Fuel excise cuts to be unwound from September, says Minister

What the fuel excise changes mean for drivers

Though he said a significant price spike this autumn would force the government to reconsider the plan, according to The Journal.

The phased restoration of full excise duty means petrol will rise by nine cent per litre on 1 September, eight cent on 1 October and five cent in both November and December.

Diesel faces a 10 cent increase on 1 September, followed by eight, seven and seven cent rises through to December.

He stressed the phased approach was designed to avoid a single sharp jump at the pumps, spreading the increases across four months to the end of the year.

It adds another pressure to the cost-of-living squeeze facing Irish households.

"The price dynamics are highly volatile," Chambers said. "What we’re doing is, we’ll assess that in early September. We’ve said we’ll keep the wider position under review."

The minister said the current plan remains to fully restore excise by the end of the year, with the latest analysis showing diesel prices falling while petrol has crept up.