Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is really about getting to the facts. I note the frustration that both Mr. McPartlan and Mr. Blevings are expressing on behalf of the public regarding fuel prices. I wanted to get to the heart of the matter so I drove last Monday to petrol stations in my constituency. I got to nearly all of the ones in Limerick city. My constituency covers Limerick city, east Limerick and a bit of north Tipperary. I found that of 32 petrol stations, 29 had offered serious price reductions. Their prices were below the national average. I found that three of the 32 stations were charging €1.99 - virtually €2 - per litre of diesel and €1.89.9 cent for petrol, which is just short of €1.90. Those stations were associated with a certain supplier of fuel that I will not name. In other stations with the same supplier, the prices, instead of being €1.99.9 and €1.89.9 for diesel and petrol, respectively, were €1.83.9 and €1.79.9, respectively, resulting in differentials of 16 cent per litre of diesel and 10 cent per litre of petrol. Three petrol stations in Limerick are giving a bad name to the other 29, which were passing on reductions.

My first question is for Mr. Blevings. How is this happening? Is anyone overseeing the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps? Well over 90% of petrol stations were very consistent in passing on the excise reduction for petrol and diesel, but three were outliers. Two were serious outliers, charging nearly €2 per litre of diesel. This means that there was no passing on of the excise reduction. Nearly €1.90 was being charged for a litre of petrol. Is there anyone who oversees the pricing in Mr. Blevings’ sector?

My next question is from Mr. McPartlan. How does the supplier issue arise?

Perhaps Mr. Blevings will deal with my next point. It is approximately 12 days since the excise duty reductions were introduced. I fail to see how the petrol and diesel in the tanks would not be used up within a 12-day cycle and, therefore, how come a small few outliers are giving a bad name to the vast majority of petrol retailers who are providing an excellent service to the public? I invite Mr. Blevings to answer first, followed by Mr. McPartlan.