Fuel industry says government ‘misled’ the public into believing price of fuel would drop

“These times are made even more challenging when misleading comments find their way into the public domain.”

Fuels for Ireland, the industry body for fuel suppliers and retailers, has written to Taoiseach Micheál Martin complaining that the government misled the public to believe excise cuts on petrol and diesel would lead to immediate price drops. According to RTÉ, the industry body also said comments made by the Taoiseach that petrol stations were profiteering were "offensive". In a letter to the Taoiseach, Fuels for Ireland CEO Kevin McPartlan outlined that the comments that its members were "morally reprehensible" should be clarified or withdrawn.

“These times are made even more challenging when misleading comments find their way into the public domain,” he wrote.

McPartlan stated that the public had been given the impression that prices at fuel pumps would reduce from midnight on Wednesday, in line with the excise cuts. However, he added that it had been flagged in advance that excise had already been paid on supplies already in the forecourts of service stations.

He stated that an immediate decrease in price was not possible because the excise had already been paid on these supplies.

The comments come as the government urged consumers to report "cartel behaviour or abuse of dominance" by businesses with regards to rising fuel prices. Robert Troy, the Minister of State with responsibility for Consumer Protection made the comments on Thursday morning (10 March). "If any consumer has evidence of cartel behaviour or abuse of dominance with regards to high fuel costs, they should contact the CCPC who can investigate," Troy said. On Wednesday, Labour TD Ged Nash said that there was a "special place in hell" for businesses that hiked fuel prices in response to cuts on excise duty. https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/1501886837559750657 Earlier this week, Circle K Ireland "categorically" denied that a recent increase in its prices of diesel and petrol was related to the Government announcing decreases to excise duty on fuel.