Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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169. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason petrol prices in recent months have not properly decreased, in line with the drop in the price of fuel oil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15880/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The Irish oil sector is completely privatised, liberalised and deregulated. There is free entry into the market and it is Government policy to encourage price competition and consumer choice. I have no function in the setting of petrol and diesel prices. The Consumer and Competition Commission (under the aegis of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) has a role in ensuring that the market is functioning correctly and that consumers are not being disadvantaged. Previous investigations and surveys into oil prices, have been undertaken by the National Consumer Agency (now the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission), and these are available at . The research indicates that the price paid by consumers is largely determined by taxation levels, the internationally traded price of crude oil and the consequent price at which refined product is traded in Europe, along with the level of competition in the retail market. As oil is traded in US dollars the recent weakness of the euro has also impacted on oil prices in the euro area.

The European Commission maintains a Statistics and Market Observatory, which presents consumer prices and net prices (excluding duties and taxes) of petroleum products in EU Member States (known as the Oil Bulletin) on a weekly basis. The Oil Bulletin is designed to improve the transparency of oil prices and to strengthen the internal market. The relevant link is:

. The latest bulletin from 19 April 2015 shows that petrol prices (including taxes) in Ireland were €1.39 per litre while diesel prices (including taxes) were €1.29 per litre. The average petrol price in the EU in the same period is €1.43 while the average diesel price is €1.27. It is worth noting that Ireland is around mid point on the table. At the same time last year petrol prices in Ireland were €1.53 and diesel prices were €1.47 so Irish consumers are getting the benefit of falling prices at the pumps.