the conflict itself actually started”, reports RTE.
The Minister said the situation is also being monitored at EU level “to ensure that we have the supplies of gas that we actually require”, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
