No petrol and diesel 'price gouging' as Fuels for Ireland says Government reduction already 'wiped out'

Fuels for Ireland has claimed petrol stations are not engaging in price gouging and have said the Government excise reduction has already been wiped out by soaring prices.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, Fuels for Ireland CEO Kevin McPartlan said: "the Government is taking €40 million extra per month in VAT as a result of the high prices right now. There's no profiteering by industry but you would wonder where that extra €40 million is going?".

In a letter issued to Taoiseach Micheál Martin today, Fuels for Ireland said its members are “deeply unhappy” over a number of “misleading statements” that the industry has been involved in profiteering.

The Taoiseach told Fianna Fáil TDs earlier in the week that any price gouging following the excise cut was “morally reprehensible”.

However, M McPartlan said wholesale prices were going up rapidly prior to the Government’s decision to cut the excise duty on fuel.

“It absolutely isn’t because in the 24 hours coming up to the announcement of the excise cuts by government, the wholesale price for diesel had gone up by 22c per litre. So, a 15c per litre reduction was wiped out before it had even come into effect,” he said.

“There was another thing that the Government announcement was misleading on, which was they told consumers that that should have impact from midnight on the night of the announcement," his letter outlined. 

Speaking earlier today, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government has invested €300 million of taxpayers' money "at a time of huge risk for all of us". 

"We need to make sure that every cent of that makes a difference at the pump," he said. 

The government is also making the case at EU level for flexibility on VAT regime rates for fuels.