Running a car is now 500 euros more expensive than last year

GASOLINE and diesel prices are heading for record monthly highs despite the government’s recent move to lower excise taxes on fuel.

The increase in fuel prices has increased the running costs of a typical car by €500 since last year.

The cost of diesel has risen 37.5 per cent since last year, with petrol 26.5 per cent more expensive than in 2021, according to AA Ireland’s latest fuel price survey.

Despite a reduction in fuel taxes, the average price of diesel is now 194.6 cents a litre.

Gasoline now averages 191.9°C.

Some premium diesel products are costing motorists over €2 a liter as crude oil prices have topped $110 a barrel.

In March, Treasury Secretary Pascal Donohue announced a temporary reduction in excise duties on petrol and diesel.

Excise duty was reduced by 20 cents per liter of petrol and 15 cents per liter of diesel.

Most of those reductions have largely been wiped out due to rising oil prices, AA Ireland communications director Paddy Comyn said.

He said the cost of running a car is now significantly higher than it was last year.

At the current price of petrol, it costs an average of almost 2,000 euros per year just to fill up a diesel car.

That is 530 euros more than in the previous year.

The annual cost of putting fuel into a petrol car is now €2,300, over €480 a year more than last year, Mr Comyn said.

He said recent reductions in public transport costs are very welcome and should be taken up by those who can, but leave many people without a decent alternative to their car.

The war in Ukraine is blamed for the rise in fuel prices.

Mr Comyn warned that fuel prices were likely to continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

Ireland is facing the highest rate of inflation in decades.

Fuels for Ireland Chief Executive Kevin McPartlan said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the reason for the rising prices.

His organization represents Irish companies that import, refine, distribute and market liquid fuels.

“The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still having a massive impact on fuel prices paid by consumers,” he said.

“As companies and governments impose restrictions on Russian imports, fuel supply lines are tightening while demand is being boosted by some EU power producers switching from Russian gas to oil for their power plants.

“The impact is most severe for domestic heating oil, as a far higher proportion of the price paid by consumers consists of storage costs, while about 80 cents per liter of the pump price of road fuel goes directly to the government,” Mr McPartlan said .

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of price growth in Ireland’s economy was 7 per cent last month after sharp increases in energy, fuel and food prices.