‘Green diesel’ fears grow in Longford as crisis at fuel pumps continues to intensify

There are rising fears the continued upsurge in fuel prices could see hard pressed motorists turning to green diesel in a desperate bid to make ends meet.

It comes in the wake of revelations last week which showed the average cost of running a family car for a year has shot up by €600.

Those figures have now sparked concern that cash starved consumers may turn to agricultural diesel as the tax paid on its usage is currently more than 40c a litre lower than its mainstream equivalent.

The crisis engulfing the wider economy has likewise prompted calls for the Government to reduce the VAT rate on fuel.

Longford-Westmeath Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty said the rising costs allied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine necessitated State intervention.

“At the minute, it’s very hard to to see any certainty in fuel prices and particularly with the situation in Ukraine,” he said.

“We need to give certainty to people in the transport and logistics industry so that they can plan their businesses into the future and on that basis we, as a government, need to look at bringing in an emergency measure.”

Fine Gael Senator Micheál Carrigy said he spoke on the topic at a parliamentary party meeting last week after petrol prices at the pumps hovered close to the €2 a litre mark.

“The difficulty a lot of businesses are having is that a large number of their contracted work such as school runs are priced in,” he said.

“What you have now is a situation where fuel is 30 to 40 per cent more expensive and the reality is these businesses are in,fact losing money.

“I definitely feel a plan needs to be put in place to reduce the excise on fuel for these companies and for the consumer.”

Senator Carrigy put forward the suggestion of a rebate scheme which had previously been adopted to help those firms that consume large amounts of fuel on a daily basis.

His party opposite number and Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Peggy Nolan said whatever measure was introduced, the economy and motorists wallets needed protecting.

“This is so, so serious and this could go on for months. This is people’s lives and their livelihoods on the line. We have just gone through a pandemic and there have been people out there that have been so, so savvy in keeping their businesses going and are now facing into what could be a war in Europe,” she said.

“This is not only just going to affect fuel, it will affect fuel prices and could result in a world recession, so whatever taxes that this government can remove, remove them because we need trucks on the road, we need coaches for connectivity and we need businesses to be supported to ensure this country keeps ticking over.”