Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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149. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the practice of petrol stretching; if his attention has been further drawn to the pressure being placed on the Garda to resolve a series of issues resulting from this practice; if his attention has also been drawn to the financial hardship being placed on motorists who through no fault of their own have lost considerable money as a result of this practice; if he will instruct management at the Garda to allocate extra resources to affected areas as a matter of urgency. [35797/14]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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150. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the practice of petrol stretching; if his attention has been further drawn to the pressure being placed on Customs and Excise to resolve a series of issues resulting from this practice; if his attention has also been drawn to the financial hardship being placed on motorists who through no fault of their own have lost considerable money as a result of this practice; and if he will ask the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland to investigate the matter and ascertain if it may have a role in compensating affected motorists. [35798/14]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance the help, support and/or redress available for car owners whose vehicles have been allegedly damaged by contaminated petrol; the action taken in this regard; if an official investigation has commenced by the Garda authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35865/14]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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154. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the practice of petrol stretching; if his attention has been drawn to the pressure that has been placed on Customs and Excise to resolve a series of issues resulting from this practice; if his further attention has been drawn to the financial hardship that has been placed on motorists who through no fault of their own have lost considerable money as a result of this practice; if he will instruct management at the Customs and Excise and at the Revenue Commissioners to treat this issue as matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36093/14]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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174. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the practice of petrol stretching; if his attention has been further drawn to the pressure being placed on Customs and Excise to resolve a series of issues resulting from this practice; if his attention has also been drawn to the the financial hardship that has being placed on motorists who through no fault of their own have lost considerable money as a result of this practice; if he will instruct management at the Customs and at Revenue to treat this issue as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35796/14]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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179. To ask the Minister for Finance the help, support and-or redress available for car owners whose vehicles have been allegedly damaged by contaminated petrol; the action that will be taken in this regard; if an official investigation has commenced by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners or the Customs and Excise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35869/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 149, 150, 152, 154, 174 and 179 together.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners, who are responsible for tackling fuel fraud, that they are very aware of the risks posed to the Exchequer and to consumers by all forms of fuel fraud. Revenue has made great progress in tackling the problem of diesel laundering over the past three years and now media reports indicate the emergence of another form of fuel fraud, commonly referred to as petrol-stretching.  This involves the illegal addition of kerosene or some other low tax commodity to petrol to defraud the Exchequer and the motorist.

Petrol stretching is an offence under S102(1A) Finance Act 1999 and carries a penalty on summary conviction of €5,000 or, at the discretion of the court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. If convicted on indictment the fine is to a maximum of €126,970 and the prison term is to a maximum of five years or both.

I am advised by Revenue that they are investigating the recent reports concerning petrol stretching and have been in contact with the motor trade in this regard. I am also advised that they have taken samples from a number of filling stations that it has claimed may have been the source of adulterated fuel. These enquiries will seek to establish if there is evidence that kerosene has been added to the petrol being sold by the retailers in question and whether there is evidence to support a prosecution.

Revenue and the oil sector have cooperated very successfully to tackle diesel laundering and I am confident that with this cooperation, and with the supply chain information available to Revenue, the problem of petrol stretching can also be tackled successfully. In this regard it is essential that petrol distributors report on any reduction in the pattern of legitimate supplies of fuel to the retail trade which may indicate that specific retailers are shifting some of their sourcing to laundered or 'stretched' fuel. 

Motorists themselves should take care about where they source their petrol from, and report any suspicions concerning the source of adulterated petrol that may have damaged their engines to Revenue. Revenue will investigate such reports and pursue prosecutions against offenders where possible. In that regard, Revenue has recently launched a dedicated section of its website specifically on the shadow economy and this includes an electronic reporting facility for anyone who has information about shadow economy practices such as petrol stretching.

A key part of the mineral oil tax regulatory system to protect the Exchequer and consumers is the licensing system that ensures that dealers in mineral oil, including forecourt operators, keep proper records and only source and supply legitimate fuel. At Revenue's request, I have strengthened the legislative framework to refuse and /or revoke mineral oil licences. Revenue has been very pro-active in this sector over the last three years and from mid-2011 to the end of August 2014, 132 filling stations were closed, mainly for breaches of licensing conditions.

I will carefully consider any new proposals by Revenue to ensure that the licensing system is robust and acts to protect consumers, the legitimate trade and Exchequer receipts.

I would also like to advise the Deputies that the first point of contact for motorists whose vehicles have been affected should be the insurance companies they hold their policies with.  Further to that, those affected should also contact the point of purchase and seek redress through them.  If they remain unsatisfied they may have recourse to civil remedies and as such could seek legal advice.