Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. I am glad to hear that the Minister will keep it under review but we need to hear more than that because for filling stations along the Border, as I said, by 9 October the differential will be 15 cent per litre. They cannot remain open. They cannot sell fuel at that difference in price. It is not only stations along the Border that are affected. If one looks at the figures for the average number of kilometres driven each year by car owners, one will see that the national average is 16,300 km, but in Sligo and Donegal it is 17,500 km and in Leitrim and Roscommon it is 19,000 km. The cost to ordinary car owners is much greater in rural areas. Finally, I come back to what I said earlier. Right now, the Minister is getting 89 cent per litre on diesel and 98 cent per litre on petrol, which is higher than the amount he was getting per litre at any time in the past five years. He does not need increases in August or October.

See this speech in context