THE INCOMING government should reduce tax on fuel, AA Roadwatch said yesterday.
Prices at pumps in many petrol stations passed the €1.50 mark for the first time yesterday.
Many service stations added between 2 cent and 3 cent to the cost of a litre in petrol after wholesalers increased their prices at the weekend.
The higher costs are mainly due to a sharp rise in fuel prices over the past few weeks due to the unrest in Libya and other oil-producing countries.
“The most recent price increases mean that petrol is now at €1.50 per litre and in fact is above that in some garages,” said said AA director of policy Conor Faughnan.
“This is by far the highest price that we have ever paid for fuel in Ireland, and the impact that it is having on ordinary motorists is horrendous.
“The typical Irish motorist will use 150 litres of fuel per month based on doing 12,000 miles per year at 30 miles per gallon. That means the monthly fuel bill is now €225. In January 2009 petrol cost 95 cent per litre, and the monthly bill was €142.50,” he added.
The average retail price per litre last month was €1.44 for petrol and €1.38 for diesel. This compares to €1.28 and €1.25 respectively in Spain.
According to the AA, tax accounts for roughly two-thirds of the cost of petrol.
Were it not for the extra taxes added by the outgoing Government since October 2008, petrol would now cost €1.32 per litre, the organisation claimed.
The AA called on the incoming government to reduce the tax on fuel, both to spare ordinary motorists the extra burden and also to improve Ireland’s competitiveness.
